Kevin Durant, shown here at the 2009 Jordan Brand Classic (center), started to flash star potential as a senior at Montrose Christian.
Photo by Danny Wild
The NBA Finals matchup between the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder has been approached from every angle since the Heat knocked out the Celtics on Saturday night.
In advance of the series opener tonight in Oklahoma City, MaxPreps provides the final breakdown by looking back and ranking the high school careers of every player on each roster.
With LeBron James, Chris Bosh, seldom-used Eddy Curry and Shane Battier on the roster, the Heat own a big advantage over the Thunder when it comes to employing high school stars.
Ranking the high school careers of NBA finalists
1. LeBron James, MiamiHigh school: St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio), Class of 2003
Accolades: King James put together one of the glossiest high school resumes of all-time, twice earning Gatorade National Player of the Year honors, capturing three state titles and appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated – as a junior.
2. Chris Bosh, MiamiHigh school: Lincoln (Dallas), 2002
Accolades: Bosh led Lincoln to a special season in 2001-02, beating Kendrick Perkins and Ozen 71-51 in the Class 4A state championship game to cap a 40-0 season and earn the nod as the nation's No. 1 team by USA Today.
3. Shane Battier, MiamiHigh school: Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.), 1997
Accolades: Battier helped Country Day notch a Class B three-peat from 1995-97, earning Michigan Mr. Basketball honors as a senior. He's best known for his legendary run at Duke, but his high school career was pretty special, too.
4. Eddy Curry, MiamiHigh school: Thornwood (South Holland, Ill.), 2001
Accolades: Much was made about two big men in high school basketball's Class of 2001: Curry and Tyson Chandler. Checking in at around 6-foot-11 and 290 pounds as a senior at Thornwood, he was named Illinois' Mr. Basketball that season and earned MVP honors at the McDonald's All-American Game before making the jump to the NBA.
5. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma CityHigh schools: National Christian Academy (Fort Washington, Md.),
Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.),
Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.), 2006
Accolades: "The Durantula" may have warranted a higher ranking had he not bounced around to three schools in four years. As a rail-thin 6-7 shooter, it was all about potential until the NBA scoring champ arrived at Montrose Christian as a senior, where he averaged 23.6 points and more than 10 rebounds per game to earn All-Met Player of the Year honors. He was co-MVP of the McDonald's All-American Game.
Video of Kevin Durant in high school
James Harden
Photo by David Steutel
, 2007
Accolades: Harden helped Artesia win back-to-back Division III state titles as a junior and senior. The Pioneers went 94-8 over the Thunder star's final three seasons.
Video and photo of James Harden in high school7. Kendrick Perkins, Oklahoma CityHigh school: Ozen (Beaumont, Texas), 2003
Accolades: If not for Bosh, Perkins might have helped Ozen – which opened in the late 1990s – to a pair of state titles in its infancy. After the setback against Lincoln as a junior, Perkins averaged over 27 points and 16 rebounds as a senior to help the Beaumont school to a 33-1 record and a state title.
8. Juwan Howard, MiamiHigh school: Chicago Vocational, 1991
Accolades: Though slightly overshadowed by Fab Five cohorts Chris Webber and the more vocal Jalen Rose at Michigan, Howard came to Ann Arbor as a top-five recruit nationally. He was the first player to lead the prestigious Proviso West Holiday Tournament in scoring and rebounding in back-to-back years.
9. Mike Miller, MiamiHigh school: Mitchell (S.D.), 1998
Accolades: The biggest basketball name to ever come out of South Dakota, Miller led the Kernels – who play in a venue known as the Corn Palace – to back-to-back state titles in 1996 and 1997. A McDonald's All-American and Top 10 recruit nationally, Miller erupted for 54 points at the prestigious then-GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational in North Carolina as a senior.
10. Mario Chalmers, MiamiHigh school: Bartlett (Anchorage, Alaska), 2004
Accolades: Chalmers has been in the mix for championship-contending teams on an annual basis going back to his high school days. At Bartlett, the Heat guard won two state championships and was named state player of the year three times.
11. Nick Collison, Oklahoma CityHigh school: Iowa Falls (Iowa), 1999
Accolades: Collison's Iowa Falls teams won back-to-back state titles in 1998 and 1999 and went 52-0 over the course of those two seasons. He was named one of Iowa's Top 20 players of all-time in 2012.
12. Daequan Cook, Oklahoma CityHigh school: Dunbar (Dayton, Ohio), 2006
Accolades: Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. garnered much of the attention in Ohio State's 2006 recruiting class, but Cook was a high school mega-star in his own right. He led Dunbar to Ohio's Division II state title as a senior and was a McDonald's All-American.
13. Udonis Haslem, MiamiHigh schools: Wolfson (Jacksonville, Fla.),
Miami, 1998
Accolades: Haslem's high school career comes with a bit of an asterisk. Along with Steve Blake, he helped Miami High win state titles in 1997 and 1998, but the latter was wiped from the record books due to residency issues. Haslem's Miami teams were coached by current South Carolina head coach Frank Martin.
14. Cole Aldrich, Oklahoma CityHigh school: Jefferson (Bloomington, Minn.), 2007
Accolades: Aldrich finally settled into his 6-11 frame as a senior at Jefferson, averaging more than 22 points and 17 rebounds per game. He was named Minnesota's Player of the Year and earned a trip to the McDonald's All-American Game.
15. Dwyane Wade, MiamiHigh schools: Richards (Oak Lawn, Ill.), 2000
Accolades: The idea that Wade was a complete unknown coming out of high school is a bit of misnomer. He averaged 27 points per game as a senior and finished in the Top 10 for Mr. Basketball voting (Darius Miles earned the honor), but academics derailed his recruitment.
Video of Dwyane Wade in high school16. Reggie Jackson, Oklahoma CityHigh school: Palmer (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 2008
Accolades: Quietly, Jackson had a monster career in the Centennial State. He averaged nearly 30 points per game as a senior, sweeping State Player of the Year honors and leading Palmer to the Class 5A semifinals.
17. Norris Cole, MiamiHigh school: Dunbar (Dayton, Ohio), 2007
Accolades: Another Dunbar Wolverine, Cole helped the storied Ohio program win state titles as a junior and senior. Despite leading the team in scoring as a senior in 2007, he was set to play college football until Cleveland State made a last-second offer.
18. Nazr Mohammed, Oklahoma CityHigh school: Kenwood (Chicago), 1995
Accolades: Mohammed put up big numbers as a high schooler, but at well over 315 pounds, was seen as a major project for Kentucky and then-head coach Rick Pitino.
Russell Westbrook
Photo by Dirk Dewachter
, 2006
Accolades: Westbrook was a late bloomer, putting himself on the map with a big senior season at Leuzinger. He posted 25.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game in his final high school campaign to lead the Olympians to a 25-4 record and catch UCLA's eye. Leuzinger went 12-13 during Westbrook's junior year.
20. Eric Maynor, Oklahoma CityHigh schools: Hoke County (Raeford, N.C.),
Westover (Fayetteville, N.C.), 2005
Accolades: Maynor led Westover to North Carolina's Class 4A state title game as a senior, where he suffered a setback against future VCU teammate Jamie Skeen and North Mecklenburg.
21. Derek Fisher, Oklahoma CityHigh school: Parkview (Little Rock, Ark.), 1992
Accolades: Fisher's 1992 Parkview team was nationally ranked and considered one of the best in state history. But the 16-year NBA veteran was the third option behind star teammates Maurice Robinson and Dion Cross.
22. James Jones, MiamiHigh school: American (Hialeah, Fla.), 1999
Accolades: A former Miami Hurricane who was born and raised in the area and now plays for the Heat, Jones is probably a little underappreciated outside of his own backyard. He scored more than 25 points per game as a senior at American and earned Class 6A POY honors, but few would have predicted a future star at the college level or nine-year NBA career.
23. Terrel Harris, MiamiHigh school: South Garland (Texas), 2005
Accolades: Harris had a solid high school career but not spectacular by the lofty standards of some of the other players on this list. He put up more than 17 points and eight rebounds per game as a senior and had plenty of attractive college offers, but no state titles or major player of the year awards. Younger brother Kendal is shaping up as a top recruit in the Class of 2013.
24. Dexter Pittman, MiamiHigh school: Terry (Rosenberg, Texas), 2006
Accolades: Pittman was a productive player at Terry, but he was known more for his massive frame (nearing 400 pounds as a high school senior) than his game.
25. Royal Ivey, Oklahoma CityHigh schools: Cardozo (Bayside, N.Y.),
Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.), 2000
Accolades: Ivey was lightly recruited as a senior at Cardozo. After a prep year at Blair Academy, his recruitment picked up steam and Rick Barnes and Texas came calling.
26. Lazar Hayward, Oklahoma CityHigh schools: Buffalo Traditional (N.Y.),
Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Mass.), 2005
Accolades: Hayward joined names like Sebastian Telfair, Andray Blatche, Greg Paulus, Russell Robinson and Paul Harris on New York's All-State team in 2004, but not a single Division I school was interested in his services. After a year at Notre Dame Prep playing alongside Michael Beasley, Marquette recognized his talent.
Note: Internationally-born players Joel Anthony, Serge Ibaka, Thabo Sefolosha and Ronny Turiaf did not play high school basketball in the United States.
