Hoops Habit Staff Debate: The NBA’s age limit is ridiculous
By Luke Duffy
The NBA is a constantly changing entity, with everything from mid-season tournaments to expansion, to allowing a famous franchise to return, and a whole host of other things always in discussion behind closed doors. With a new collective bargaining agreement on the way, this talk has also grown to include the lowering of the NBA’s age of entry from 19 to 18.
In a nutshell, that would allow players to jump straight from high school to the league, as was once the case before. LeBron James is arguably the most famous recent example of what was once the way things were, with a return to being able to skip college to enter the NBA looking like it is going to once again come to pass.
There are plenty of people who feel like this is a bad thing, and that has a negative impact on the NBA.
On the contrary, though, this is not only good for business but good for individuals as well. The NCAA having to pay players to use their likeness was one such step in the right direction, but allowing players to go straight to the league if they want to, which once again was in place as recently as 2003, is the ultimate goal.
It is also fair to point out that people in all walks of life make mistakes or do silly things at any and every age. In fact, it is often the individuals who should know better, or who have much more life experience, who have the most perplexing actions, at a great cost to those around them.
So let us examine three reasons why the return of this rule change sooner rather than later will benefit everybody. The only note worth mentioning on the side of not changing this rule, and having to spend at least one year in college, is that that formative year can be among the most fun and memorable of a person’s life. But if they want to forgo that experience and come to regret it later on, then that is on them.