Drafting players right out of high school was all but unheard of in the NBA until the mid-1970s and after two players were chosen in 1975, the tap shut off until 1995. It remained until 2006, when the league and its players union negotiated a new minimum-age standard for the draft.
That could be changing. According to Jeff Ziligitt of USA Today, the NBA has submitted a formal proposal to the National Basketball Players Association that would lower the age limit back to 18 from 19.
It’s time.
Including the unique case of Reggie Harding, who was selected by the Detroit Pistons in 1962 after graduating from a Detroit high school, there were 42 players selected directly out of high school, with 39 of those coming in that 1995-2005 window.