It’s even harder to argue Dwight hasn’t gotten his money’s worth in terms of actual money, with nearly $200 million in salary so far. (In 2009-10, Howard led the NBA in rebounds per game, blocks per game and field goal percentage.) But it’s hard to argue the Orlando Magic, his original franchise, didn’t get their money’s worth-he made five All-NBA 1 st Teams for them and won Defensive Player of the Year three straight times before moving on. He has played for five teams and never won a title. Take Dwight Howard, the #1 overall pick in 2004. Granted, some high school players haven’t fully lived up to the expectations placed on them. McGrady’s already in the Hall of Fame and the other three will soon join him there. And in 2003 along came arguably the greatest of all the high schoolers, King James. In 1995, Kevin Garnett declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft and became the fifth overall selection by the Timberwolves. Then a wave of high school kids hit the NBA and did just fine. Players instead put in at least some time in college, with stars like Isiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons version, not the Laker model) turning pro after two years and Michael Jordan sticking around for three.
Still, it was generally accepted that high school players didn’t have the size or maturity to handle the pros. Moses Malone then took advantage of the opening when he went straight from high school to the pros. Spencer Haywood successfully challenged the entry restriction, winning his case before the Supreme Court in 1971. (The NFL’s dangerous enough for those who are undeniably full-grown.) With the size and speed of these athletes, this makes a lot of sense. The NFL states “players must have been out of high school for at least three years and must have used up their college eligibility before the start of the next college football season.” As a result, finding a rookie as young as 20 in the NFL is a rarity. (The Bambino’s equally legendary teammate Lou Gehrig enrolled at Columbia.) But in general, it’s recognized an athlete has finite time to compete-and, equally important, to earn-so they should devote themselves to their sport as soon as possible.Īmerican football and basketball are different. Jose Altuve/Bryce Harper, Sidney Crosby/Alexander Ovechkin, Lionel Messi/Cristiano Ronaldo, Gennady Golovkin/Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor/Cris Cyborg all embraced-out of choice or necessity-a life far from any campus. This continues to be the case among the elites in baseball, hockey, soccer and boxing (now combat sports in general). They may be the greatest ever at their respective sports. (Ali certainly thought so.) What do Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky, Diego Maradona and Muhammad Ali have in common?
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