High School Superstars
When the Timberwolves selected Kevin Garnett fifth overall in the 1995 NBA Draft, he became the first high school player to go pro in 20 years. He was an immediate impact player, and it wouldn’t be long before skipping college to turn pro became all the rage in the league. The 1996 draft saw two players make the jump. In 1998 there were three players. In 2004, after nine players were taken in the draft out of high school, the NBA put a stop to the whole thing. They instituted what we now call the “one and done” rule.
There were some stars, great players, and all-time great players picked in some of those draft classes. Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Tracy McGrady have all been enshrined in Springfield. After they retire, LeBron James and Dwight Howard will surely follow them. Some would see this outcome and wonder why the NBA squashed the whole thing. Those who follow the league, however, know exactly why.
High School Busts
You hear it all the time. “For every Tracy McGrady, you have a Kwame Brown.” While the sentiment behind the statement is completely true, the numbers are a lot more staggering than 1:1. Since Garnett made the jump in 1995, there have been 39 players taken in the draft directly out of high school. 29 of them never made a single All-Star Game.
Five of those players played in less than 100 games, and two of them didn’t play a single game after they were drafted (Ricky Sanchez, Ousmane Cisse). The likelihood of a high school player being drafted and making a single All-Star Game is 25.7 percent. It would be easy to say that three out of four are busts then. That’s also not true though. This is a list of the top ten players, drafted out of high school, who never made an All-Star Game.
High School Players
Honorable Mentions
I won’t deep dive into the players who barely missed the top ten. So here is a list of six guys who you could make a case for, but didn’t make my list.
Travis Outlaw, Sebastian Telfair, Andray Blatche, Martell Webster, Gerald Green, Dorell Wright
10. DeShawn Stevenson
DeShawn Stevenson was a first-team All-American his senior year, after averaging 30.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. He committed to the Kansas Jayhawks, but decided to pursue an NBA career and go straight to the pros after irregularities on his SATs. The Utah Jazz selected Stevenson 23rd overall in the 2000 NBA Draft, out of Washington Union High School.
Like most rookies without college playing experience, Stevenson struggled through his first few seasons, averaging less than five points per game. He was traded to the Orlando Magic during his fourth season. It was there, and later with the Wizards where he showed a glimpse of what many expected. He averaged double-digit points four of the next five years.
That would be Stevenson’s prime, and he would drop off significantly after that. In 2011 he would be part of the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, averaging 5.3 points per game. He finished his career with averages of 7.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per game and never made an All-Star Game.
9. CJ Miles
Not deterred by their lack of success the first time around, the Utah Jazz would choose another high school player in the 2005 NBA Draft. In the second round, with the 34th overall pick, they took CJ Miles, a 6’6″ shooting guard out of Skyline High School in Dallas.
Miles averaged 23.2 points and 11.2 rebounds his junior season, and like Stevenson, was a first-team All-American as a senior, averaging 23.5 points and 10 rebounds. He won the Dallas Area Player of the Year and was ranked as the 19th best senior in the 2005 class.
It would take until his sixth NBA season before Miles would average double digits, scoring 12.8 points per game for the Utah Jazz during the 2010-11 season. He would do this five more times in his career, with three of those years coming with the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors from 2014-15 through the 2017-18 seasons. Miles would play 848 games in his NBA career, averaging 9.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
8. Eddy Curry
The 2001 NBA Draft may have been the face of the prep to pro movement. Not because of the total number of players taken, but because three of the first four players taken were high school players. Most notably, Kwame Brown, who went number one to the Washington Wizards.
The fourth pick in that draft belonged to the Chicago Bulls, who took big man Eddy Curry. He was the 2001 Illinois Mr. Basketball, out of Thornwood High School. Despite originally aspiring to become a gymnast, Curry shined on the basketball court, earning 1998, 1999, and 2000 State Farm Holiday Classic All-Tournament team. He was a first-team All-American his senior year, after posting 22 points and 9 rebounds per game.
His rookie year may have started slow, averaging just 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, but the next six seasons are how he landed on this list. He averaged double digits in points for six straight years, including a career-high 19.5 points per game with the Knicks in the 2006-07 NBA Season. He never made an All-Star Game, but would get a championship ring with the 2011-12 Miami Heat.
7. Al Harrington
Al Harrington was drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 25th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft. He was the best prep player in the country in 1998, winning Naismith, USA Today, and Gatorade player of the year honors. The 6’9″ forward finished his high school career at St Patrick High School (alma mater of Kyrie Irving) winning the non-public B state title.
Harrington started slow, not scoring double digits per game until his fourth NBA season. Once he did that though, he would do it again for ten more years in a row. He would play for seven different teams over his NBA career, playing in 981 career games. Over that span, he would go on to average 13.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Harrington had his best season in 2008-09. He averaged 20.1 points per game that season.
6. Darius Miles
Though he did not have the career length of Harrington, playing in just 446 NBA games, I would argue that Darius Miles was a much more exciting player to watch. The Clippers took Miles with the third overall pick in the 2000 draft, out of East St Louis High School.
Miles averaged 22.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 7.4 blocks per game as a senior. He shot 67 percent from the field, and in 1998 was part of the USA under-18 basketball team that went 6-0 and took home the gold in the World Youth Games.
Miles was paired with fellow rookie Quentin Richardson on the LA Clippers. Despite taking their cue from former blazer Cliff Robinson, the duo made rocking a headband a fashion statement. As far as statistically, Miles had a productive and consistent, albeit, short career. Between four different teams, he would finish his career averaging 10.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Miles would also have shelves of highlight reels, including a brief foray into acting.
5. JR Smith
JR Smith might be known for bonehead plays, and red shot, glossy eyes. Despite that, he’s had had a pretty decent NBA career. Prior to being selected by the New Orleans Hornets with the 18th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, Smith filled the stat sheets on a nightly basis for St. Benedicts Prep. For his high school career, the human ball of energy averaged 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. He committed to the University of North Carolina, but after scoring 27 points in the McDonald’s All-American Game, declared for the NBA Draft.
Smith played in 977 NBA games, winning two NBA Championships (Cavs and Lakers), and a Sixth Man of the Year award (2012-13). He averaged double-digit points eleven times in his career, finishing with an average of 12.4 points per game.
Smith may have been one of the more energetic bench players in NBA history. He could light up a scoreboard as fast as any player in the league. He is also responsible for one of the greatest LeBron memes in history.
4. Josh Smith
In his senior season at prep powerhouse Oak Hill Academy, Josh Smith led the team to a perfect 38-0 record. He finished the season averaging 22 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 blocks, and 3 steals per game. Raw and athletic on the offensive end of the floor, he was a force to be reckoned with on defense.
In 2004, the Atlanta Hawks selected the 6’9″ lefty with the 17th pick in the NBA Draft. He spent the majority of his career there, doing exactly what he did in high school. Being productive on the offensive end, and a nuisance on the defensive end.
He played in 894 games in his NBA career, and finished with averages of 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Smith never made an All-Star appearance. He was voted to the 2009-10 NBA All-Defensive team. After averaging 9.7 points per game as a rookie, Smith would average double-digit points for ten straight seasons. His career-high of 18.8 points per game coming in the 2011-12 season.
3. Al Jefferson
I found it hard to believe the top three players on this list did not make an All-Star Game. Hopefully, you will be equally as shocked. Coming in at number three is Al Jefferson, the 15th pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.
Domination is too bland a word to describe Jefferson’s senior season at Prentiss High School in Mississippi. The 6’10” true power forward averaged 42.6 points, 18 rebounds, and 7 blocks per game, winning Mr. Basketball for the state in 2004.
The Boston Celtics were excited to grab the young man and expected him to be a building block for the next dynasty. Jefferson got off to an inauspicious start, yet was deemed “untouchable” every time the Celtics looked to make trade moves. That label, along with a junior season in the league averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds per game, was enough for him to be the centerpiece in a trade with the Timberwolves, that sent Kevin Garnett to Boston for the 2007-08 season.
Jefferson finished his career averaging 15.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Jefferson was elected to the All-NBA third team in the 2013-14 season. He averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game that year.
2. Monta Ellis
Monta Ellis attended Lanier High School in Jackson, Mississippi. His senior season (2004-05) he led the team to a state championship. He averaged 38.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 4.5 steals per game. The Golden State Warriors selected Ellis in the second round of the 2005 NBA Draft (40th overall).
After averaging just 6.8 points per game as a rookie, Monta Ellis would become one of the league’s more unstoppable scorers. He averaged double digits in scoring 11 out of 13 seasons. He averaged over 20 points per game three times, with a career-high of 25.5 for the Warriors in 2009-10. Steph Curry‘s rookie season, this was the guy he was getting the ball to.
Monta Ellis would not make an NBA All-Star roster, which may be one of the biggest tragedies in all-star history. He would win the league’s Most Improved Player in 2006-07. Ellis finished his 833 game NBA career averaging 17.8 points and 4.6 assists per game.
1. Lou Williams
Lou Williams was a Parade All-American as a Junior and Senior at South Gwinnett High School in Georgia. He led the team to the 5A State Championship as a junior. His senior year, Williams was the Naismith Prep Player of the Year. Smith then committed to the Georgia Bulldogs, but later chose to declare for the NBA Draft.
The Philadelphia 76rs took Williams in the second round (45th overall). He averaged just 1.9 points per game as a rookie, but it would not take long to show just how talented a player he was. Williams averaged double digits in points every season he’s played since 2007-08. His career highs of 22.6 points per game and 20.0 points per game came in back-to-back seasons with the Clippers.
Williams is still active as a player in 2021. He has career averages of 14.3 points and 3.5 assists per game over 24.7 minutes per game. Using the metric of 36 minutes per game, he averages over 21 points and 5 assists per game. He is a three-time winner of the league’s Sixth Man award (2015, 2018, 2019). He may have never been an All-Star, but Lou Williams will make the basketball Hall of Fame.
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