With scandals involving the paying of players and recruiting violations currently sweeping through college basketball, the NBA is re-thinking its current system of not allowing players to enter the league right out of high school. The league is planning on doing away with the one-and-done rule as it currently stands, and is contemplating a number of different options, many of which involve the league getting involved with players at the high school level, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
“A plan is expected to include the NBA starting relationships with elite teenagers while they are in high school, providing skills to help them develop both on and off the court. It would ultimately open an alternate path to the NBA besides playing in college and a way 18-year-olds could earn a meaningful salary either from NBA teams or as part of an enhanced option in the developmental G League, sources said.”
Under the current rule created by former NBA commissioner David Stern, players are not allowed to enter the league out of high school, and must spend at least one year in college or elsewhere before they are eligible to enter the NBA draft. The rule restricts the earning potential of those individuals that are good enough to enter the NBA at age 18, and has also led to some college programs seemingly bidding for player’s services illegally. In recent years, some individuals have elected to play in Europe and earn money during the year after high school before entering the NBA Draft.
“We are looking at changing the relationship we have with players before they reach the NBA,” a high-ranking league official told Windhorst. “This is a complex challenge, and there’s still a lot of discussion about how it’s going to happen, but we all see the need to step in.”
What exactly the league plans on doing is still being discussed, but a system that allows certain players who are ready to enter the league at 18, while also providing an in-between option for those who want to make money instead of playing in college for a year, seems to be a potential option.
The one-and-done rule was instituted in 2005, after a number of straight-from-high-school players quickly flamed out following the initial success of the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard.