10 greatest American NBA players who skipped college
The NCAA's role as the gatekeeper between elite high school basketball prospects and the professional ranks continues to wane.
On Thursday, Jalen Green, the top recruit for the 2020 class, announced he would skip college entirely, signing a six-figure deal in the G League instead. Another five-star recruit, Isaiah Todd, reportedly followed suit, decommitting from Michigan to join Green on a yet-to-be-announced Los Angeles-based G League expansion franchise.
More American prospects with NBA dreams have eschewed the traditional NCAA pipeline in recent times, taking their talents overseas or to minor-league professional teams while spending the mandated one year between their high school graduation and the NBA draft.
A handful of American players have already trod the path from high school directly to the NBA. Here are the top 10 to ever pull it off:
10. Rashard Lewis
Rashard Lewis entered the 1998 draft out of Houston's Elsik High School. The Seattle SuperSonics got great value out of the 32nd overall pick, as they watched him grow into one of the league's top perimeter scoring threats.
The 6-foot-10 stretch forward averaged 14.9 points per game on 38.6% shooting from long range over 16 seasons. He was an All-Star in 2005 with the Sonics, and 2009 with the Orlando Magic, playing a central role in the latter's run to the Finals that year. He captured his lone title as a role player on the 2012-13 Miami Heat.
9. Tyson Chandler
Tyson Chandler didn't deliver on the Chicago Bulls' decision to flip Elton Brand to the Los Angeles Clippers for the right to select him second overall in 2001. Still, the late-blooming product of Compton's Manuel Dominguez High School has enjoyed a great second and third act in the Association.
Pairing with Chris Paul on the then-New Orleans Hornets from 2006-09 showcased Chandler's ability as a rim-running (and rim-protecting) center. After a stint with the Charlotte Bobcats, the 7-foot bruiser was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in Year 10, where he played an instrumental role on the 2011 championship team.
Chandler posted his best individual season in 2011-12 as a member of the New York Knicks, when he earned his lone career All-Star nod, an All-NBA team, and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
8. Jermaine O'Neal
Like Chandler, Jermaine O'Neal took a while to make his mark in the NBA. The Portland Trail Blazers selected him No. 17 in the vaunted 1996 draft, but the baby-faced high schooler from South Carolina struggled to find playing time with established veterans like Arvydas Sabonis and Rasheed Wallace on the depth chart during his four years with the team.
It turned out that all O'Neal really needed as an opportunity. Upon his trade to the Indiana Pacers in 2000, he immediately established himself as one of the NBA's best centers. In eight seasons with the team, he averaged 18.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. He made six straight All-Star appearances from 2002-07 and even finished third in the MVP vote for the 2003-04 campaign.
7. Amar'e Stoudemire
As the country's top high school recruit in 2002, Amar'e Stoudemire initially committed to playing college ball at Memphis. However, the Orlando native instead declared for the draft, where the Phoenix Suns nabbed him at No. 9. It was a smart gamble by the team; S.T.A.T. captured Rookie of the Year honors, beating out Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.
The athletically gifted big man's career really took off in Year 3 after the Suns brought back point guard Steve Nash. Running lethal pick-and-rolls with the future Hall of Famer, Stoudemire averaged a career-best 26 points per game in 2004-05. He was also chosen to his first of six All-Star Games and the All-NBA second team that season.
6. Tracy McGrady
Tracy McGrady wouldn't reach his potential until Year 4 - after the Toronto Raptors flipped him to the Magic for a future first-round pick (denying a longer glimpse at a tantalizing on-court partnership with his distant cousin, Vince Carter). From 2000-07, the Mount Zion Christian Academy product made seven straight All-Star teams - four with the Magic, three with the Rockets - and won two consecutive scoring titles in 2002-03 and 2003-04.
Injuries forced him to retire at 33, but McGrady had evidently accomplished enough to merit enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame, entering as part of the 2017 class.
5. Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard's checkered recent history has obfuscated a clear-cut Hall of Fame career. The small-market Magic certainly won't regret selecting him first overall out of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy in 2004.
In his prime, Superman was unmatched in terms of interior dominance; he averaged 18.4 points, 13 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and a steal per game through his first eight seasons with the Magic.
To date, Howard is an eight-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA player, three-time Defensive Player of the Year, five-time league rebounding leader, and two-time blocking leader. And if the 2019-20 season can resume, he'll stand a solid chance of winning a ring as an important role player on the Los Angeles Lakers.
4. Moses Malone
Moses Malone's entry into professional basketball was aided by the American Basketball Association's battle with the NBA. As the upstart league looked to make a name for itself, the Utah Stars selected Malone in the third round of the 1974 ABA draft out of Virginia's Petersburg High.
After the ABA partially merged with the NBA in 1976, Malone went on to cement his place as one of the most imposing big men of the 1970s and 80s, most notably in stints with the Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers. The Chairman of the Boards averaged 23.8 points and 13.4 rebounds per game between 1977-90 and captured six league rebounding titles in a span of seven seasons.
Malone earned three NBA MVP awards and was named Finals MVP after leading the 76ers to the title in 1983. Including his ABA stats, he remains third all time in total rebounds and ninth in points. He entered the Hall of Fame in 2001.
3. Kevin Garnett
Though Malone was the first prominent American player to make the jump directly from high school to the pros, Kevin Garnett is credited with reigniting the trend after going fifth overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1995.
Not even two years removed from his senior season at Chicago's Farragut Career Academy, the Big Ticket had already appeared in his first All-Star Game; at just 20 years old, Garnett served as an injury replacement for Shaquille O'Neal.
Garnett went on to make 15 All-Star appearances, 12 All-Defensive teams, and nine All-NBA teams. He was named the league MVP in 2002-03 with the T-Wolves, and the Defensive Player of the Year in 2007-08 - when he won his lone career title as the Boston Celtics' spiritual backbone.
This year, Garnett will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside the next player on the list ...
2. Kobe Bryant
Malone and Garnett successfully transitioned directly from high school to the pros partly due to inherent physical advantages. When you're 6-foot-10, on-court fundamentals pose less of an issue right away.
As a shooting guard from Lower Merrion High School in Philadelphia, Kobe Bryant's margin of error was arguably a lot slimmer. Would the 18-year-old son of a former NBA player have the mentality required to take his lumps from the game's ultra-physical perimeter players - stars like Michael Jordan and Gary Payton?
At 19 years and 170 days, Kobe became the youngest All-Star in NBA history as a second-year player in 1998. He'd be selected 17 more times before calling it a career after the 2015-16 season - with 15 All-NBA selections, five championships, and a pair of scoring titles to his credit.
The Lakers learned early on that Bryant was unlike other young players. He competed with the confidence of a 10-year vet, and his maniacal approach to preparing his mind and body never waned. The team couldn't have gotten a better return on the No. 13 pick in 1996, which they pried from the Charlotte Hornets in a straight-up trade for Vlade Divac that made a late bid for the sports crime of the century.
Apart from the final player on the list, no American player has ever skipped college and looked more prepared to take on the NBA than the Black Mamba, the late, great Kobe Bryant.
1. LeBron James
When your high school games are regularly being broadcast on national television, there's something entirely different about the stakes of your future NBA career. Such was life at Saint Vincent-Saint Mary during the 2002-03 season, LeBron James' senior year.
After the Cleveland Cavaliers took him first overall in 2003, James averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game as a rookie. By Year 2 - still entering the season as a teenager - those averages were pushed to 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 2.2 steals. He played a league-high 42.4 minutes per contest as well.
The bar had been raised so high that when James dragged the 2006-07 Cavs to the Finals only to lose to the dynastic San Antonio Spurs, some pundits were already trying to label him as a choker. He was 22.
Now 35, James is still among the league's best players, putting up 25.7 points and a league-high 10.6 assists per game as the Lakers' de facto point man. James progressing to the 10th Finals of his career with a chance to win his fourth NBA championship seemed like a strong bet prior to the stoppage of the 2019-20 season.
Overall, James has amassed 16 All-Star appearances, 15 All-NBA selections, six All-Defensive team nods, four MVPs, and three Finals MVPs. He led the Heat to victory in 2012 and 2013 and returned to his home state to grant the Cavaliers their first-ever title. He trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone on the all-time scoring leaderboard, and there's little to suggest James won't continue to add to these totals for years to come.
Honorable mentions
Andrew Bynum remains the youngest player in NBA history, making his debut less than a week after his 18th birthday. He would've been a lock to make this list had injuries not forced him out of the sport. By age 24, he had two titles, an All-Star appearance, and an All-NBA selection to his name.
Current Clippers guard Lou Williams deserves some props too. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year has had a long and fruitful career since booming out of South Gwinnett High School as a second-round pick in 2005.