5 Greatest NBA players that came directly from High School

#3 Moses Malone

Moses Malone #2 (Image Courtesy: NBA.com)

Career Averages: 20.6 Points, 12.2 Rebounds, 1.4 Blocks

Honors: 1x NBA Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 3x MVP, 12x All-Star, 8x All NBA selections, 2 x NBA All-Defensive selections

Moses Malone is arguably the most under-appreciated player of all time, especially for a guy who won 3 MVPs. One of the most dominant scorers and rebounders ever, he ranks 9th in Scoring and 5th in Rebounding. He led the league in Rebounds 6 times in a 7-year stretch between 1978-1985 and is the all-time leader in offensive rebounds, more than 2,000 clear of second place.

Malone was initially drafted in the ABA which merged with the NBA 2 seasons after he was drafted. He was traded to the Rockets and he led them to their 1st NBA Finals in 1981 but they lost to the Celtics in 6 games. He left the Rockets in 1982 and joined the 76ers. The Sixers had lost in the NBA Finals in 1980 and 82 to the Lakers as they didn't have an answer for Kareem Abdul Jabbar and needed a dominant big to match up with him. Malone was just that and some more.

No center in NBA history gave Kareem more trouble than perhaps Moses. With Malone in tow, the Sixers swept the Lakers as Moses dominated Kareem on the boards to win his first and only NBA title. The fact that he only won 1 title and his play wasn't too flashy is perhaps why Malone gets overlooked in the discussions regarding the greatest big men of all time but he definitely belongs in the conversation.