By the numbers

high school basketball and beyond

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), there were over 540,000 male and female high school basketball players in the United States during the 2020-2021 school year. In Canada, there are no official statistics for the number of high school basketball players, but it is estimated that there are around 25,000 players participating at this level. Combining these numbers, we can estimate that there are around 565,000 high school basketball players in North America.

Of the hundreds of thousands of high school basketball players in North America, only a small fraction will make it to the collegiate level. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is divided into three divisions: Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3. Division 1 is the most competitive and prestigious level, with 357 men's and 349 women's teams.

According to the NCAA, about 3.5% of male high school basketball players and 3.8% of female high school basketball players go on to compete at the NCAA Division 1 level. This means that approximately 19,890 male and 21,070 female basketball players from the estimated total of 565,000 high school players in North America will make it to Division 1.

According to the NCAA, only 1.2% of male NCAA Division 1 basketball players will be drafted by an NBA team. Given that there are approximately 19,890 male Division 1 basketball players, this means that around 239 players will be drafted into the NBA.