NBA: 30 best careers from players who skipped college

30 best careers from players who skipped college – 10. Rashard Lewis

The 1998 NBA Draft had three draft-worthy high schoolers eligible. Al Harrington and Korleone Young chose to watch the draft in their hometowns. Houston native Rashard Lewis chose to attend the draft in person in Vancouver, hoping to hear his name called by his hometown Houston Rockets.

Instead, he sat in the greenroom as every prospect around him heard their name called. Team after team passed on him, taking more established prospects (and Harrington at 25). At one point, he left the greenroom and cried in the bathroom. His dreams looked like they were falling apart around him.

For Lewis, and so many other high schoolers taking the same plunge, the stakes for entering the draft were high. Many hired an agent, immediately ending their college eligibility. If they didn’t, they were trying to navigate an incredibly complicated situation alone. If Lewis wasn’t able to make it into the NBA, he couldn’t simply go play for Texas or Kansas or Kentucky.

He would likely have to move overseas to continue playing basketball.
Eventually, Lewis’ name was called, 32nd overall, and he joined a Seattle SuperSonics team not very invested in finding him playing time. He did develop, however, and by his third season, he was averaging 13.8 points per game to go with 6.9 rebounds and a sizzling 43.2 percent from deep.

That would become Lewis’ game, the high volume stretch-4. For his career, he shot 38.6 percent from deep and hit 1,787 3-pointers. That is good for 21st all-time, and second only to Dirk Nowitzki for players 6’10” or taller. A two-time All-Star, once with Seattle and once with the Orlando Magic, Lewis would join the Miami Heat late in his career and play a role on the 2013 NBA champions.