Reggie Harding was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the fourth round of the 1962 NBA Draft. He became the first player drafted into the NBA straight from high school[1] although he did not enter the NBA until the 1963–64 season.[2] In four NBA seasons with the Pistons and Chicago Bulls, Harding averaged 9.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
In the 1975 NBA Draft when the Philadelphia 76ers drafted forward/center Darryl Dawkins 
with the fifth pick out of Maynard Evans High School in Orlando, Florida, he became one of the first players to jump from high school to the pros. Dawkins was a controversial player; most widely noted for his backboard shattering slam dunks, his eccentric nature, and his physical play. He (along with Julius Erving) led the 76ers to the NBA Finals in 1977 (succumbing to the Portland Trail Blazers in six games). However his career soon stagnated, and Dawkins never enjoyed the level of NBA success that many envisioned he would.
Another high-schooler, selected in the second round of the 1975 NBA Draft, was Bill Willoughby, 
who was taken by Atlanta Hawks. He went on to play in the league for several years, though never was more than a journeyman player.
The most prominent high-schooler to play in the NBA prior to the 1990s was Moses Malone. 
Malone was hired by the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association in 1974 and played with the Stars and the Spirits of St. Louis until the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. Malone was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1976 ABA Dispersal Draft but traded to the Buffalo Braves, and then sent to the Houston Rockets. In Houston he was the league MVP in 1979, and led the Rockets to the Finals in 1981 (where they lost to the Boston Celtics). He was also MVP in 1982.
In the 1982 off-season, Malone was traded to the 76ers. He was acquired as a replacement for Darryl Dawkins, whom the Sixers had become disenchanted with (and shipped off to the New Jersey Nets that same offseason). The trade was a wise one for Philadelphia, as Malone (along with Dr. J, Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Toney) won the NBA title the following summer, sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. Malone played for 12 more seasons, retiring in 1995; and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.
After Dawkins, no high schoolers went to the NBA for twenty years, though several players (such as Lloyd Daniels
and
Shawn Kemp) 
were selected who had enrolled in college but never played in a college game. Kemp was by far the most successful of these; he was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in 1989 and would later lead them to the 1996 Finals (where they would lose to the Chicago Bulls).
In 1995, Kevin Garnett
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. On draft day, Garnett was selected with the #5 pick in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Garnett led the Timberwolves to eight consecutive playoff berths and was a multiple All-Star during his time with the team. In 2004, the Wolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals before losing to the Lakers; Garnett was named Most Valuable Player that year. After a trade in the 2007 offseason to the Boston Celtics, he was a core player in the Celtics' first NBA title in over 20 years.
In 1996, two notable players made the jump from high school to the NBA. The first was Kobe Bryant,
selected by the Charlotte Hornets and traded almost immediately to the Los Angeles Lakers;
the second was Jermaine O'Neal, 
selected by the Trail Blazers (and traded in 2000 to the Indiana Pacers and later to the Miami Heat).
In 1997, another All-Star caliber player, Tracy McGrady,
was selected by the Toronto Raptors.
In 1998, three high-schoolers were drafted with Al Harrington 
and
Rashard Lewis 
experiencing the most success.
Darius Miles 
became the highest high school player selected with the third pick in the 2000, until the following year.
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 
and
Shaun Livingston (2004); 
and
Andrew Bynum (2005).
In 2005, the NBA and the players' union agreed upon a new collective bargaining agreement, which requires that:
- The minimum age for entry into the NBA is 19; players must have their nineteenth (or later) birthday in the calendar year of the draft in order to be eligible;
- Players who completed basketball eligibility at a U.S. high school, regardless of their nationality, must be at least one year removed from high school.
The terms of the new agreement essentially ended the practice of drafting high school players, starting in the 2006 NBA Draft. The rules did not apply to the 2005 NBA Draft, and several high schoolers were selected, including Martell Webster,
Ricky Sánchez,
and
Amir Johnson, 
who became the last players in NBA history to be drafted straight out of high school.
Now a new trend of players are called one and done...
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