Can Basketball Players be Drafted out of High School?

Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Tracy McGrady are just a few superstars that were drafted out of high school and into the NBA. Recently we have not seen many athletes drafted out of high school, which raises the question… 

Can basketball players be drafted out of high school? No, The NBA put a stop to drafting high school players after 2004. Basketball players looking to be drafted straight out of high school must wait at least one year after their senior year and be 18 years of age before being eligible for the NBA Draft.

There are ways for players to make the NBA without having to play college basketball, although much more difficult the player will have to take a completely different path to do so. Let me explain in this article.

Where can basketball players play after high school?

Besides men’s leagues, if a high school player wanted to get paid to play basketball and become a pro, there are a number of semi-professional leagues in North America that they can venture to. The problem is that depending on a semi-pro isn’t a whole lot to live on.

But there are many European and Asian leagues that pay very well and you could make a comfortable living as long as you are ok with being away from your family.

Being a basketball player from the United States already looks good on your resume, you will need a good agent to shop around and being ranked in the top 100 in high school if you want to really be paid well.

Many players do not want to play in college or be forced to go to school in order to play basketball. Some players feel they need to play pro ball in order to help support their family.

More and more players are venturing overseas right after high school in order to get paid. Who can blame them, although you may receive a full-ride scholarship to a nice university it doesn’t come without a cost.

Working a part-time job in order to pay for meals, time studying while keeping up with a busy basketball schedule. Many players and even coaches feel as if the player should be paid a small salary especially to cover living costs and essentials.

 

Can you make the NBA without playing high school?

There have been a number of players who started basketball late and still made it to the NBA.  While I do believe that it’s not impossible to do, now more than ever it is even more difficult.

Basketball training is advancing and future basketball players are realizing that in order to play pro basketball, you are going to need to start young.

Starting young and having a trainer to work on skill development is a must if you want to advance your career.

The following players made the NBA without playing much high school basketball if any, these players had gifts that made them who they are, these gifts set them apart from their competition. 

Mark Eaton

Eaton was 7 feet 4 inches tall and started playing basketball at 20 years old, only because a college basketball coach took his car into the mechanic shop that Eaton was working at.

The rest was history, Eaton played college basketball and then was drafted into the NBA in the very late rounds of the draft and still manage to have a successful basketball career.

Dennis Rodman 

Rodman never played high school basketball because he was cut from the team. It wasn’t until he visited the recreation center to get away from home and work out while playing basketball to pass the time that he was discovered by college coach and recruited to play.

Rodman would have talent that no one could deny and found himself in the NBA winning championships, rebound titles and even the Defensive player of the year award.

Steve Francis 

Francis attempted to play high school basketball but couldn’t stay on the team due to bad grades and behavior. It wasn’t until after high school Francis was asked to play basketball and was eventually recruited by a junior college coach.

He would climb his way up and play at a Division 1 school and eventually get drafted into the league.

Can basketball players skip college?

Yes, but players who skip college but are attempting to play in the NBA must wait a year after high school. It is not required to play in college in order to play in the NBA.

In any other professional basketball league in the world, waiting a year or going to college isn’t necessary to play professional basketball.

Can high school players go straight to the G-League?

The NBA owns the G-League and realizes that some high school players that are highly sought after do not want to play College ball because they can play professional basketball overseas and get paid.

As of 2018, the G-League announced that high school players who are 18 years old, may enter the G-League draft while still being eligible for the NBA-Draft. They can also be called up at any time during the season to play in the NBA.

Here’s the problem…

It’s a lose-lose situation for a top high school prospect. The player in question can potentially lose its stock value as a player to poor performance during the season and not be drafted the following year.

Also if a player gets called up they lose their eligibility to be drafted the following year and lose a big payday.

Doesn’t sound at all worth it for someone who has a lot to lose.

What are the odds of making it to the NBA from High School?

Hypothetically if the NBA allowed for high school players to enter the draft what would be the odds? Warning I suck at math

Recently Kwame Brown has been making headlines with his outspoken views and giving a piece of his mind to anyone and everyone. Brown has a Youtube channel expressing his thoughts, which is highly entertaining regardless if you agree or not.

If you don’t know who Kwame Brown is, he was drafted out of high school in 2001 by the Washington Wizards, and played alongside Michael Jordan. Jordan was already known as a bully and Kwame was the victim at the time. It got so bad that Jordan made Kwame Cry in practice one day, so the story goes.

Kwame didn’t have the stellar career that everyone thought he would have and he also pokes fun at it too naming his Youtube channel ” Kwame Brown’s Bust Life”.

Kwame had me thinking was he really a bust? I mean he did average 5 points and 5 rebounds for his 11 year career, retired at 30 healthy with a lot of money.

If we are talking in terms of the NBA, you could say he was a bust. But If we are talking in terms of a basketball player in general, no just look at the odds he overcame.

What we fail to realize that there are only a handful of basketball players that have ever made the NBA straight from high school.

While the odds of making the NBA is 3 out of 10,000 (0.03 %) collegiate Athletes that played Division 1, 2,3 and Junior College basketball will make the NBA.

But What are the odds of a high school player making the NBA?

41 players made history being drafted into the NBA from high school. If we take just the number of high school players in the United States that play basketball each year that is 500,000 and divide that by 1 that is 0.000002% chance of making it from high school.

I may be pulling that number out of thin air? But may not be far off considering that making it from Division 1 is a .03 percent chance.

That doesn’t include College players or current professional players that declare for the NBA draft either. 

What can we take from this besides my math sucks? You have a better chance winning the lottery then making the NBA, considering there are 24 million basketball players in the US. 

Unconventional ways players have made the NBA

Besides making it straight out of high school when players were allowed to be eligible for the draft, there have been players in past and recent times that took a different path other than playing college basketball to make the NBA.

It is apparent that playing college basketball and dominating your position is the fast track into the league, but it isn’t the only way.

• Yao Ming played 3 seasons in the Chinese Basketball Association with the Shanghai Sharks and would be drafted number 1 in the NBA draft in 2002. 
• Toni Kukoc, Dirk Nowitzki, Luka Doncic are just a few of many basketball players from Europe to be drafted into the NBA.
• Lamelo Ball took an odd approach playing in his Father’s Big Ballers league and leaving high school early in order to do so. Then when that failed he played in Europe, which was another failed attempt to gain any traction on his career. Then he tried his luck with the National Basketball League in Australia, where many former and up and coming NBA players play in and held his own helping his stock as a player soar due to a statistically good season.