Daily Dive: Every Former Georgia High School Basketball Player on an NBA Opening Day Roster

The 2025-26 NBA season tips off this week, and 19 former Georgia high school basketball players have found their way onto an NBA roster. Among them: 13 five-star recruits, 11 McDonald’s All Americans, six state champions, five Gatorade Boys Player of the Year winners, two NBA All-Stars, and two NBA champions.

The 13 five-stars include Ace Bailey, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wendell Carter Jr., Stephon Castle, Isaiah Collier, Sharife Cooper, Anthony Edwards, Jaylen Brown, Collin Sexton, Isaac Okoro, Walker Kessler, Jabari Smith Jr., and Scoot Henderson. Among these highly ranked recruits, 11 of them earned McDonald’s All-American honors.

Edwards, the Holy Spirit Prep graduate, is one of two players on the list to be an NBA All-Star. Caldwell-Pope is the only two-time NBA champion on the list. Jaylen Brown, the Wheeler HS product, is both an NBA champion and an NBA All-Star.

McEachern High School leads the way with four active NBA players. Bailey and Dylan Cardwell arrived at McEachern as transfers. Bailey was a top two player nationally and the highest ranked recruit in Georgia in the 2024 class. Sharife Cooper and Isaac Okoro led the Indians to a 2019 Class 7A state title.

Wendell Carter Jr. won two state championships with Pace Academy in 2016 and 2017. Other state champions on the list include Davion Mitchell, Walker Kessler, and Anthony Edwards.

The Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets both have a trio of Georgia natives on their rosters. Bailey, Collier, and Kessler belong to the Jazz while Kevon Harris, Josh Okogie, and Jabari Smith Jr. play for the Rockets.

See the list below.

Ace Bailey, McEachern HS (Utah Jazz)

Jaylen Brown, Wheeler HS (Boston Celtics)

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Greenville HS (Memphis Grizzlies)

Dylan Cardwell, McEachern HS (Sacramento Kings)

Wendell Carter Jr., Pace Academy (Orlando Magic)

Stephon Castle, Newton HS (San Antonio Spurs)

Isaiah Collier, Wheeler HS (Utah Jazz)

Sharife Cooper, McEachern HS (Washington Wizards)

Anthony Edwards, Therrell HS/Holy Spirit Prep (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Kevon Harris, Martin Luther King Jr. HS (Houston Rockets)

Scoot Henderson, Kell HS (Portland Trail Blazers)

Walker Kessler, Woodward Academy (Utah Jazz)

Davion Mitchell, Liberty County HS (Miami Heat)

Josh Okogie, Shiloh HS (Houston Rockets)

Isaac Okoro, McEachern HS (Chicago Bulls)

Collin Sexton, Hillgrove/Pebblebrook HS (Charlotte Hornets)

Ben Sheppard, Greater Atlanta Christian (Indiana Pacers)

Jabari Smith Jr., Sandy Creek HS (Houston Rockets)

Devin Vassell, Peachtree Ridge HS (San Antonio Spurs)

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