The 10 best high school mixtapes of the last 20 years

A good mixtape is a piece of art. Anyone who grew up in the same era I did would get excited when mixtapes would drop. Pioneers of the industry like Yay Area’s Finest, Hoop Mixtape, and Ball is Life would spend countless hours traveling to games, filming players, and editing the footage. Every one of my friends would be with me, at our computers, waiting for the next mix to drop.

There is an art form with the mixtape. First off, you need to have the right player—someone who is flashy enough, who does something extraordinary enough to captivate an audience. But the player is not the only piece. You need the right music to go behind the highlights. A beat that was uptempo but not too in your face. A beat that set up the video but also kept you there.

And then there is the beat drop. Every mixtape runs b-roll until that first clip, and then that first dunk happens right on the beat drop; the editing is a thing of beauty.

Here are my ten best high school mixtapes over the past 20 years.

1. Aaron Gordon | Yay Area Finest

Title: 16-Year old Aaron Gordon IS NOT HUMAN!!! INSANE Official Summer Mixtape!!!

This video was our introduction to a 16-year-old Aaron Gordon. A player who would eventually compete in some of the most memorable NBA dunk contests. The video starts with Gordon walking down a neighborhood street, introducing himself and some b-roll of Gordon as the anticipation builds. Beat drops, air horn sounds, and Yay Areas Finest gives us three minutes of captivating dunks and aerial assaults on the rim.

2. Aquille Carr | Hoopmixtape

Title: 5’6 Aquille Carr is STILL the Most Exciting Player in High School

This mixtape was our second look at Aquille Carr. His play at Patterson (MD) High earned him the nickname crime-stopper. An article was written that crime in the city dropped drastically during games Carr played because the entire community would come to watch him play. The mix starts with Carr standing on the front steps of a house, introducing the video in the middle of what we can assume to be his family. The beat is heavy-hitting from the start, and then we get three and a half minutes of shifty, explosive, braggadocious play.

3. Austin Rivers | Hoop Mixtape

Title: Austin Rivers CRAZY Official Hoopmixtape; Dominated 2010-2011 Senior Campaign!!

We get to see the confidence Austin Rivers played with. The opening b-roll of this video has Rivers making statements, into the camera, like ‘showtime baby’ and ‘I’m about to go off.’ Rivers, the son of Doc Rivers, was a top-five player in his class. This video showed explosion, flair, and a quick handle. It let the world know Rivers was a show.

4. Seventh Woods | Hoop Mixtape

Title: Seventh Woods is The BEST 14 Year Old in the Country! CRAZY Athlete

World, meet Seventh Woods. This mix was only two-and-a-half minutes, but it was jam-packed the entire time. The title drew you in, and the editing kept you there. Woods was unknown at the time, unranked, and only a freshman at Columbia (SC) Hammond School. This mixtape immediately boosted Woods to the top of the class. Blocks at the top of the square, dunking on kids, and just pure explosion. It was captivating.

5. Zion Williamson | Elite Mixtapes

Title: Zion Williamson is a Mixtape LEGEND! Official Senior Year EliteMixtape

What Zion Williamson did in high school is a thing of legend. This mixtape incorporated Williamson committing to Duke. He says ‘Duke University,’ the lead-in starts, and then Elite Mixtapes gives us four minutes of athleticism many have never seen. The beat did not get old, and the plays made you grab your buddies with excitement. This mixtape closed an era of Zion Williamson, one most of us will not forget.

6. John Wall | Hoop Mixtape

Title: John Wall Official Hoopmixtape Vol. 1; BEST Player in the Nation

John Wall was a flashy player with size, length, and elite speed. However, as good as a player as he was, the beat is what took this mixtape to a new level. The b-roll starts with the John Wall introduction, and the beat drops with multiple dunks, no-look passes, and shifty handles. The most memorable play in this compilation is the second highlight of the mix, where Wall Shamgod’s a helpless defender out of the screen.

7.Dennis Smith, Jr. | Ball is Life

Title: #1 Point Guard Dennis Smith Jr CRAZY Junior Season Mixtape!

Dennis Smith, Jr. was must-watch television in high school. He packed gyms everywhere he went, be it in high school or AAU. While the dunks and the explosion lead the way, this introduces people to the deadly Dennis Smith, Jr. hesi. The editing was good in this video as multiple dunks aligned with beat drops throughout the music. Smith, Jr. brought the crowds, and he rarely disappointed.

8. Shaquille Johnson | Hoop Mixtape

Title: Shaquille Johnson is the BEST Dunker in High School Basketball!!! Official Hoopmixstape!

This one had all the ingredients, an elite athlete, breath-taking plays, and a beat that kept you into the video. There is some good editing involved here that slows down and speeds up some of the dunks so we can see just how high Johnson was. While there were two or three jump shots in this mix, most of the 2:13 were dunks and blocks. The most memorable was the crushing body Johnson caught at 1:23, which later became the soundbite for the Hoopmixtape intro.

9. Andrew Wiggins | Hoop Mixtape

Title: Andrew Wiggins OFFICIAL Senior year Hoopmixtape! Best Player in High School!

Andrew Wiggins was an explosive athlete in high school. While the beat got a little annoying as the video continued, the plays kept you watching until the end (maybe with the volume turned down). The editing was impressive, too, as most of the dunks happened during beat drops throughout the video.

10. Jalen Green | Overtime

Title: Jalen Green Senior Year MIXTAPE!! #1 Player in the Country has CRAZIEST BOUNCE EVER

Jalen Green was very mixtape friendly with his athleticism and fearless attacks on the rim. This mix gave us words, whereas most mixes were simply the beats. This mix also brought some great editing, crowd cheers after every dunk, and some graphics during the b-roll run. Green went on to be the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. But this mixtape will continue to get views.

Next up

Harry Giles – Ball is Life

Title: 16 Y/O Harry Giles is the Best NBA Prospect in High School Basketball

Scouts called Harry Giles the best high school prospect they had scouted before his knee injuries. At 6-foot-11, Giles could handle and shoot, and he played with a competitive mean streak. Giles was exciting, even while wearing a massive knee brace, he was like no other player in high school at the time.

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