With the 2022 NBA Playoffs underway, basketball is in the most exciting stretch of the season. Which former Florida high school basketball stars should you be watching for during the 2022 NBA Playoffs? Read on the find out.
Joel Embiid – Philadelphia 76ers
A former five-star recruit out of The Rock School back in 2013, Embiid is arguably the frontrunner to win the 2021-22 NBA MVP after leading the league with 30.6 points per game and averaging 11.7 rebounds per game. Embiid and the Sixers are among the favorites to win the Eastern Conference.
D’Angelo Russell – Minnesota Timberwolves
A former five-star recruit in 2014 out of Montverde Academy, Russell is coming off a 2021-22 season in which he averaged 18.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 7.1 APG. In his third season with the Timberwolves, Russell and Minnesota defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Play-In Game last week to earn the West’s No. 7 seed, and enter the week with a 1-0 series lead over two-seed Memphis.
John Collins – Atlanta Hawks
While only a three-star prospect out of Cardinal Newman back in 2015, Collins is one of the more accomplished NBA players from Florida. In his fifth season with the Hawks, Collins has averaged 16.2 PPG and 7.8 RPG. Atlanta, the East’s No. 8 seed, dropped Game 1 at Miami.
Scottie Barnes – Toronto Raptors
One of the more recent prep stars from Florida, Barnes is a former five-star recruit in 2020 out of Montverde Academy. He is enjoying a phenomenal rookie season with the Toronto Raptors., and is an NBA Rookie of the Year candidate with averages of 15.3 PPG and 7.5 RPG. Barnes and Toronto enter the week down 1-0 to Embiid and the Sixers in their first round matchup.
Grayson Allen – Milwaukee Bucks
A highly rated four-star in 2014 out of Providence, Allen has enjoyed a career year by averaging 11.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG with the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks. In what is his third NBA team in four seasons, Allen has emerged into a full-time starting role with Milwaukee, which could make a deep run in the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
Precious Achiuwa – Toronto Raptors
A five-star prospect from the Class of 2019 out of Montverde Academy, Achiuwa is in his first season with the Raptors after being traded by the Miami Heat to Toronto in the offseason. Achiuwa is one of the Raptors’ top options off the bench, averaging 9.1 PPG and 6.5 RPG, and will likely play a key role during Toronto’s first round series with Philadelphia.
Dwight Powell – Dallas Mavericks
A four-star forward out of IMG Academy back in 2010, Powell is coming off one of the better seasons of his eight-year career; he averaged 8.7 PPG and 4.9 RPG on 67.1% shooting. Powell who has spent most of his professional career with the Mavericks, who entered the 2022 NBA Playoffs as the West’s No. 4 seed.
Austin Rivers – Denver Nuggets
Rivers, the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect in 2011 out of Winter Park, is in his 10th professional season with his sixth NBA team. One of the top bench options for the Denver Nuggets, Rivers has averaged 6 PPG in 22.1 minutes per game for the West’s No. 6 seed.
Josh Green – Dallas Mavericks
A five-star guard out of IMG Academy in 2019, Green is in his second season with the Dallas Mavericks, where he has averaged 4.8 PPG on 50.8% shooting. The versatile guard enters the playoffs having averaged 15.5 minutes per game as one of Dallas’ top backcourt options off the bench.
Ben Simmons – Brooklyn Nets
The consensus No. 1 overall prospect in the Class of 2015 out of Montverde Academy, Simmons has spent the season recovering from an injury and could potentially return at some point during the playoffs for the Nets.
