The NBA was infused with an abundance of promising talent in the 2021 NBA draft on Thursday.
It was not too long ago that the NBA’s newest brightest stars were dominating at their respective high schools and internationally, though. Long before the college and international stardom that led them to be drafted in the first round, many of Thursday night’s selections were key pieces for prominent high school basketball programs and international clubs.
With this year’s NBA draft in the books, USA Today High School Sports decided to a look at where each first-rounder played either their high school basketball or club overseas.
Let’s get into it.
Cade Cunningham — Montverde Academy (Fla.)
Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Jalen Green — Prolific Prep (Calif.)
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Evan Mobley — Rancho Christian (Calif.)
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Scottie Barnes — Montverde Academy (Fla.)
Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
Jalen Suggs — Minnehaha Academy (Minn.)
Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minnesota) point guard Jalen Suggs (Photo: Carrie Johnson)
Josh Giddey — NBL Adelaide (Australia)
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jonathan Kuminga — The Patrick School (N.J.)
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Franz Wagner — Germany
Syndication: The Indianapolis Star
Davion Mitchell — Liberty County (Ga.)
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Ziaire Williams — Sierra Canyon (Calif.)
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
James Bouknight — MacDuffie School (Mass.)
Joshua Bickel-USA TODAY Sports
Joshua Primo — Royal Crown (Ohio)
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Duarte — Redemption Christian Academy (N.Y.)
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Moses Moody — Montverde Academy (Fla.)
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Corey Kispert — King's School (Wash.)
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Alperen Sengun — Besitkas (Turkey)
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Trey Murphy III — Cary Academy (N.C.)
Alton Strupp-USA TODAY Sports
Tre Mann — Villages Charter School (Fla.)
Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Kai Jones — Brewster Academy (N.H.)
Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Jalen Johnson — Nicolet (Wisc.)
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Keon Johnson — The Webb School (Tenn.)
Syndication: The Tennessean
Isaiah Jackson — Waterford Mott (Mich.)
Arden Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Usman Garuba — Real Madrid (Spain)
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Josh Christopher — Mayfair (Calif.)
Syndication: USA Today
Quentin Grimes — College Park (Texas)
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Bones Hyland — St. Georges Tech (Del.)
Syndication: Wilmington
Cameron Thomas — Oak Hill Academy (Va.)
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Jaden Springer — IMG Academy (Fla.)
Syndication: The Tennessean
Day'Ron Sharpe — Montverde Academy (Fla.)
Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
Santi Aldama — Canterbury Academy (Spain)
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
