10 Greatest NBA Players Straight Outta High School
8. Jermaine O'Neal
Truth in Numbers: 13.2 PTS / 7.2 REB / 1.4 AST / 17.9 PER / 6x All-Star / 3x All-NBA / '01-'02 MIP
A member of the legendary 1996 NBA draft, Jermaine O'Neal was taken 17th overall by the Portland Trailblazers. He joined an already formidable front-court featuring Arvydas Sabonis and Rasheed Wallace. He held the title of youngest to ever play an NBA game until Andrew Bynum's rookie year.
In 2000, O'Neal was traded to the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers. He was joining a vastly different team though, with a new point guard, new coach, and here he was replacing an all-star center. O'Neal put up a 13 pts and 10 reb average and set the franchise record for blocks in a season. He won the 2001-2002 "Most Improved Player" award and was named to the next 3-All NBA teams while going to 6 consecutive all-star games.
While his teams qualified for 14 playoff appearances, his best chance at a Finals was derailed by 2004's "Malice at the Palace" brawl. O'Neal might have had the worst timing of any career. He was drafted by the Blazers the year after their Finals appearance, left the Heat before LeBron came, joined the Celtics the year after their Finals loss, and retired from the Warriors before their dynasty run.