By Back in the day, players were drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) only after they have completed four years of college and in case they don’t pursue a college degree they still have to wait for years to pass by. However, in the 1970s, NBA administrations made a new rule and allowed high school graduates the selection of the NBA draft.
Hence, we got to witness many young talented players joining the league. Since 2005, an age bar has been decided, in which a player who is 19 years of age can be named eligible for the NBA draft. However, if he turns nineteen before he completes high school, he must wait for at least a year so that he can be eligible for the NBA draft.
So, we’ve compiled a list of the youngest players who debuted in the league before 2005. These players were only a part of high school basketball before landing for an NBA squad.
Here, the 6 youngest NBA players to have ever played are:
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Andrew Bynum
Born: October 27, 1987 (age 35)
Height: 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Position: Center
Age at NBA Debut: 18 years, 6 days
Date of First Game: November 2, 2005
First Squad: Los Angeles Lakers
Andrew Bynum became the youngest player to ever play in the NBA in a match against the Denver Nuggets during the Lakers’ season opener on November 2, 2005. He played for only six minutes when he was 18 years, and 6 days. During his career, he was a two-time NBA champion in 2009 and 2010, won an NBA All-Star in 2012, he also won an All-NBA Second Team in 2012, and won McDonald’s All-American in 2005.
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Jermaine O’Neal
Born: October 13, 1978 (age 44)
Height: 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Position: Center / Power forward
Age at NBA Debut: 18 years, 1 month, 23 days
Date of First Game: December 5, 1996
First Squad: Portland Trail Blazers
Jermaine O’Neal is an American retired pro basketball player who played as a center–power forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA). O’Neal had a prosperous high school career and proclaimed his eligibility for the 1996 NBA draft right after high school.
At just 17 years old, he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers as the seventeenth overall choice and played his first pro game at the age of 18. He was the youngest basketball player to ever play in the NBA during that time.
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Jim Browne
Born: October 3, 1930
Died: April 23, 2003 (aged 72)
Height: 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Position: Center
Age at NBA Debut: 18 years, 1 month, 27 days
Date of First Game: November 30, 1948
First Squad: Chicago Stags
Jim Browne was an American pro basketball player. He had a very brief NBA career. Browne played for the now-defunct Chicago Stags (1948–49) and Denver Nuggets (1949–50) for a total of 35 games. He was known as the youngest player in NBA history but that title was seized by Jermaine O’Neal.
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Kobe Bryant
Born: August 23, 1978
Died: January 26, 2020 (aged 41)
Height: 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Position: Shooting guard
Age at NBA Debut: 18 years, 2 months, 11 days
Date of First Game: November 3, 1996
First Squad: Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant played his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career for the Los Angeles Lakers as a shooting guard. Bryant is highly considered one of the greatest players of all time and is also one of the youngest players to ever play in the NBA game.
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Darko Miličić
Born: June 20, 1985 (age 37)
Height: 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Position: Center
Age at NBA Debut: 18 years, 4 months, 11 days
Date of First Game: October 31, 2003
First Squad: Detroit Pistons
Darko Milicic is a Serbian retired pro basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2003 to 2013. The 7-foot center is the 5th youngest player to have ever played in the NBA.
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Stan Brown
Born: June 27, 1929
Died: August 2, 2009 (aged 80)
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Position: Forward
Age at NBA Debut: 18 years, 4 months, 17 days
Date of First Game: November 13, 1947
First Squad: Philadelphia Sphas
Stan Brown was an American professional basketball player who played his first professional game at the age of 18 years, 4 months, and 17 days, making him the sixth youngest player to have ever played in the league.
He previously kept the record for the youngest player to appear in the NBA/BAA for nearly five decades before the record was smashed by Kobe Bryant in 1996.
Who were the Youngest Players to win NBA Championship? Let’s check it out!
