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The NBA has changed its ruling on players coming straight to the league from high school multiple times over the years. Some of the league's greats took this route, including the late Kobe Bryant and Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett.
However, as of 2006, the NBA's rules changed once again, making it more difficult for the country's top school talents to make the leap straight to the league. All drafted players must be 19 years of age during the calendar year of the draft. If they are not international players, they must be at least one year removed from their high school graduation.
Currently, the top players will have a one-and-done year in college before declaring for the draft. Alternately, they may play abroad to build their skills in a tougher environment than college.
In this article, we will run down five of the NBA's top players who skipped college. Some of them were old enough to have declared for the draft straight out of high school while others had to take the less-beaten track to get there.
5 NBA stars who skipped college to join the league
#5 Lou Williams | Atlanta Hawks
Lou Williams has built a career on being an elite knockdown shooter off the bench and has been named NBA Sixth Man of the Year on three occasions. He played his best basketball with the LA Clippers, where he won two of his awards and averaged over 20 points and five assists per game in both campaigns.
After being traded by the franchise this season to the Atlanta Hawks, it was reported that Williams was considering retiring from the NBA. However, his teammates persuaded him to stay and ended up being instrumental in their unprecedented run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Williams was one of the country's top prospects in high school and was set to play for the University of Georgia. However, listed as the No.3 shooting guard in the nation at the time, he decided to instead declare for the 2005 NBA Draft and was picked up by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round.
#4 Darius Bazley | Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Darius Bazley took an unusual route to get to the NBA but has certainly found his footing. He averaged 13.7 points and seven rebounds per game in his sophomore campaign. The 21-year-old was rated as a five-star recruit and was a member of the West team for the 2018 McDonald's All-American Boys game.
He had indicated that he would play for Syracuse but bypassed college to play in the G-League. That plan was also scrapped as Bazley instead announced he would train on his own for the 2018-19 season and was one of the first players to be named in the 2019 NBA Draft. He was selected 23rd overall by the Utah Jazz but was then traded to OKC via the Memphis Grizzlies.
#3 LaMelo Ball | Charlotte Hornets
2021 Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball is another player on our list who decided to ditch the college route to the NBA and plied his trade abroad instead. Ball joined the Illawara Hawks in the Australian NBL and played one season, averaging 17 points, 7.5 rebounds, seven assists and 1.7 steals per game.
It quickly became apparent that Ball could compete with those much older than himself. However, there was still skepticism with respect to his ability to cope with the step up to the NBA. The Charlotte Hornets took their chance on him with their third pick in the draft and he did not disappoint.
Despite missing part of the campaign through injury, Ball was still able to earn the award for best rookie after putting up 15.7 points, six assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has been touted as a superstar of the future and could help propel the Hornets franchise into the Eastern Conference's elite sides.
They came narrowly close to competing in the playoffs this year and would have done so if not for Ball's and Gordon Hayward's untimely injuries.
#2 Dwight Howard | Philadelphia 76ers
After an illustrious career, Dwight Howard was finally able to lift the Larry O'Brien trophy in the 2020 NBA bubble with the LA Lakers. Before he was seen as a reliable backup big man, Howard dominated the league in the paint. He was drafted 1st overall straight out of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy in 2004 and helped turn around the Orlando Magic's fortunes.
In his eight seasons with the franchise, Howard averaged 18.4 points and 13 rebounds per game. He led them to the Eastern Conference Finals twice and the NBA Finals once where they lost to the LA Lakers in 2009. 'Superman', as he was dubbed during the 2008 slam dunk contest, led the league in rebounds on five occasions, in blocks twice and was Defensive Player of the Year three times.
It wasn't just his rim protection and dominance in the paint that made Howard a future Hall-of-Famer. He is also a scoring center, averaging over 16 points per game throughout his career. Despite not shooting threes aplenty, he has led the NBA in field-goal percentage before and connected with 73% of his efforts in the 2019-20 season.
#1 LeBron James | LA Lakers
The most famous active NBA player to never hit college is LeBron James. In fact, 'The King' is arguably the most famous player in league history to have made the leap from high school.
James was an anomaly from the beginning, receiving outrageous hype for a player who was essentially unproven. Nevertheless, after being drafted by his hometown franchise, the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, James settled into NBA life straight away. He averaged over 20 points a game in his first season and was crowned Rookie of the Year.
He has since won four NBA titles, four NBA Finals MVP awards, and has played in 17 consecutive All-Star games. James' fame goes beyond the league, though. He has his own charity, is one of the leading voices against social justice issues in the USA and has his own entertainment company as well. He certainly didn't need college to achieve all of that.
