Is the age limit for the NBA a good idea?

Question

I've heard mixed opinions on if athletes should have to go to at least one year of college first (which is the current rule) or that athletes should have the choice to go to the NBA if they want.

Here's some background and a recent story concerning it:

http://active.typepad.com/teamsports/2007/03/reason_enough_f.html

Answer 1

I am of the opinion that if the kid can play, let him play. How many teens graduate high school and go straight to work? I don't see any on clamoring for them to at least do a year in college, except for maybe their parents.

Sure, in a perfect world, all kids would go to college, get their degrees and avoid career ending knee injuries in the process. We don't live in that world. The career of a NBA player is about 12-15 years, if he is at the upper echelon.

My only gripe is that the player must declare and then not look back. I would like to see them have the ability to see how they do in the draft, much like in baseball, and if no contract can be worked out, return to school.

Answer 2

The age limit is to some degree unfair to both the player and to the colleges. The problem that basketball (and to some degree football and soccer) have is the lack of a farm system or a sufficiently deep draft. Baseball works by having a four-level farm system so it does not truly sign the high school graduate to a "major-league" contract, except for maybe the first round picks. If drafted at a lower level, the player has the choice of accepting a small signing bonus and starting in rookie leagues or turning it down and going to college for several years gaining similar experience to the pro laboring in Class A or Class AA. In the NBA, there is not an adequate farm league (despite various attempts to create one), so, other than going to Europe for 2-3 years, there really is nothing to do with most of the players who try to turn pro immediately out of high school. For every Lebron, there are 40 other high schoolers who sign up for the draft and never play in the NBA who would have had a better chance if they had played for a mid-level college team for the 2-3 years.

Answer 3

All the answers make plenty of sense and i do agree with them. The fact that if a player who does go to the nba straight from high school will get injured and ruin his nba career with nothing to fall back on, is very dangerous. College, even a 2 year stay, gives players some time of thing to fall back on (and some dignity). It just doesnt seem fair to me that kids are trying very hard in school to get into a good college and a good job, and these nba players can go straight from high school to the nba and get paid millions for playing a very fun sport and being a well-known celebrity. just doesnt sound good. college is something that many of these "kids" in the nba need, just so they can mature enough and not make stupid mistakes in the nba like get in fights. I think David Stern did the right thing. how much differnt does it make if a player who was great in high school waits an extra year to put his name in the draft?

Answer 4

The age limit for the NBA is a horrible idea. First of all, it prohibits talented basketball players who are not as fortunate as others. Most of those players would not be able to afford to go to college for a year and then try to enter the NBA draft. Also some of the greatest players in the game came straight out of high school such as Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O'neal, LeBron James, and Tim Duncan. There's no need to stop players from entering the NBA because some people think that they haven't "matured" yet, that's why teams have coaches. If the player has the talent and mind set to enter the NBA, no one should be able to stop them.

Answer 5

I think it's a good idea, cause for 1 thing it'll make NCAA Hoops more exciting to watch again, instead of having every single High School Phenom goin str8 to NBA, they'll have someone like LeBron, Amare and Dwight Howard to have in NCAA, and also each year so many more and more kids kept goin str8 outta high school to NBA, that I bet if they kept lettin them do that, than 5 or 10 years from now so many kids outta high school would make horrible stupid mistakes of tryin to go pro too early and not get drafted and not make a team and have no eligibility to go back to play NCAA anymore, and will have no future in the NBA, so I think it should be 3 years outta high school till u r allowed to go pro like NFL, and so many people will keep goin pro's too early when they r way too immature and not at all ready for fame and will get in trouble for lots of drugs and other stuff like so many athletes keep gettin in trouble for these days

and by the way Brina #24 was wrong bout 1 thing, Tim Duncan didn't come str8 outta high school, he went to college at Wake Forest, maybe u r thinking of Kevin Garnett

Answer 6

I don't think there should be a 1 yr of college rule, because college is an option not a requirement. Most of the young players who make it to the NBA right out of high school are there because of their tremendous talent and love for the game. They can always go to college whenever they want, so why make them go when they could be doing what they love? Most people that disagree with teens in the NBA is because they are jealous of the big payouts these young people are getting. They have family to help them with that and others who are willing to teach them how to invest, so what's the problem? Everyone doesn't go to college unless that's what they want to do, and as long as they are doing something positive, I say, let 'em in.

Answer 7

Its great for the NBA, they get better prepared players and don't have to "babysit" as much as they used to. Also, NCAA markets those kids for them so the public now knows about Kevin Durant and Greg Oden.
The problem with the rule is that it is blatantly illegal and unfair to keep people over 18 years of age to pursue a proffesion which they are qualified to do.

Answer 8

no i do not think its a good idea becuase like bob knight said (who's never had a player on his team fail a class) that this rule means thtat players can just go to college not go 2 class some of the time and decleare for the nba that next year

Answer 9

Frankly, i might desire to work out the NBA stick to their age/preparation decrease, particularly of permitting little ones to sign out of HS. For that rely, i might desire to work out ALL activities, no rely if team or individual activities, stick to an age/preparation decrease. there is lots to be mentioned, in terms of non-public adulthood and the duty, in that 3 or 4 3 hundred and sixty 5 days age distinction between HS and school athletes. there's an stunning style of transforming into up performed on those few years, an stunning style of getting to understand to take duty for your self and your strikes. For that rely, i might additionally desire to work out all activities undertake a rule meaning that they lots be sure that all of us they draft or all of us they sign is a minimum of functionally literate of their interior reach tongue. That little element makes a super distinction to human beings interior the long-term. on the different hand, if an athlete isn't a minimum of functionally literate of their interior reach tongue, they are in a position to be signed yet could spend a minimum of the 1st getting to understand to be sure and write, etc., until now they are in a position to be allowed to play. I surely have extra. too, yet my extra applies particularly to baseball. And in spite of the reality that I surely have it smartly typed, it fairly is on my troublesome tension, and my computing device at present is being repaired. So, to the library on a daily basis. Wait, isn't that what those athletes could be doing, too?

Answer 10

i think it's a good idea because it gives the players a good opportunity to better their skills and they'll have some school to fall back on.