<P> In 2001, Kwame Brown (selected by the Washington Wizards) became the first high - schooler to be selected with the number one pick in the draft; since then, LeBron James (2003) and Dwight Howard (2004) have also been selected with the first pick . Other notable high - schoolers include Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry (2001); Amar'e Stoudemire (2002); Josh Smith, Sebastian Telfair, J.R. Smith, and Shaun Livingston (2004); Andrew Bynum and Monta Ellis (2005). </P> <P> Many prep - to - pro players like Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Tracy Mcgrady went on to become star players in the NBA . Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James have all won the league's MVP Award; as well as holding at least one NBA title under their belt, and are widely regarded as future Hall - of - Famers . Dwight Howard, Jermaine O'Neal and Amar'e Stoudemire also became perennial All - Stars in their prime . However, not all high - schoolers were successful . Kwame Brown and Eddy Curry are widely regarded as draft busts, while Jonathan Bender and Darius Miles had their careers cut short by injury . Korleone Young (drafted in 1998) and Leon Smith (drafted in 1999) only played a handful of games in the NBA, while Lenny Cooke and DeAngelo Collins, both of whom declared for the 2002 Draft, went undrafted and never played in the NBA . </P> <P> Beginning 2005, both the NBA and the players' union started to discuss the possibility of implementing a new age limit . The league lobbied for an age minimum of 20 while the union was against an age limit . 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 . For the first time, teams are also allowed to send players, with two years of NBA experience or less, to the NBA Development League (NBA D - League). </P> <P> The terms of the new agreement ended the practice of drafting high school players, starting in the 2006 Draft . A high school player must wait at least a year to be eligible for selection . However, they are not required to spend that year in college . In 2008, high school star Brandon Jennings decided to skip college and play professional basketball in Italy . After a year, he was eligible for the 2009 draft and was selected 10th by the Milwaukee Bucks . In the 2010 draft, Latavious Williams, who did not qualify academically to go to college, spent a year playing in the NBA D - League before he was drafted in the second round . Emmanuel Mudiay decided to take a route similar to that of Brandon Jennings by skipping college to play professionally in China in 2014 before being selected by the Denver Nuggets at pick 7 a year later . In the 2015 draft, Satnam Singh Bhamara, who did not qualify academically to go to college, went straight to the NBA draft as a post-graduate after being at IMG Academy for five years . He would be taken by the Dallas Mavericks with the 52nd pick in the draft, thus becoming the first high school student to be drafted since the rule changes . In the 2016 draft, one of the Top--10 players that was declared eligible for NCAA play in 2016, Thon Maker, decided to enter the draft instead as a post-graduate from Orangeville Prep in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada due to him originally declaring himself as eligible for college in 2015 . Thon would also mark the first player to be drafted directly from a Canadian high school, as well as the second player to enter as a post-graduate . He'd also be the first high schooler to be drafted in the first round since 2005, being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the tenth pick in the draft, thus becoming the first high school lottery pick since 2005 . Most recently, in the 2018 draft, both Anfernee Simons and Thon's brother, Matur Maker, are also looking to be drafted in the NBA, with Simons being a postgraduate and Maker's decision relating to him being held back a year . </P>

Last player to come out of high school to the nba