Garfield basketball teams have won many regional and state titles. The boys basketball team has won the state championship 16 times and was the runner-up eight times since 1949. The team has notable alumni, including Brandon Roy (GHS c/o 2002), Tony Wroten (GHS c/o 2011), and University of Washington alumnus Will Conroy. The girls team boasts alumna Joyce Walker (GHS c/o 1980), who is best known as the third woman to join the Harlem Globetrotters. The girls team won their third state championship in 2005. Both the girls and boys teams were state champions in 1980, 1987, and 2020.