The one and done rule in the NBA states that before being eligible to enter the NBA draft, the athlete must be one year removed from high school or at least 19 years old. This ruling was decided in 2005 by the NBA commissioner, along with the Player’s Union and first implemented in the 2006 season. Prior to this rule change, 42 players were able to be drafted directly after high school into the NBA. This includes some of the most prolific players of all time: Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Tracy McGrady, and Kevin Garnett.
The intention of the one and done rule was to encourage young players to obtain a college education before trying out the NBA and ensure they had time to mature before declaring for the draft. However, it also meant that these top tier athletes would never actually complete a meaningful college education.
Since the one and done rule was initiated, many products of the system have gone on to have successful NBA careers. 83 players have since entered the NBA after one year of college and this includes 11 All Stars, 6 Rookies of the Year, and 4 NBA Champions. This list is made up of players such as Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Anthony Davis.
However, at the same time, this system has done more harm than good for many eager young players. For a lot of players, they had a highly successful high school career, garnering a large amount of attention due to their talents, only to have a subpar freshmen year of college and not end up making it big in the NBA.
It is evident that the one and done rule has produced inconclusive evidence when it comes to the successes of the players involved.
Not to any surprise, this inconsistency has created a large amount of controversy in the basketball world, with many believing the NBA’s one and done rule should be modified or even done away with altogether.
The major arguments of the players include the possible risk of injury while playing in college for just one year and for some, they see their families continuing to struggle financially while they could be bringing in millions of dollars as an NBA player. For those who are already physically and mentally mature enough for the league, they believe they have nothing to gain and everything to lose by playing in college for one year.
Other opponents of the system fear that playing for one year, without obtaining a full college education, can be detrimental for the players who end up not being cut out for the NBA. After players declare for the draft, they are ineligible to return to college; however, for those who may not make it onto a team’s final roster, they have nowhere else to turn. Those who already were often struggling financially have no solution.
Obviously, there are still proponents of the ruling. However, they are few and far in between. The major issue right now is how to alter this rule, so it can be beneficial for the athletes themselves as well as the NCAA and NBA.
In the upcoming posts, I’ll discuss my thoughts on both sides and reveal some of the possible alternatives to the ruling that is currently creating so much controversy.
I like your topic for this blog! I think there are many good arguments to both sides of the issue, and you will be able to explore both sides. I think it would be interesting to see if players who were very successful in high school but did not have a good freshman year would have been more successful with NBA training. I think you could study this by comparing NBA and college training programs, although I’m not sure if this has been done already. The value of a college degree is very high for many of these players who don’t make it to the NBA, but there may be other possibilities to play elsewhere. There are leagues in Europe and Asia that may be looking for American players, although I’m not sure how well these leagues pay and if there is any possibility of making it to the NBA after playing in these leagues.
Another idea that the NBA could consider is changing the rule to encourage players to spend two years in college before going pro. This may allow players to receive an Associate’s degree, which then may be more beneficial to simply a high school diploma. I’m not sure how useful this would be for players, but at least they are receiving some sort of degree before entering the league. I saw an article that said the commissioner believes that the rule will be changed, maybe as early as 2021, allowing high school players to be drafted. I’m interested to hear your perspective on the issue as your blogs continue!
(https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-ready-to-change-one-and-done-rule-allow-players-to-enter-at-18-commissioner-adam-silver-says/)