Michael P. Muscala (2023) - Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame

Michael P. Muscala

Induction:
2023
Class:
2013

MIKE MUSCALA ’13 came to Bucknell from the state of Minnesota and quickly developed into one of the best centers in Bucknell men’s basketball history. A four-time All-Patriot League selection, Muscala was the league’s player of the year as both a sophomore and senior, and he was also picked as a Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a CoSIDA Academic All-American as a senior.

The first player in league history to earn Player of the Year and Tournament MVP honors twice, Muscala led the Bison to league championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2011 and 2013. During his junior campaign, the team won the Patriot League regular-season title and defeated Arizona in the first round of the NIT.

Many of the college draft boards had Muscala ranked as one of the nation’s top big men during his senior year in 2012-13, when he averaged 18.7 points and 11.1 rebounds per game for a team that won a school-record 28 games. That year, he became the first player in Patriot League history to sweep the Patriot League Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, and he was selected as one of 30 candidates for the Naismith Player of the Year Award. He was picked as a Lute Olsen All-American by CollegeInsider.com and an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press, and he was one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.

Muscala graduated as Bucknell's all-time leading scorer (2,036 points), and he is the only player in school and league history with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds (1,093).

Following his senior campaign, he was selected to play in the Reese’s Division I All-Star Game on Final Four weekend in Atlanta, and he started for the West team and recorded 15 points and eight rebounds. Less than four months later, he was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the 44th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, and that evening his rights were traded to the Atlanta Hawks. Muscala joined fellow Hall-of-Famers Al Leslie ’81 and Jaye Andrews ’85 in the exclusive club of Bucknell alums to be taken in the draft, and after starting his professional career in Spain, he became the first Bison to play in an NBA game when he debuted with the Hawks in a road game against the Phoenix Suns on March 2, 2014.

Muscala spent his first five professional seasons with the Hawks, and he has since played with the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Boston Celtics.