“Let That Big Fella In”: Michael Jordan Calling 18 y/o Kevin Garnett to a Pick-up Game in a Mall Inspired Him to Skip College

The NBA draft and scouting process forms one of the most intriguing parts of the business in basketball. Prospects across the world showcase their talents in various ways and hope to be selected by an NBA franchise on draft day.

The rules surrounding draft eligibility have seen various changes and modifications over the years. As it stands, drafting someone straight out of high school is not a permissible mode of drafting. However, that wasn’t the case always.

The likes of Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, and Tracy McGrady were all drafted straight out of high school during the 90s and the 2000s. Garnett, in fact, was the first player since 1975 to have been selected in the NBA draft, coming out of high school.

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While it posed a huge risk at the time, the reward was incredible in the case of the Minnesota Timberwolves too. KG became their franchise pillar and is without a doubt the best player to ever kit up for the Wolves.

However, as one would imagine, the decision to go pro as a teen isn’t straightforward. KG was asked how he realized his readiness for the NBA. And the story inevitably involves some of the greats of the game.

Kevin Garnett realized he could go straight to the NBA when he played Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen

Academic reasons aside, Garnett’s decision to forego college eligibility had a pick-up game to thank. A pick-up game that KG coincidentally checked into, courtesy of a certain Michael Jordan.

As an up-and-coming prospect in Chicago, KG and his friends had turned up to watch Jordan and Pippen at a pick-up game. Unexpectedly, Jordan pointed at the “big guy” and had him check into the game.

Garnett got in and was assigned the unenviable task of sticking to Scottie Pippen. A star-struck KG was hit with a long-range shot by Pippen who wasn’t pleased with being guarded by a kid, as KG describes the occasion.

The competitor that The Big Ticket is, he got back his shots too. And it caught the eye of a bystander – Isiah Thomas. Zeke, a Chicago area legend, went up to a young Garnett and told him that he “can go to the league”. And for young Garnett, that was all the validation he needed to arrive at his decision.

KG decided to forego college eligibility and the rest is history. The Big Ticket entered the NBA as the #5 pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves and stardom followed.

How have players drafted straight out of high school fared in the NBA?

After Spencer Haywood’s lawsuit against the NBA, eligibility rules were amended. This was what initially prompted high school graduates to be NBA-eligible. Moses Malone in 1974 became the first beneficiary of the amended draft rules.

And Moses, as we all know, made the NBA’s hall of fame. A good start for high school graduates making their way into the league. However, Moses remained an exception and not the rule.

The most successful phase for draftees from high school, however, was the 1990s and the early 2000s. This period saw Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O’Neal, Tracy McGrady, and LeBron James enter the league.

However, high-profile flops like Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry, etc also followed. Looking in toto, ten of the 41 draftees straight out of high school earned All-star recognition. Not a bad ratio at all.

However, in 2005, the league changed the rules for draft eligibility. Draftees now require to be one year removed from their high school graduation or 19 years old to be draft eligible. Pick-up games may not inspire high schoolers into the league anymore, it would appear.

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