The NBA stopped allowing high school graduates to enter the NBA Draft after a negotiation with the Players’ Association in 2006. Every CBA since then has upheld a minimum age limit of 19, forcing players to remain at least one year in college before declaring for the Draft. However, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce disagree with this age restriction.
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The duo advocated for this rule to change on The Ticket and The Truth podcast, using Cooper Flagg as an example.
Garnett was among the first players in the modern NBA to join the league immediately after high school. Therefore, KG believes that it’s high time that Commissioner Adam Silver reversed this rule since so many high school kids are showing NBA potential. So going to college is actually setting them back in their careers.
“The argument was said that some guys probably couldn’t play straight out of high school, right, not the case today. Some of these kids I’m watching now, I’m like, ‘No, they don’t need to go to college,’” KG said.
Flagg will be spending his next year playing for Duke University. But he could’ve made it to the NBA, had he been allowed, according to Pierce.
“Cooper Flagg didn’t need to go to college,” The Truth said.
Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Tracy McGrady, and Dwight Howard are other such examples who followed KG’s steps soon after his Draft in 1995. Each of these players had an illustrious NBA career and an instant impact, proving that players out of high school do not lack experience.
The main argument for barring high schoolers was that they were too immature to handle professional contracts. But college ballers are already seeing a lot of money, thanks to their NIL deals. And a lot of these players have shown the potential to play in the NBA.
KG and Pierce argued that there is no logical justification behind this rule since 18-year-olds can join the workforce in any other field. So basketball shouldn’t be any different.
It’s noteworthy here that European leagues have no such age restriction on players. This helps franchises with the development of talented players, who get more experience staying close to high level competition.
The only reason the NBA still promotes this rule is to give the teams ample opportunity to vet talents. College tapes give franchises and scouts more sample size to reach a decision. So that their money is not wasted on players who are not cut for NBA basketball.
However, this actually hurts top talents like Cooper Flagg, since college ball is very different from NBA basketball.
