ESPN analyst discusses the possibility of players going from the high school straight to the NBA again, as LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, and Amare Stoudemire did successfully in the 1990s and 2000s.
In the past drafts, high school players were also eligible to be selected by the NBA teams. However, starting in the 2006 draft, high school players were not eligible to enter the draft directly after graduating from high school. The rules now state that high school players will gain eligibility for draft selection one year after their high school graduation, and they must also be at least 19 years old as of the end of the calendar year of the draft. Some players have chosen to use that year to play professionally overseas, for example, such as Brandon Jennings (Italy), Emmanuel Mudiay (China), and Terrance Ferguson (Australia).
Any players who are not an “international player” must be at least one year out of the graduation of his high school class for them to qualify for the upcoming draft.
Not many high school players went directly to the NBA draft for almost 20 years after Darryl Dawkins in 1975 because of the exposure of the college games.
| Draft | Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | Nationality | Draft team |
|
1962 | 4 | 29 | Reggie Harding | C | United States | Detroit Pistons |
| 1975 | 1 | 5 | Darryl Dawkins | C | United States | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1975 | 2 | 19 | Bill Willoughby | F/C | United States | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1995 | 1 | 5 | Kevin Garnett | F | United States | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 1996 | 1 | 13 | Kobe Bryant | G | United States | Charlotte Hornets |
| 1996 | 1 | 17 | Jermaine O’Neal | F/C | United States | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1997 | 1 | 9 | Tracy McGrady | F | United States | Toronto Raptors |
| 1998 | 1 | 25 | Al Harrington | F | United States | Indiana Pacers |
| 1998 | 2 | 32 | Rashard Lewis | F | United States | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1998 | 2 | 40 | Korleone Young | F | United States | Detroit Pistons |
| 1999 | 1 | 5 | Jonathan Bender | F | United States | Toronto Raptors |
| 1999 | 1 | 29 | Leon Smith | C | United States | Dallas Mavericks |
| 2000 | 1 | 3 | Darius Miles | F | United States | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2000 | 1 | 23 | DeShawn Stevenson | G | United States | Utah Jazz |
| 2001 | 1 | 1 | Kwame Brown | F | United States | Washington Wizards |
| 2001 | 1 | 2 | Tyson Chandler | C | United States | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2001 | 1 | 4 | Eddy Curry | C | United States | Chicago Bulls |
| 2001 | 1 | 8 | DeSagana Diop | C | Senegal | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2001 | 2 | 46 | Ousmane Cisse | F | Mali | Denver Nuggets |
| 2002 | 1 | 9 | Amar’e Stoudemire | F/C | United States | Phoenix Suns |
| 2003 | 1 | 1 | LeBron James | F | United States | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2003 | 1 | 23 | Travis Outlaw | F | United States | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2003 | 1 | 26 | Ndudi Ebi | F | United Kingdom Nigeria | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2003 | 1 | 27 | Kendrick Perkins | C | United States | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 2003 | 2 | 48 | James Lang | C | United States | New Orleans Hornets |
| 2004 | 1 | 1 | Dwight Howard | F/C | United States | Orlando Magic |
| 2004 | 1 | 4 | Shaun Livingston | G | United States | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2004 | 1 | 12 | Robert Swift | C | United States | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 2004 | 1 | 13 | Sebastian Telfair | G | United States | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2004 | 1 | 15 | Al Jefferson | F | United States | Boston Celtics |
| 2004 | 1 | 17 | Josh Smith | F | United States | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2004 | 1 | 18 | J. R. Smith | G | United States | New Orleans Hornets |
| 2004 | 1 | 19 | Dorell Wright | G/F | United States | Miami Heat |
| 2005 | 1 | 6 | Martell Webster | G/F | United States | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2005 | 1 | 10 | Andrew Bynum | C | United States | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2005 | 1 | 18 | Gerald Green | F | United States | Boston Celtics |
| 2005 | 2 | 34 | C. J. Miles | G | United States | UtahJazz |
| 2005 | 2 | 35 | Ricky Sánchez | F | Puerto Rico | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2005 | 2 | 40 | Monta Ellis | G | United States | Golden State Warriors |
| 2005 | 2 | 45 | Louis Williams | G | United States | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2005 | 2 | 49 | Andray Blatche | F |
United States Philippines | Washington Wizards |
| 2005 | 2 | 56 | Amir Johnson | F | United States | Detroit Pistons |
| 2015 | 2 | 52 | Satnam Singh | C | India | Dallas Mavericks |
| 2016 | 1 | 10 | Thon Maker | F/C |
Sudan South Sudan Australia | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 2018 | 1 | 24 | Anfernee Simons | G | United States | Portland Trail Blazers |
