The NBA has been looking into changing the rules regarding the age limit of players pursuing their professional career. Current rules require players to be at least one year out of high school before they can enter the NBA Draft. Most spend one year in college, but some have gone overseas to play such as Emmanuel Mudiay and Brandon Jennings.
Ever since the rule was put in there have been questions surrounding it. Many point to the fact that 18 year olds are able to make many other major life choices and work in other fields if qualified so basketball should be no different. Others look at how many players come to the NBA without the necessary skills developed and believe they should stay in college even longer.
There certainly could be some changes on the way as according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league is looking into the modifying the age requirements for players looking to enter the NBA:
Adam Silver said league will be discussing (and in so many words pushing for) changes in age limit. NBA and NCAA want 2 years, NBPA 0 yrs
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) June 2, 2017
Making players at least two years of college would allow young players a little more time to develop, both as athletes and people. The extra year would certainly help in that regard, and the college programs and coaches would certainly like it because they would have top players on their teams for a longer period of time, allowing for more chemistry.
That isn’t to say that some high school players aren’t ready to make the leap to the NBA. Players like Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James all made the transition from high school to the NBA quite nicely, but very few players are at that level. Whatever the NBA rules in favor of, it will change the landscape of college and professional basketball for years to come.
