NBA prepared to reduce draft eligibility age to 18 for the first time since 2006, NBA inside Shams Charania reported.
Beginning with the 2005 collective bargaining agreement, players must be out of high school for at least a year and turn 19 at the end of that draft calendar year. This fueled the “one thing is done” era of college basketball, in which many high school prospects went to college for a season before turning pro. Now, that era could end as early as the 2024 NBA Draft.
NBA Players Association and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver appeared united want to lower the age limit at a time court ruling promoted the earning rights of college athletes. The NCAA already allows players to profit from “name and image” rights, and the NBA created the G League Ignite team two years ago, offering prospective high schoolers up to $500,000 a year to play. professional instead of college.
In addition, famous players like LaMelo Ball have chosen to play professionally abroad instead of going to college while other high school stars have joined. Overtime excellence League. With a number of pro options – including one created by the NBA itself – it’s become inevitable for high school students to go directly to the auditions once again.
Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby left high school in 1975, but had no other high school administrators until Kevin Garnett in 1995. (Shawn Kemp never played in college, but he left. high school for a year when selected in the 1989 NBA Draft.)
After the success of clueless players Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady, a flood of high school students went directly to the NBA until the league imposed a 19-year age limit in 2005. Now, every NBA team each has a small tournament. linked, teams have the infrastructure to support young players that wasn’t there before.
The new rule could prove to be a boon for college basketball. While schools will lose elite talent, players who choose to go to college will be more likely to stay for a couple of years, making teams more stable. It can also cut down on the most frustrating element of college basketball – recruitment scandal.
Regardless, the real winners are the teams that have more options in what projects to be the 2024 NBA draft loaded, featuring the best players under the age of 18. and 19.
