If you took 10,000 high school basketball players in America today, just three of them would make it to the NBA. That’s just 0.03%. Many of them even had to rise above circumstances that further affected their odds.
Like LeBron James, who was in and out of apartments with his single mother, went from unknown to earning $90 million from Nike all before 18.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was pushing DVDs in the streets of Greece, found his way to the states and eventually became the youngest MVP since Derrick Rose.
And Jimmy Butler, who was literally homeless, became a franchise cornerstone.
Not to say these journeys were easy – because they weren’t. But you’ve heard of these stories before. Yet none of their journeys were as strange as the paths taken by 3 players we don’t usually talk about.
One man said no to professional money to play for the NCAA, then was banned anyway. Another man who couldn’t get a decent score on the SAT to save his life. And finally a man who actually took a grad year…in high school.
It’s two players and… Enes Kanter.
The Turkish center with who’s made his name bullying guys on the boards had an interesting path to the league.
He started his career at Fenerbahce at the ripe old age of 16. For those of you unfamiliar with this, uh, basketball powerhouse, it’s a professional team in Turkey that has actually employed names like Bogdan Bogdanovic and Thabo Sefolosha.
Young Enes actually refused a professional contract from the Turkish team, because he had his eye set on college ball in the states. And his name was certainly garnering interest overseas.
When Kanter broke Dirk Nowitzki’s point record at Nike Hoop Summit in 1998, scouts were spellbound. The big man verbally committed to Washington, but things fell through because few good players at the time purposely joined the Huskies, and he signed a letter of intent to Kentucky.
Big Blue Natio plus Enes Kanter equals a national title…or so everyone thought. Kanter might not be the greatest NBA player in history, but he was projected to be dominant at the collegiate level. Imagine Jahill Okafor, but better. That was the level of expectations people had for Kanter.
However, because Kanter made millions playing for Fenerbahce, the NCAA deemed him ineligible to play for Kentucky. If we know anything about the governing body of college sports, it likes its labor to go unpaid.
Kanter was forced to sit out his freshman season and watch the Wildcats go to the Final Four.
His ineligibility did not hurt his draft stock. Kanter was drafted third overall in 2011 NBA Draft, and carved out a solid career.
Not bad for a kid from Turkey who was banned from playing college basketball.
Digressing to another NBA talent now.
We know Shawn Kemp now as a high flying, six time All-Star who helped put Seattle on the basketball map. While the man could rock rims with the best of them, he wasn’t so hot at tests. Specifically, the SAT.
Kemp was all set to go play his one year of college ball at the University of Kentucky in 1988. However, he failed to score a 700 on the SAT, meaning he was not eligible to play NCAA basketball.
Before you feel too bad for Kemp, it was impossible to score anything less than 400 if you signed your name on the test back then and answered at least one question – or, so at least that’s how the legend goes.
Who knows if that was even true, but it’s been a trope in so early 90s movies and TV shows, we might as well accept it as fact.
So maybe he could’ve used a little more schooling.
Regardless, since he didn’t Derrick Rose the situation, Kemp could not play for Kentucky. After being accused of stealing two gold chains from a teammate, Kemp left to a community college and declared for the 1989 draft, where he was drafted 17th overall.
Despite never playing for a big boy college basketball program, Kemp had himself a nifty basketball career, as well as an active social life off it.
And our last NBA talent now.
Thon Maker might have the most controversial path to the league in recent history. After being discovered in Sudan playing soccer, Maker went to Sydney to hone his craft before ending up in Louisiana, then Virginia. There, he enrolled at Carlisle School, where he played his first two years of high school ball.
Maker would move to Ontario and play his Jr. and Sr. seasons at Orangeville District Secondary School. In 2015, he would reclassify for the draft class.
However, Maker would return to Orangeville in 2015-16, and play for a third year on their team.
When the time came to choose a college, Maker surprised everyone by claiming he would declare for the draft. He was able to convince the NBA that his last year in high school had essentially been as a grad student, and he had done the required gap year to satisfy the one and done rule.
Using the loophole, Maker became the first player to go straight from high school to the NBA since 2005.
At the time, oddly enough, there were whispers that Maker was far older than he claimed to be; though those sort of things happen often during draft season, especially – and unfortunately – to those who call another country home.
Kemp and Kanter have produced solid careers. Maker never lived up to the hype. It’s probable we never see these paths to the NBA replicated.
But there will always be guys heading to the league with no college experience.
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