Does this reoccurring departure of freshman college basketball athletes need to be examined by the NBA Commissioner?
In the past decade of NBA drafts ‘one and done’ college players were often drafted in the first round. ‘One and Done’ college basketball players are very common but does this action hurt either the NBA or the NCAA?
During a phone interview on May 31 between the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Colin Cowherd on The Herd by Colin Cowherd, the NBA commissioner addressed Cowherd’s question about changing the ‘One-and-Done’ rule. The commissioner said he is “rethinking” the rule but is still unclear about what changes will be made.
Why do a majority of the top college basketball athletes who are close to finishing of their freshman year, or shortly after their freshman season, declare for the draft?
Over the past several years of college basketball, a vast majority of Division 1 athletes are not attending college for degrees; they attend college to either win the “March Madness” tournament or show they are ready to compete at the NBA level. When these freshman athletes finish their freshman season and view their draft stock, if they feel good about where they may be drafted, they will declare for the draft and leave their school and be added their names to the long list of ‘one-and-done’ athletes.
The NBA draft happens each year after the NBA season comes to a close. The draft allows each team to get the opportunity to either draft or trade for some of the best young talent from the United States and overseas.
To become eligible for the NBA draft, there are many rules a player must fulfill but the one very much talked about rule is the rule of being 19 years or older in the calendar year of the draft. During NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s phone call with Colin Cowherd, Silver expressed his indecisiveness over whether or not to change the age restriction for the draft either from 19 to 20 or from 19 back to 18.
In 2005, David Stern who was the NBA commissioner changed the age rule from 18 to 19, but first argued he wanted the age to be bumped up to 20. Now, current NBA commissioner Adam Silver should change the NBA draft age back to 18. Almost all of the high school basketball players in ESPN’s top 100 recruits have one thing on their mind: to get to the NBA as soon as possible.
These top recruits will commit and sign to top basketball colleges and universities only to take one step closer to their dream of playing in the NBA. After their freshman year is over most of them will declare for the NBA draft. The ones who declared for the draft did not go to college for a degree or to further their education. Instead they went to be eligible for the NBA draft due to the 19 year old age regulation. The age rule should be changed to 18, and if the high school athlete believes he is ready for the NBA he should declare for the draft instead of wasting his time in college for a year.
When the draft age was at 18, there were groups of high school athletes who decided to skip college ball and take their talents to the NBA. In the early 2000s many current NBA players were drafted right out of high school. Remember names like Amare Stoudemire, LeBron James, Tyson Chandler, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, and Dwight Howard.
Why should high school basketball stars be pressured to enroll in colleges if all there is on their minds is to become an NBA basketball player making millions. Adam Silver has been asked this question many times and should feel pressured to make his final decision whether or not to change the NBA draft age rule. Silver should change the rule to 18 years of age for the good of the league and the teams.
