NBA: 30 best careers from players who skipped college

30 best careers from players who skipped college – 29. Eddy Curry

The 2001 NBA Draft made history when Kwame Brown became the first pick straight out of high school. It was also the first draft where multiple high schoolers were picked in the top five. Tyson Chandler went second overall, and Eddy Curry was taken with the fourth pick to the Chicago Bulls. Jerry Krause, Chicago’s general manager, traded for Chandler and attempted to pair the two high schoolers in his frontcourt of the future.

Curry and Chandler had battled for years as the top two players in their class and found themselves teammates as rookies. The front office had invested in the two to change the fortunes of a franchise that had floundered since the (second) retirement of Michael Jordan. Yet the coaching staff buried Curry and Chandler on the bench, losing game after game but not focusing on developing their young talent.

It was the kind of organizational disconnect that plagued many teams during the years of high schoolers coming directly into the NBA. Teams invested team-building resources in scouting and drafting high school players, only to ignore them when it came to playing games. In college, top players would not only get the spotlight, but they would also have dedicated development and support. Many players, including Curry his rookie year, went without. On the court, he was barely playing, and off-the-court, he was expected to figure out life as a professional basketball player, suddenly flush with cash and time, by himself.

From the slow start, Curry never truly got going in his career. The “twin towers” approach of pairing him with Chandler never came to fruition. Curry seemed to float through his early years in the league, emotionally disengaged and slow to bring his talent to bear among men. He had the size and skill, but not always the inner fire to apply those to winning basketball.

Curry eventually found more playing time and became a double-digit scorer inside. On the New York Knicks, he even averaged 19.5 points per game one season. He was clearly a talented player, but he struggled with weight issues to the point that he lost not only his role on the Knicks but his roster spot. Personal tragedy and off-court issues contributed to his career-derailing. He never became an All-Star or a household name either. He did win a title as a rarely-used bench player with the Miami Heat, one bright spot in what was a disappointing career.