10 Greatest NBA Players Straight Outta High School
2. Kobe Bryant
Truth in Numbers: 25 PTS / 5.2 REB / 4.7 AST / 22.9 PER / 18x All-Star / 15x All-NBA / 12x All-Defense / 1x MVP / 5x Champion
-Hall of Fame Class of 2020-
No list of high school phenoms is complete without the late Kobe Bryant. In the conversation for best players of all time, the Black Mamba was taken out of Lower Meridian High School in the 1996 NBA Draft. As part of an agreed upon trade, Charlotte used their 13th pick to draft Kobe for the Los Angeles Lakers. He'd spend the next 20 years becoming a Laker legend.
The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant teamed up with Shaquille O'Neal to form possibly the most potent duo of all time. As a rookie he won the '97 Slam Dunk contest, then went to 8 straight playoff appearances and won 3 straight titles. After Shaq left, Kobe became the unquestioned alpha dog leading the league in scoring between 2005-2007, including a career high (and 2nd all-time) 81 points scored vs Toronto.
Although there were many rumors and possibilities for Bryant to leave the Lakers, he'd end up spending his entire career in LA. He captured two more titles once Pau Gasol joined the team. And, after scoring 60 points in his final game, Kobe Bryant retired in 2016.