<P> After the decision, the NBA allowed players to leave college early as "hardship cases", which essentially meant that the player had to prove financial hardship . This rule quickly developed into one that was observed in the breach, with Sport magazine writer Jackie Lapin commenting in the 1970s that "Almost anyone who has been any good at the game in the past decade would qualify (as a hardship case)--with the probable exception of Bill Bradley, the banker's son ." </P> <P> As a consequence of the aforementioned Haywood decision, and following soon after, three high schoolers chose to enter the professional ranks without ever enrolling in a college . The first was Moses Malone, who went to the ABA upon his high school graduation in 1974, almost immediately establishing himself as a star of the future . After the ABA--NBA merger in 1976, his career continued on its upward trajectory, ultimately earning him three NBA MVP awards, four appearances on the All - NBA First Team, 12 consecutive NBA All - Star Game appearances, an NBA title, a place among the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . In 1975, Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby both went to the NBA from high school . Dawkins had a solid 14 - year career in the NBA, while Willoughby was no more than a journeyman in eight NBA seasons . </P> <P> These players were greatly outnumbered by college underclassmen who chose to leave early for the NBA . While underclass draftees are too numerous to list, it can be noted that among the aforementioned 50 Greatest Players, 10 (not including Malone) left college early for the NBA . </P> <P> After Dawkins and Willoughby, no high school player went directly to the NBA for 20 years, although Lloyd Daniels and Shawn Kemp went to the NBA without having played college basketball (both had enrolled in college, but never played). That would change in 1995 with the arrival of future NBA MVP Kevin Garnett, who was selected fifth overall . The following year, another future MVP in Kobe Bryant and a future All - Star in Jermaine O'Neal were first - round picks out of high school . Most years after that saw at least one, and often more, high schoolers drafted, most notably Tracy McGrady (1997), Kwame Brown (the first high schooler to be the #1 overall pick, in 2001), Amar'e Stoudemire (2002), LeBron James (#1 in 2003), and Dwight Howard (#1 in 2004). </P>

What year did the one and done rule start