NBA high school draftees

[7] In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court decision Haywood v. National Basketball Association ruled against the NBA's requirement that a player must wait four years after high school graduation (which in most cases was spent playing in college) before turning professional.

[10][11] Moses Malone was the first to play professionally directly out of high school in 1974, though with an ABA team before the merger of that association with the NBA.

Two high school players, Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby, applied for hardship and were declared eligible for the 1975 draft.

[13][14][15] After Dawkins and Willoughby, no high schoolers were drafted for 14 years, though several players entered the league without playing college basketball.

[17] In 1995, Kevin Garnett, USA Today's high school basketball player of the year, announced his intentions to forgo college, and declared himself eligible for the 1995 NBA draft.

The move was highly controversial; the conventional wisdom at the time was that high-schoolers were neither emotionally nor physically mature enough for the rigors of the NBA game.

In 2004, the Wolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Lakers; Garnett was named Most Valuable Player that year.

The first was Kobe Bryant, selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th pick of the NBA draft, but traded almost immediately to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Further into the 2000s, draftees out of high school who would see success in the NBA included Tyson Chandler in 2001, Amar'e Stoudemire in 2002, LeBron James and Kendrick Perkins in 2003, Dwight Howard and Shaun Livingston in 2004, and Andrew Bynum in 2005.

[18] Finally in July 2005, both sides compromised in the new collective bargaining agreement, requiring that the minimum age for entry into the NBA be 19 and that entrants be at least one year removed from high school.

"[20] Former Florida Gators and current Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan believed that the rule made high schoolers feel like they were being punished.

^ 2: Andray Blatche was born and raised in Syracuse, New York and holds American nationality, but he had become a naturalized Filipino since June 2014 and has officially represented the Philippines since.

Critics say that high school players are not mentally and physically mature or prepared enough to handle the pressure of professional play; thus, they are less likely to develop properly and reach their potential.

[15][66] Instead, they believe that colleges are useful at filtering out players who can dominate against weak competition in high school, but cannot succeed at a higher level of play.

Universities are wary of spending time recruiting, as many players are financially motivated to turn pro fresh out of high school.

A man, wearing a green jersey with a word "BOSTON" and the number "5" written in the front, is standing in front of the crowd.
Kevin Garnett 's high-profile migration from high school to the NBA in 1995 prompted many high schoolers to follow in his footsteps
A man, wearing a purple jersey with a word "LAKERS" and the number "24" written in the front, is standing in front of the crowd.
Kobe Bryant was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996 .
A man, wearing a red jersey with a word "MIAMI" and the number "7" written in the front, is walking on a basketball court.
Jermaine O'Neal was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1996 .
A man, wearing a white jersey with a word "ROCKETS" and the number "1" written in the front, is walking on a basketball court.
Tracy McGrady was selected by the Toronto Raptors in 1997 .
A man wearing a purple jersey with a word "PHOENIX" written in the front, is holding a basketball.
Amar'e Stoudemire was selected by the Phoenix Suns in 2002 .
LeBron James was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003 .
A man, wearing a blue jersey with a word "ORLANDO" and the number "12" written in the front, is standing in front of the crowd.
Dwight Howard was selected by the Orlando Magic in 2004 .