Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 at 9:40 am  |  56 responses

David Stern Wants to Raise the NBA’s Age Limit By a Year to 20


NBA Commissioner David Stern is once again pushing for the League to raise its age limit from 19 to 20, but he knows it won’t be an easy sell. From Reuters: “The NBA currently mandates players must be 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft and at least one year removed from the graduation of their high school class. Stern pointed out that the so-called ‘one-and-done’ rule was an NBA-driven improvement from the days when high school standouts were drafted directly into the NBA, and that he would like to see the requirement taken further. ‘We have a committee that we’ve agreed to with the Players’ Association. We will be looking at the entire situation and probably with the (National Collegiate Athletic Association) input as well,’ Stern said. ‘We would love to add a year, but it’s not something that the Players Association has been willing to agree to.’”

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  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    It doesn’t guarantee anything other than the ability to see the players living out their potential a bit longer. It’s not to say that you cannot draft a senior year bust, you can. But without a doubt you understand a players positives and negatives better than having not seen them for a extended period of time. It is better for the NBA to have players come in later after more experience. Still, I don’t know if I agree or like it.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    it’s actually proven that a basketball player is more likely to succeed as a professional the earlier they come out. With the guys coming out of high school having far and away the most success. A player staying in college longer only increases the likelyhood that that player will be a worse pro. Tim Duncan is the only 4 year college player to have a long successful NBA career. Brandon Roy would have been there too had he not broken down….had he come out sooner, he would probably be better off in terms of his financial life….so there’s that.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Tim Duncan is the only 4 year College Player to have a long successful NBA career in the last 15 years*

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Most players coming into the NBA probably aren’t good enough to enter the draft straight out of high school anyways… But most superstars are. In the past, most players to come out of high school were good enough to at least stay in the league; even Kwame Brown is still a serviceable big man. And for players whose skills are still raw, they can mold their skills D-League (while still making money). The way I see it, the college game is basically obsolete. If you’re a first round prospect, there’s no reason why superior coaching and better resources at the NBA level wouldn’t benefit you more than what you’d get at the college level.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    okay I retract my first sentence.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    lol okay I finally know what I was trying to say… I meant most players going into college aren’t going to make the NBA straight out of high school anyways. There… If anyone still cares.

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