Hometown heroes: NBA players on teams in their home state

There's nothing like homegrown talent, and NBA teams have their fair share. It must be a thrill for players to sign a professional contract in the city where they spent their prep days, and play in front of fans who have been familiar with them for years.

There are 20 NBA players who currently play in the same state in which they went to high school — eight in the same city.

The winner for proximity is Channing Frye who, before being forced to sit the season out due to a heart condition, played his home games with the Phoenix Suns just 2.5 miles from his high school.

A select few have even completed the trifecta of playing high school, college and NBA basketball in the same state.



Being in the same state doesn't necessarily reflect proximity, however. For example, Klay Thompson plays for the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Calif., and he went to high school in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. — but the two are a vast 419 miles apart.

In contrast, Tyshawn Taylor of the Brooklyn Nets went to school at St. Anthony in New Jersey, which is just six miles from Barclays Center.

Let's take a look at the NBA players who play for teams in the same state where they went to high school. Next to the player's high school is the distance, in miles, from the NBA team's home arena.

*For the Nets and the Knicks we listed players from the Tri-State Area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Brooklyn Nets
Andray Blatche, Henninger (Syracuse) - 251 miles, then South Kent School (Conn.) - 87 miles
Tyshawn Taylor, St. Anthony (Jersey City) - six miles

New York Knicks
J.R. Smith, Lakewood (N.J.) - 68 miles, then St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.) - 14 miles
Marcus Camby, Conard (West Hartford, Conn.) - 114 miles, then Hartford Public (Conn.) - 119 miles; also attended University of Hartford - 121 miles



Philadelphia 76ers
Lavoy Allen, Pennsbury (Fairless Hills) - 29 miles; also attended Temple University (Philadelphia) - six miles
Andrew Bynum, Solebury (New Hope) - 45 miles, then St. Joseph (Metuchen, N.J.) - 76 miles

Chicago Bulls
Derrick Rose, Simeon (Chicago) - 12 miles
Nazr Mohammed, Kenwood (Chicago) - 9.5 miles

Indiana Pacers
George Hill, Broad Ripple (Indianapolis) - nine miles; also attended IUPUI - two miles

Atlanta Hawks
Josh Smith, McEachern (Powder Springs) - 25 miles, then Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) - 356 miles
Louis Williams, South Gwinnett (Snellville) - 30 miles

Charlotte Bobcats
Brendan Haywood, Dudley (Greensboro) - 94 miles; also attended University of North Carolina - 140 miles

Miami Heat
Udonis Haslem, Wolfson (Jacksonville) - 338 miles, then Miami - 4 miles; also attended University of Florida - 336 miles
James Jones, American (Hialeah) - 18 miles; also attended University of Miami - nine miles



Golden State Warriors
Festus Ezeli, Jesuit (Carmichael) (did not play) - 97 miles
Klay Thompson, Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) - 419 miles

Los Angeles Clippers
Matt Barnes, Del Campo (Fair Oaks) - 401 miles; also attended UCLA - 14 miles
Ryan Hollins, Muir (Pasadena) - 14 miles; also attended UCLA - 14 miles

Los Angeles Lakers
Darius Morris, Windward (Los Angeles) - 10 miles

Phoenix Suns
Channing Frye, St. Mary's (Phoenix) - 2.5 miles; also attended University of Arizona - 114 miles

Sacramento Kings
Chuck Hayes, Modesto Christian - 75 miles

Memphis Grizzlies
Marc Gasol, Lausanne Collegiate (Memphis) - 19.3 miles



Oklahoma City Thunder
Daniel Orton, Bishop McGuinness (Oklahoma City) - five miles