Greatest High School Boys Basketball Player From Every State

Picking the greatest high school basketball player from every state is hard.

Deciding the criteria for what makes them the GOAT isn’t as difficult. 

Imagine it like a draft: You’ve got the No. 1 pick in every state and you’ve got the entire history of high school basketball players in every state to pick from … as the player they were in high school. Not in college. Not in the NBA if they were good enough to make it that far. 

Individual awards are important, as are individual stats. State championships are golden. A great high school basketball player can come from anywhere — no matter the size of the town or city. 

Here’s a look at the greatest high school boys basketball player of all time, from all 50 states. 

Born: July 23, 1982 (Childersburg, Alabama)

High school: Childersburg High School (Childersburg, Alabama)

Graduation year: 2000

College: Alabama

Career highlights: Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2000), Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year (2000), Parade High School All-American (2000), USA Today National Player of the Year (2000), USA Today High School All-American (2000), Alabama Mr. Basketball (2000), NBA All-Star (2010), NBA All-Defensive Team (2010)

Childersburg High’s Gerald Wallace became the only high school basketball player from Alabama to be named USA Today National Player of the Year and Naismith Prep Player of the year as a senior in 2000. Wallace played one season at the University of Alabama before being selected by the Sacramento Kings at No. 25 overall in the 2001 NBA Draft.

Wallace played 14 seasons in the NBA and was an All-Star in 2010 — and he’s one of just three players in NBA history to average two rebounds and two steals over an entire season. 

Born: May 19, 1986 (Anchorage, Alaska)

High school: Bartlett High School (Anchorage, Alaska)

Graduation year: 2005

College: Kansas

Career highlights: Parade High School All-American (2005), two-time Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year (2004, 2005), McDonald’s All-American (2005), three-time Class 4A State Player of the Year (2003-05), two-time Class 4A state champion (2002, 2003), NCAA champion (2008), NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2008), Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year (2007), Big 12 Tournament MVP (2006), two-time NBA champion (2012, 2013), NBA All-Rookie Team (2009)

Bartlett High’s Mario Chalmers was only the second player in Alaska history to be named Class 4A Player of the Year three times after East Anchorage’s Trajan Langdon. He also won a pair of state championships along with being named a McDonald’s All-American.

Chalmers won on every level — he hit one of the most clutch shots in NCAA history to help lift Kansas to the 2008 national championship and won a pair of NBA titles with the Miami Heat. 

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