Best NBA Players To Come Out Of High School
Contents
1. LeBron James
Easily the #1 player on this list is the current #1 player in the NBA, LeBron James. LeBron went straight from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron to the league and went #1 overall in the draft. LeBron was the most hyped high school prospect of all-time with the likes of Nike and ESPN chasing him down at 17 years old. As of this writing, LeBron is averaging 27.1 PPG 7.4 RPG and 7.4 APG and has 3 NBA championships as well as 4 MVPs to his name. He is one, if not the best, player to ever play the game so it’s no surprise to see him at the top of our list.
LeBron James’ greatest game! Down 2-3 against the Celtics in the ECF, James goes off for 45 pts 15 reb and the win. (2012) pic.twitter.com/Z1vpuOG9FJ
— ThrowbackHoops (@ThrowbackHoops) July 11, 2020
2. Kobe Bryant
The late Kobe Bryant makes our list at #1 after being drafted number 13 overall out of Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania. Kobe was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets but traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on draft night, going down as one of the best moves in the history of the draft. Bryant finished his career as an 18x all-star, 5x NBA champion, 2x scoring champ, and is a member of the NBA hall of fame. In 20 NBA season, Bryant averaged 25 PPG 5.2 RPG and 4.7 APG and will go down as one of the best scorers in the history of the game.
https://twitter.com/CourtsideFilms/status/1284164157173108737?s=20
3. Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett is one of the best power forwards in the history of basketball and he comes in at number 3 on our list. He was drafted 5th overall in the 1995 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves and will probably go down as one of the best players to ever play for that franchise. Over the course of his long career, Garnett averaged 17.8 PPG 10.0 RPG and 3.7 APG. He was even better in his prime years averaging up to 24.2 PPG and 13.9 RPG in his peak years with Minnesota. Garnett was inducted into the NBA hall of fame in 2020.
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4. Tracy McGrady
Tracy McGrady was drafted number 9 overall by the Toronto Raptors out of Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, North Carolina. He wasn’t his best in Toronto but when he was drafted to the Orlando Magic in 2000, he was unleashed. McGrady finished his career averaging 19.6 PPG 5.6 RPG and 4.4 APG. In his career, McGrady made 7 All-NBA teams and won the NBA scoring title twice. McGrady was an elite scorer and is one of the best to make the jump straight from high school from the league. He was also inducted into the NBA hall of fame in 2018.
https://twitter.com/balldontstop/status/1282864189497683968?s=20
5. Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard is one of the most underappreciated players in the history of the NBA in my opinion. He has had ups and downs in his career but his numbers stack up very well vs some of the best big men to ever play the game. Dwight is averaging 16.8 PPG 12.3 RPG and 1.9 BPG over the course of his 16 year NBA career that is still underway. After being drafted #1 overall by the Orlando Magic in 2004 from Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy he hit the ground running and fast, he averaged a double-double in his rookie season. Dwight may not be the player we saw in Orlando anymore but during those days he was one of the best center’s we have seen on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
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6. Amar’e Stoudemire
The Phoenix Suns drafted Amar’e Stoudemire out of Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Florida in 2002. Stoudemire went number 9 overall and was immediately effective for the Suns winning the 2002-2003 rookie of the year award. He was a key part of their groundbreaking style of offensive running alongside Steve Nash in some of the best years for the Suns in their franchise history. He was slowed due to injuries over the course of his career but across 16 career seasons, he averaged 18.9 PPG 7.8 RPG and 1.2 BPG.
https://twitter.com/DonJulioHoops/status/1024410565228150784?s=20
7. Lou Williams
Lou Williams is one of the special players on this list. There wasn’t a lot of hype around him coming out of South Gwinnett high school in Georgia. He was selected 45th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers and it took him a couple of years to get going in the league. However, when he got going he scored in bunches. He has only started 118 of 996 career games but that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t effective on the numerous teams he has been on. In those games, he is averaging 14.5 PPG and 3.5 APG but over the last couple of years he has put up around 20 PPG. This 3x NBA 6th man of the year award winner could easily be forgotten but his numbers show he was one of the best to not get college experience before jumping to the NBA.
Light work from Lou Williams. Dropped 36 pts off the bench. (2014) pic.twitter.com/8gh8f6m1ss
— ThrowbackHoops (@ThrowbackHoops) July 12, 2020
8. Monta Ellis
Monta Ellis doesn’t have a lot of accolades to his name but after a rookie season where he only averaged 6.8 PPG, he started to get buckets in bunches. Ellis, like Lou Williams, was a second-round pick getting drafted 40th overall by the Golden State Warriors. Ellis played 833 games in his career and averaged 17.8 PPG 3.5 RPG and 4.6 APG. He was known a little bit as a guy who averaged a lot of points on subpar teams but to ask anyone to averaged 25 points in any single season it is impressive. Ellis is one of the best to do it given these criteria.
https://twitter.com/SLAMRewind/status/1148700364914475008?s=20
9. Rashard Lewis
Rashard Lewis was drafted 32nd overall by the Seattle SuperSonics out of Alief Elsik High School in Houston, Texas. He had a long 16-year career and in those seasons he averaged 14.9 PPG and 5.2 RPG. What allowed him to last so long was Lewis’ ability to shoot the deep ball. He shot 38.6% from 3 point land over 1049 games in his career and even won a championship with LeBron James and the Heat in 2012-2013. When it comes to shooting 3 pointers, Rashard Lewis was the guy to have when he was in his prime and it allowed him to have a long and successful career.
Happy 36th Birthday to Rashard Lewis. #Hoopmixtape pic.twitter.com/hjwIwPaoHJ
— Hoopmixtape.com (@Hoopmixtape) August 9, 2015
10. Josh Smith
Josh Smith was drafted 17th overall by the Atlanta Hawks out of the prestigious Oak Hill Academy that has produced numerous NBA stars over the last few decades. Smith’s career was an interesting one being successful for the first 10+ years but he struggled to find footing in the league at the end which hurt his career averages a little bit. However, he still put up 14.5 PPG and 7.4 RPG a night and was one of the most versatile players with his ability to dribble at his size. He doesn’t have any all-star appearances or big-time awards but he still was a very serviceable NBA player in his 17 seasons.
https://twitter.com/OfficialNBABuzz/status/1283841637765062657?s=20
