Find out the youngest players in the NBA, from those who are currently active to the oldest players in the history of the league.

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Who are the youngest players in the NBA?

First, let’s take a quick look at the youngest current NBA players.

The youngest NBA player right now is 19-year-old Cam Christie. Drafted 46th overall in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard is a force to be reckoned with.

The second youngest player in the NBA is Pacôme Dadiet of the New York Knicks. He entered the league without playing college basketball, instead developing his skills through the European professional system.

Another 19-year-old making his NBA debut this season is Ronald Holland II, a formidable forward taken 5th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2024 draft.

20-year-old Bronny James, son of the NBA legend LeBron James is next, and he was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024 after just once season at USC.

Rounding out the top five youngest players in the league we have Cam Whitmore, also 20, who was drafted in 2023 by the Houston Rockets.

Who are the youngest NBA players of all time?

But what about the youngest NBA player ever drafted? Here’s a rundown of the top five:

Prior to 2005, NBA teams were allowed to draft players directly from high school, rather than having to wait for them to complete at least one season in college.

As a result, the majority of the youngest ever NBA players made their debut between the mid-1990s – when drafting high-school players became very popular – and the mid-2000s.

The youngest NBA player ever was Andrew Bynum, a centre who was drafted out of high school by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2005. Bynum made his NBA debut on 2 November 2005 at the age of just 18 years and six days, and went on to also play for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers.

The second-youngest NBA player of all time was Jermaine O’Neal, who made his first appearance for the Portland Trail Blazers in 1996 at the age of 18 years and 53 days. O’Neal played for seven different NBA teams and was a six-time All-Star.

Third on the list is Kobe Bryant, who made his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996 at the age of 18 years and 72 days. Bryant was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets out of Lower Merion High School in the 1996 draft but was immediately traded to the Lakers. He never played for any other team. The 6ft 6in shooting guard went on to win five titles with the Lakers and is recognised as one of the greatest players ever.

The fourth-youngest NBA player of all time was Darko Milicic, the Serbian centre who was drafted second overall by the Detroit Pistons in 2003 and made his debut at the age of 18 years and 133 days. Milicic is considered one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history, which wasn’t helped by the fact he was selected ahead of future NBA legends Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade.

Finally, the fifth-youngest NBA player ever was Stan Brown, who played for the Philadelphia Warriors way back in 1947. Brown made his debut at the age of 18 years and 139 days and held the record for 48 years before it was broken by Bryant.

There you have it: the youngest NBA players of all time as well as the youngsters who are currently dominating the league. If you enjoyed these insights and are looking for more, just head over to the Betway blog. There you can read about the oldest NBA players as well as the top 10 NBA players of all time.

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• Source: https://blog.betway.com/basketball/the-youngest-nba-players-current-and-all-time/