The list includes seven members of the Basketball Hall of Fame - a number sure to grow as legends like Shaquille O'Neal become eligible for the honor. Eleven of the honorees were selected first overall in the NBA Draft.
Fifteen of the players on this list are active NBA players: Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Jerry Stackhouse, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Tyler Hansbrough, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the best-represented college team on the list, with James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Michael Jordan, Kenny Smith, Jerry Stackhouse, Vince Carter and Tyler Hansbrough all making the cut. Their arch-rival Duke Blue Devils have four representatives: Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley and Jay Williams.
Five of the honorees - Garnett, Bryant, Stoudemire, James and Howard - never played college ball.
The list was compiled by the McDonald's All American Game selection committee, based on each player's performance in the game and his career accomplishments before and after.
The 2012 McDonald's All American games will be played on March 28 at the United Center in Chicago.
35 Greatest McDonald's All American Players
| Player | Year | High School | College |
| Johnson, "Magic" Earvin | 1977 | Everett H.S., Lansing, MI | Michigan State |
| Kellogg, Clark | 1979 | St. Joseph's H.S., Cleveland, OH | Ohio State |
| Sampson, Ralph | 1979 | Harrisonburg H.S., Harrisonburg, VA | Virginia |
| Thomas, Isiah | 1979 | St. Joseph's H.S., Westchester, IL | Indiana |
| Wilkins, Dominique | 1979 | Washington H.S., Washington, NC | Georgia |
| Worthy, James | 1979 | Ashbrook H.S., Gastonia, NC | North Carolina |
| Perkins, Sam | 1980 | Shaker H.S., Latham, NY | North Carolina |
| Rivers, Glenn "Doc" | 1980 | Proviso East H.S., Maywood, IL | Marquette |
| Ewing, Patrick | 1981 | Rindge & Latin H.S., Cambridge, MA | Georgetown |
| Jordan, Michael | 1981 | E. A. Laney H.S., Wilmington, NC | North Carolina |
| Mullin, Chris | 1981 | Xaverian H.S., Brooklyn, NY | St. John's |
| Smith, Kenny | 1983 | Archbishop Molloy H.S., Jamaica, NY | North Carolina |
| Manning, Danny | 1984 | Lawrence H.S., Lawrence, KS | Kansas |
| Johnson, Larry | 1987 | Skyline H.S., Dallas, TX | UNLV |
| Laettner, Christian | 1988 | Nichols School, Buffalo, NY | Duke |
| Mourning, Alonzo | 1988 | Indian River H.S., Chesapeake, VA | Georgetown |
| Hurley, Bobby | 1989 | St. Anthony's H.S., Jersey City, NJ | Duke |
| O'Neal, Shaquille | 1989 | Robert G. Cole H.S., San Antonio, TX | LSU |
| Hill, Grant | 1990 | South Lakes H.S., Reston, VA | Duke |
| Robinson, Glenn | 1991 | Gary Roosevelt H.S., Gary, IN | Purdue |
| Kidd, Jason | 1992 | St. Joseph Notre Dame H.S., Alameda, CA | California |
| Stackhouse, Jerry | 1993 | Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA | North Carolina |
| Carter, Vince | 1995 | Mainland H.S., Daytona Beach, FL | North Carolina |
| Garnett, Kevin | 1995 | Farragut Academy, Chicago, IL | |
| Pierce, Paul | 1995 | Inglewood H.S., Inglewood, CA | Kansas |
| Bryant, Kobe | 1996 | Lower Merion H.S., Ardmore, PA | |
| Williams, Jay | 1999 | St. Joseph's H.S., Metuchen, NJ | Duke |
| Anthony, Carmelo | 2002 | Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA | Syracuse |
| Stoudemire, Amar'e | 2002 | Cypress Creek H.S., Orlando, FL | |
| James, LeBron | 2003 | St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S., Akron, OH | |
| Paul, Chris | 2003 | West Forsyth H.S., Clemmons, NC | Wake Forest |
| Howard, Dwight | 2004 | Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, Atlanta, GA | |
| Hansbrough, Tyler | 2005 | Poplar Bluff H.S., Poplar Bluff, MO | North Carolina |
| Durant, Kevin | 2006 | Montrose Christian School, Rockville, MD | Texas |
| Rose, Derrick | 2007 | Simeon Career Academy H.S., Chicago, IL | Memphis |
Italic: Number One Overall Draft Pick
