Video: LeBron James High School Highlights 'The King' had the most productive high school career of any No. 1 overall draft pick.
From the overall No. 1 picks of the NBA Draft since 1990, only two have reached the sports' pinnacle, the Hall of Fame — Shaquille O'Neal (Magic, 1992) and Allen Iverson (76ers, 1996).
Many others such as LeBron James (Cavaliers, 2003) and Tim Duncan (Spurs, 1997) will surely be selected upon their first year of eligibility for their dominance in the world's greatest basketball league.
But who of those top picks was the most dominant in the high school landscape?
From the list of 29 over that span, we took a stab at the Top 10 players with an emphasis on leading their high school teams to state titles and national rankings, while garnering post-season awards.
The hardest to leave off this list was
Karl-Anthony Towns, the 2014 national Gatorade Athlete of the Year, who led
St. Joseph (Metuchen, N.J.) to a 30-2 record and NJSIAA TOC championship. He averaged 20.9 points, 13.4 rebounds and 6.2 blocks per game. The other three seasons, the Falcons reached the state semifinals.
The projected No. 1 pick for Thursday's NBA Draft,
Zion Williamson, would surely make next year's list after leading
Spartanburg Day (Spartanburg, S.C.) to three straight state titles while averaging 32 points and 11.3 rebounds during his career.
Again, the list is based on high school accomplishments only for No. 1 NBA draft selections overall, 1990-2018.
10. Blake Griffin, Oklahoma Christian Academy (Edmond, Okla.), Class of 2007The perennial NBA All-Star dominated Oklahoma basketball like no other, leading the Saints to four straight state titles, including his senior season when he averaged 26.8 points, 15.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.9 blocks per game. During his four-year run, the Saints went 106-6. The McDonald's All-American won the slam dunk contest.
As a freshman and sophomore at Montclair, he averaged a staggering 26.5 points, 10.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 steals while becoming the school's second 1,000-point career scorer. With two seasons remaining, he transferred to national power Patrick School, where the team won its third New Jersey Tournament of Champions title in four years. The following year, 24-3 Patrick School was banned from the state tourney for an illegal practice, but Irving averaged 24.0 points, 7.0 assists and 5.0 steals per game. He was a first-team MaxPreps All-American.
Kyrie Irving starred at two high schools in New Jersey.
File photo by Louis Lopez
Before becoming a member of Michigan's Fab 5, Webber led the Yellowjackets to three MHSAA state titles. He averaged 29.4 points and 13 rebounds per game as a senior, earned both state and national Player of the Year awards and was the MVP of the McDonald's All-American Game.
7. Derrick Rose, Simeon (Chicago), Class of 2007The much-ballyhooed point guard led the famed Wolverines' program to a 120-12 record throughout his career. The two straight state championships in the highly competitive state marked the first time a Chicago Public League school had ever done so. A first-team MaxPreps All-American, he averaged 18.4 points, 7.0 assists and 6.2 rebounds his senior season.
6. Dwight Howard, Southwest Atlanta Christian (Atlanta, Ga.), Class of 2004Widely regarded as the best player in the country his senior season, Howard averaged 25 points, 18 rebounds, 8.1 blocks and 3.5 assists per game, leading the Warriors to a 31-2 record and a state title. He won the Naismith, Wootten and Gatorade National Player of the Year Awards. He also won the co-MVP award in the McDonald's All-American Game. For his career, he averaged 16.6 points, 13.4 rebounds and 6.3 blocks per game.
5. Elton Brand, Peekskill (N.Y.), Class of 1997Playing against and alongside (on AAU teams) future NBA stars Lamar Odom and Ron Artest, Brand was the cult hero of the state and earned New York State Mr. Basketball honors twice while leading Peekskill to two state championships. According to several sources, he averaged 40 points and 20 rebounds per game his senior season.
4. Shaquille O'Neal, Cole (San Antonio), Class of 1989The NBA Hall of Famer and four-time NBA champion led the Cougars to a 68-1 record in his two seasons and a state title his senior year. He was the McDonald's All-American MVP in 1989 and still owns the Texas state record with 791 rebounds his senior year at Cole, which went 36-0 that season. O'Neal averaged 32 points, 26 rebounds and eight blocks per game that season.
3. Greg Oden, Lawrence North (Indianapolis), Class of 2006In the famed Hoosier state, Oden was considered one of the greatest prep players ever, leading the Wildcats to three straight 4A state titles. The dominating 7-foot post was the first MaxPreps national Player of the Year, an award he claimed also from Parade Magazine and Gatorade. He and prep teammate Mike Conley Jr. made up one of the great duos in prep basketball history, and each signed on at Ohio State. He averaged 22 points and 10.5 rebounds per game during his prep career.
The Australia native, where his father played, Simmons moved to the U.S. his sophomore season, immediately leading Montverde to 27-2 record and championship of the National High School Invitational. Over the next two seasons, the Eagles went 59-1 and won the 2015 MaxPreps national title, when Simmons was the easy pick as National Player of the Year. He averaged 27.1 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game as a senior.
He's not called The King by accident. The pressures placed upon James were enormous. He was tabbed "The Chosen One," while donning the cover of Sports Illustrated his junior season, but delivered at every pivot. James led the Fighting Irish to three state titles and earning first-team All-American honors three times, including his senior season when he averaged 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.4 steals per game. He helped catapult the prep game to a national spotlight with St. Vincent appearing regularly on national TV. He won the McDonald's All-American MVP award and the slam dunk contest, and was the Gatorade National Athlete of the Year before immediately jumping to the NBA without stepping onto a college arena. His Fighting Irish teams went a combined 101-6 during his four-year career, which featured his 2,657 points, 892 rebounds and 523 assists.
Ben Simmons was the 2015 MaxPreps National Player of the Year.
File photo by Andrew Bershaw
