So, I got curious the other day about just how hard it is to actually make it to the NBA. I mean, we see these guys on TV, living the dream, but what are the real odds? I decided to dig in and find out.

My Deep Dive into NBA Dreams
First, I started with some basic Googling. You know, just trying to get a general sense of the numbers. I figured there’d be some stats out there, and boy, was I right.
I stumbled upon a bunch of articles and studies, all basically saying the same thing: it’s ridiculously tough. I mean, we’re talking about a tiny, tiny fraction of people who even play basketball seriously.
Next, I tried to break it down step-by-step. I looked at the number of high school players, then the number who go on to play college ball, and finally, the number who get drafted into the NBA.
- High School: Millions of kids play high school basketball, you have a huge pool.
- College: A much smaller number make it to the college level. Competition gets way tougher.
- NBA: Only a select few, the absolute cream of the crop, get drafted. We’re talking about dozens of players out of thousands of college athletes.
I spent hours looking at different websites, reading forums, and even watching some YouTube videos about it. The more I learned, the more insane it seemed.
The odds are stacked high.

I even tried to calculate the rough odds. The raw numbers are something like this: fewer than 1 in 10000 high school players makes it.
So, my little experiment showed that making it to the NBA? It’s like winning the lottery, but with way more sweat and probably a lot more tears. It takes insane talent, work ethic, and a good bit of luck.
It’s super eye-opening.