NBA Stars Then and Now: What Did Famous Hoopsters Look Like as Kids?

Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley weren’t even 6 feet tall when they kicked off their respective high-school basketball careers. Anthony Davis started his as a 6-foot guard, and his team went 8-15 his junior season.

Larry Bird was 6 feet, 1 inch tall as a high-school freshman. And they had to talk him into pursuing a basketball career. Young James Harden never averaged more than 20 points per game in high school. Victor Oladipo averaged just 11.

9 points per game his senior year. All that is to say a lot can happen in high school. So are you worried you or your offspring might not have a future in the NBA?

Perhaps this accounting of NBA stars past and present in their younger days will offer some encouragement.

Bill Walton

The big man led Helix High School to consecutive California Interscholastic Federation titles and a 49-game winning streak.

“I was a skinny, scrawny guy,” Walton recalled to ESPN. “I stuttered horrendously, couldn’t speak at all. I was a very shy, reserved player and a very shy, reserved person.

I found a safe place in life in basketball.”

Magic Johnson

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Earvin Johnson earned the name Magic when he was 15 years old; he dropped a triple-double of 36 points, 18 rebounds, and 16 assists as a sophomore at Everett High School in Michigan.

In his senior season, he led the squad to a 27-1 record, culminating in an overtime win in the state championship game.

Kyrie Irving

As a sophomore, Irving led Montclair Kimberley Academy to its first New Jersey Prep ‘B’ state title. A year later, he transferred to New Jersey’s St. Patrick High School and took them to the New Jersey Tournament of Champions title.

I’m going out on a limb here, but he probably failed geography.

Larry Bird

Larry Legend was just 6’1″ as a freshman, but shot up to 6’8″ by his senior year, when he averaged 31 points, 21 rebounds, and four assists for Springs Valley High School in Indiana.

Still, he had to be convinced by a pair of Indiana State University assistant coaches to pursue college basketball. “I thought I might do construction work. It’s hard work. It’s tough work. But I like that.

I always figured if things didn’t work out, I’d go into construction,” Bird said in 2015. “Thank God that didn’t happen.”