The NBA is reportedly set to backflip on its draft eligibility age in a move that would see high school standouts go straight into the league.
According to The Athletic,the NBA and the Player’s Association (NBPA) will move the age from 19 years of age to 18 as the two parties work together on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
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The age was moved from 18 to 19 in 2005, forcing high schoolers to go through the college system, go into the G League or move abroad to play professional basketball.
Superstar LeBron James was one of the final players to make the immediate jump from high school to the NBA before the eligibility age was raised, as he was selected with the first overall pick of the 2003 Draft.
Should this rule be signed off for the new CBA, many fans will quickly turn their attention to the prospect of James playing with his son, Bronny.
The Los Angeles Lakers star has made no secret of his desire to play professional basketball with his son, who is going into his final year at high school.
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But Bronny will miss the window of making the jump from high school to the NBA as the amended rule would not come into play until 2024 at the earliest.
If the changes are enacted in 2024, it would create a crazy draft situation, where the best high school players from that year will compete with the first-year college standouts who graduated high school in 2023.
It also poses an interesting conundrum for players who must contemplate going straight to the top or spending some time in the college basketball system with the ‘name, image and likeness’ (NIL) deals they can sign thanks to new legislations in various US states.
Previously, student-athletes were not permitted to earn any money despite the billion-dollar industry they play a pivotal role in creating.
But now, they can earn income from their image or name and given the money-making opportunities on offer in college basketball, some players may take that route over jumping into the NBA and risking it all from the get-go.
The NBA and NBPA can mutually opt-out of the CBA by December 15, so the clock is ticking on when an official announcement on the new draft eligibility age will arrive.
