Up until 2005, the NBA allowed for what people called “prep to pros”. These were high school kids who chose to skip college altogether and find themselves selected in the NBA Draft. Between 1963 and 2005, these kids did just that. Many of them are household names, and some you may have never heard of. Check them out here:
- Reggie Harding, Detroit Eastern High School, Detroit, Michigan (1962, drafted a second time in 1963)
- Moses Malone, Petersburg High School, Petersburg, Virginia (1974, made his NBA debut in 1976)
- Darryl Dawkins, Maynard Evans High School, Orlando, Florida (1975)
- Bill Willoughby, Dwight Morrow High School, Englewood, New Jersey (1976)
- Shawn Kemp, Concord High School, Elkhart, Indiana (1989, attended University of Kentucky and Trinity Valley Community College but did not play college basketball. Was kicked off the University of Kentucky basketball team after pawning a teammate’s necklace.)
- Kevin Garnett, Farragut Career Academy, Chicago, Illinois (1995)
- Kobe Bryant, Lower Merion High School, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania (1996)
- Jermaine O’Neal, Eau Claire High School, Columbia, South Carolina (1996)
- Tracy McGrady, Mt. Zion Christian Academy, Durham, North Carolina (1997)
- Stephen Jackson, Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, Virginia (2000, attended Butler Community College but did not play college basketball)
- Al Harrington, St. Patrick High School, Elizabeth, New Jersey (1998)
- Rashard Lewis, Alief Elsik High School, Houston, Texas (1998)
- Korleone Young, Hargrave Military Academy, Chatham, Virginia (1998)
- Jonathan Bender, Picayune Memorial High School, Picayune, Mississippi (1999)
- Leon Smith, Martin Luther King High School, Chicago, Illinois (2001)
- Darius Miles, East St. Louis High School, East St. Louis, Illinois (2000)
- DeShawn Stevenson, Washington Union High School, Fresno, California (2000)
- Kwame Brown, Glynn Academy, Brunswick, Georgia (2001)
- Tyson Chandler, Dominguez High School, Compton, California (2001)
- Eddy Curry, Thornwood High School, South Holland, Illinois (2001)
- DeSagana Diop, Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, Virginia (2001)
- Ousmane Cisse, Saint Jude Montgomery High School, Montgomery, Alabama (yet to appear in an NBA game)
- Amare Stoudemire, Cypress Creek High School, Orlando, Florida (2002)
- LeBron James, St. Vincent – St. Mary High School, Akron, Ohio (2003)
- Travis Outlaw, Starkville High School, Starkville, Mississippi (2003)
- Ndudi Ebi, Westbury Christian School, Houston, Texas (2003)
- Kendrick Perkins, Clifton J. Ozen High School, Beaumont, Texas (2003)
- James Lang, Central Park Christian High School, Birmingham, Alabama (2006)
- Dwight Howard, Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, Atlanta, Georgia (2004)
- Shaun Livingston, Peoria Central High School, Peoria, Illinois (2004)
- Robert Swift, Bakersfield High School, Bakersfield, California (2004)
- Sebastian Telfair, Abraham Lincoln High School (New York), Brooklyn, New York (2004)
- Al Jefferson, Prentiss High School, Prentiss, Mississippi (2004)
- Josh Smith, Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, Virginia (2004)
- J.R. Smith, Saint Benedict’s Preparatory School, Newark, New Jersey (2004)
- Dorell Wright, Leuzinger High School, Lawndale, California (2004)
- Martell Webster, Seattle Preparatory School, Seattle, Washington (2005)
- Andrew Bynum, St. Joseph High School, Metuchen, New Jersey (2005)
- Gerald Green, Gulf Shores Academy, Houston, Texas (2006)
- C.J. Miles, Skyline High School, Dallas, Texas (2005)
- Monta Ellis, Lanier High School, Jackson, Mississippi (2005)
- Louis Williams, South Gwinnett High School, Snellville, Georgia (2005)
- Andray Blatche, South Kent Preparatory School, South Kent, Connecticut (2005)
- Amir Johnson, Westchester High School, Los Angeles, California (2005)
