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Should the NBA change its Age Limit?

June 25, 2008

With this year’s NBA Draft coming up tomorrow night, it’s a good time to take another look at the league’s age limit. The age limit, which was insituted in 2006, requires players entering the NBA to be at least 19 years old and one year removed from high school. Rumors have been flying that the age limit might actually be increased to 20 years old, but this isn’t likely until at least the 2010-11 season when the current collective bargaining agreement is up. So, how has the age limit impacted the NBA and is it good for the league?

Well, for starters, let’s look at the college freshman who were chosen in the lottery since 2006:

So do these guys look like they were any more prepared than the fresh out of high school players from earlier in the decade? Not really. You’ve got a mixed bag like you get every year with the rookie class. Durant was the only guy out of those who really put up good numbers right away. A year before, Martell Webster and Andrew Bynum were the two players who jumped straight from high school and were selected in the lottery. Bynum is developing nicely while Webster is not doing bad for himself either. So it doesn’t look like a year of college is really developing these players all that much (though it is doing a good job marketing them at no cost to the NBA).

Stern, of course, would argue that the rule is helping keep “busts” from ruining their college eligibility. Of course, these “busts” are probably going to go play overseas anyways rather than using their degree. It seems far-fetched to imagine a player ready to declare for the NBA, but then being required to go to college for a year where he learns he isn’t that good and soon he is feverishly studying engineering to prepare for a drastically different type of career. I’d bet that not-so-good player is going to play in Europe instead, make good money over there, and possibly getting a shot at the NBA again.

The age limit is probably good for business though. The NCAA does a great job marketing the NBA’s prospects and the Draft is a lot more interesting when you actually recognize most of the players. So, despite the fact that it seemingly should violate labor laws, has no noticeable impact on the quality of players entering the league, and doesn’t prevent “busts”, the NBA is ecstatic that its fans already know that Michael Beasley is a beast, that Derrick Rose might be the next Dwyane Wade, and that Kevin Love already has haters.

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Written by HoopsAvenue · Filed Under NBA Draft 

Comments

One Response to “Should the NBA change its Age Limit?”

  1. Jeff on June 25th, 2008 9:05 am

    I agree they should not have an age limit. I don’t think it should be legal. Let the players make their own decisions.

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