Key Takeaways
- Amar’e Stoudemire, who set the Hall of Fame as his goal in high school, has been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame 24 years after entering the NBA from high school as the No. 9 pick in 2002.
- He became the first player drafted straight out of high school to win Rookie of the Year, evolved into a six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection alongside Steve Nash in Phoenix, and later revived the New York Knicks with a 25.3-point debut season in 2010–11.
- Despite microfracture surgeries on both knees that curtailed his peak, Stoudemire finished with 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game over 14 NBA seasons, won titles in Israel, entered the Suns Ring of Honor and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and now completes his journey in Springfield.
Amar’e Stoudemire called his shot before he ever reached the NBA. Now, 24 years later, the former Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks star has been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Stoudemire identified enshrinement as his ultimate goal while still in high school—and then built a career powerful enough to get him there.
According to The New York Times, the Suns selected Stoudemire ninth overall in the 2002 NBA Draft, taking a chance on a 19-year-old who had attended six high schools and played only two full varsity seasons. The payoff came quickly: Stoudemire became the first player drafted directly from high school to win NBA Rookie of the Year, beating Yao Ming for the award in 2003. He eventually earned six All-Star selections, five All-NBA honors, and a spot on the All-NBA First Team in 2007.
Phoenix wanted Stoudemire badly enough to keep rival teams from getting a closer look at him before the draft. Then-Suns chairman Jerry Colangelo worried the prospect would be gone before the ninth pick, so Stoudemire’s agent, Herb Rudoy, helped shut down additional workouts.
“We just told everybody—I don’t remember what—that he had a bad knee, a bad shoulder and that he couldn’t work out,” Rudoy recalled.
Somehow, the league bought it.
The secret did not last once Stoudemire stepped onto an NBA practice court. Former Suns guard Casey Jacobsen said it took only minutes to recognize that the teenager was a different kind of athlete.
“Amar’e Stoudemire is freakier than even The Matrix,” Jacobsen said, referring to Shawn Marion. “He’s more powerful. He’s longer. And he finishes around the rim stronger.”
Paired with Steve Nash, Stoudemire became the devastating vertical force behind one of the defining offenses of the 2000s.
His Hall of Fame résumé was built through more than highlight-reel finishes. Stoudemire underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee and later had arthroscopic procedures on both knees, repeatedly reshaping his game to remain effective. He averaged 25.3 points during his first season with the Knicks in 2010-11, helping end New York’s seven-year playoff drought, before injuries limited his later years.
Stoudemire finished his 14-season NBA career with averages of 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds across 846 games. He later won championships in Israel with Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The NBA has since eliminated the direct high-school-to-pro route he took in 2002.
Stoudemire entered the Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor in 2024 and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2025. Springfield completes the run.
“That knee situation set him back and cut short all of the things he might have obtained,” Colangelo said. “He would’ve done more. He was that exceptional.”
