Georgia has produced many great high school athletes who have gone on to have successful college and professional careers. To rate the all-time best Georgia high school boys basketball players, I reached out to a few experts to get their insights:
- Larry Thompson, Wheeler boys basketball head coach
- Charlemagne Gibbons, Gainesville boys basketball head coach
- Tremayne Anchrum, McEachern boys basketball head coach
- Allen Whitehart, Milton boys basketball head coach
- Geoffrey Pierce, Grayson boys basketball head coach
- Kyle Sandy of Sandy’s Spiel, the leader in covering high school hoops in Georgia
Here are the top 10 all-time Georgia high school boys basketball players and the schools where it all started.
THE BEST
Lou Williams | South Gwinnett High School, C/O 2005
Position: Shooting Guard
247Sports Composite Rankings:
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Overall: No. 6
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Position: No. 4
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5 stars
Every person I talked to had Lou Williams at or near the top of their lists of the all-time best Georgia high school boys basketball players.
Williams was Mr. Georgia Basketball in 2005 and was drafted straight out of high school that same year by the Philadelphia 76ers.
He was an All-State selection every year of his four-year high school career. He led South Gwinnett High School to the Class 5A state title in 2004 and is the state’s second all-time leading scorer.
“To me, he was the greatest high school player from day one that I ever saw,” Gibbons said. “He was the first guy that I ever went to see every night for four years.”
THE REST
Dwight Howard | Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, C/O 2004
Position: Center
247Sports Composite Rankings:
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Overall: No. 1
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Position: No. 1
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5 stars
Dwight Howard is another player on everyone’s list.
“Williams and Dwight Howard are locks (to make the list),” Sandy said.
Drafted straight out of high school in 2004 by the Orlando Magic, Howard led Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy to the 2004 Class 1A state championship.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim | Wheeler High School, C/O 1995
Position: Power Forward, Center
247Sports Composite Rankings:
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Overall: N/A
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Position: N/A
Shareef Abdur-Rahim played for Wheeler High School from 1991 to 1994, and he was named Mr. Georgia Basketball twice. He led Wheeler to a state championship in 1994 during his junior season. He averaged 31 points, 12.4 rebounds, and four blocks per game playing both power forward and center while at Wheeler.
Abdur-Rahim attended the University of California for one season before being selected in the first round of the 1996 NBA draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies.
Dontonio Wingfield | Westover High School, C/O 1993
Position: Power Forward
247Sports Composite Rankings:
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Overall: N/A
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Position: N/A
Dontonio Wingfield, a 6-foot-8 power forward, could hit the 3-point shot with ease. He led Westover High School to four straight state championships – a feat no other player on this list can claim – and was a McDonald’s All-American his senior season in 1993.
Wingfield played for the University of Cincinnati for a single season before being selected by the Seattle Supersonics in the second round of the 1994 NBA draft.
Isaiah Collier | Wheeler High School, C/O 2023
Position: Point Guard
247Sports Composite Rankings:
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Overall: No. 1
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Position: No. 1
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5 stars
Point guard Isaiah Collier led Wheeler High School to three state championships during his four-year high school career. He was a McDonald’s All-American and the 2022-23 Gatorade Georgia Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Collier went to USC for one season before entering the NBA draft in 2024. The Utah Jazz selected him in the first round.
“Isaiah has got to be in the conversation when you’re talking about the best Georgia high school players ever,” said Thompson, who was Collier’s high school coach.
Donnell Harvey | Randolph-Clay High School, C/O 1999
Position: Forward
247Sports Composite Rankings:
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Overall: N/A
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Position: N/A
A dominant, big man at 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, Donnell Harvey was considered the best high school player in America in 1999. That same year he won the Naismith Award and was a McDonald’s All-American, USA Today’s Player of the Year, and Mr. Georgia Basketball.
He played less than a full season at the University of Florida, but was still selected to the SEC All-Freshman team.
Harvey was selected by the New York Knicks in the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft.
Jaylen Brown | Wheeler High School, C/O 2015
Position: Small Forward
247Sports Composite Rankings:
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Overall: No. 4
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Position: No. 3
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5 stars
Jaylen Brown was likely the most decorated player both academically and athletically to ever play Georgia high school basketball. He was Wheeler High School’s 2015 class valedictorian. That same year he was named the Class 6A Player of the Year, Gatorade’s Georgia Boys Basketball Player of the Year, Mr. Georgia Basketball, and USA Today’s All-USA Georgia Player of the Year, and he was a Parade First Team All-American, all while leading Wheeler to the Class 6A state title.
Brown then attended UC Berkeley for one season, taking a Master’s-level course as a freshman while earning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors.
He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2016 NBA draft. He eventually helped lead the Celtics to the 2024 NBA championship, where he was named the Finals MVP.
Derrick Favors | South Atlanta High School, C/O 2009
Position: Center
247Sports Composite Rankings:
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Overall: No. 1
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Position: No. 1
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5 stars
Derrick Favors was named as the country’s No. 1 high school player in 2009 by Scout.com and was ESPNU 100’s No. 2 player in the nation.
He led South Atlanta High School to the Class 3A state championship that same year, scoring 38 points and pulling down 21 rebounds against Westover.
Favors was named MVP of the 2009 McDonald’s All-American game.
He was also selected to play in the 2009 Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden with other elite all-stars from around the country. He was named his team’s MVP after scoring a game-high 21 points.
Favors played a season for Georgia Tech before entering the 2010 NBA draft, where he was selected in the first round by the New Jersey Nets.
Anthony Edwards | Holy Spirit Preparatory School, C/O 2019
Position: Shooting Guard
247Sports Composite Rankings:
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Overall: No. 2
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Position: No. 1
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5 stars
Nicknamed “Ant-Man,” Anthony Edwards was considered as one of the country’s top high school shooting guards and a five-star recruit by 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals.
As a junior in 2018, Edwards led Holy Spirit Preparatory School to the GISA Class 3A state championship and became the No. 1 ranked recruit in the country by 247Sports.
The next season, he led Holy Spirit Prep back to the Class 3A title game, where they finished as state runner-up.
He was a 2019 USA Today All-USA First Team selection and a McDonald’s All-American. He played in the Jordan Brand Classic that same year.
Edwards played one season of college basketball for the Georgia Bulldogs before being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Al-Farouq Aminu | Norcross High School, C/O 2008
Position: Small Forward
247Sports Composite Rankings:
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Overall: N/A
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Position: N/A
Al-Farouq Aminu led Norcross High School to back-to-back Class 5A state championships in 2007 and 2008.
In his junior season in 2007, Aminu led Norcross to a 30-3 record and a No. 12 national ranking.
In 2008, Aminu once again stepped up in a big way, leading Norcros to a 29-2 record and a No. 6 national ranking. He was named Mr. Georgia Basketball, a Parade First Team All-American, and a McDonald’s All American in 2008.
After a brief college career at Wake Forest, Aminu declared for the 2010 NBA draft, where he was taken by the Los Angeles Clippers as the eighth overall pick in the first round.
