Top high school basketball prospects might soon be able to enter the NBA Draft without going to college for a year. According to ESPN, the NBA and NBA Players Association are discussing a revision to the "one-and-done" rule, and have targeted the 2020 NBA draft as the earliest it will be implemented.
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The Commission on College Basketball, led by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, recommended the end of the one-and-done rule, as well as several other changes, including potential lifetime bans for rule-breakers and changes to the relationship between the NCAA and apparel companies, according to ESPN. Rice spoke about the 60-page report during a lengthy press conference in Indianapolis yesterday afternoon.
Of course, the NBA's draft eligibility rules are an NBA rule, not a college basketball rule, but the league is open to assessing a revision "in order to promote the best interests of players and the game."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver and NBA Executive Director Michelle Roberts released a joint statement to CNN's Jill Martin, which reads (H/T Bleacher Report),
"The NBA and the NBPA thank Secretary Rice and the members of the Commission on College Basketball for their commitment to address the issues facing men’s college basketball," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NBA Executive Director Michele Roberts said in a joint statement to Martin. "We support NCAA policy and enforcement reforms that will better safeguard the well-being of players while imposing greater accountability on representatives and programs that fail to uphold the values of the game. We also share the Commission's concern with the current state of youth basketball and echo that all stakeholders—including the NBA, NBPA, NCAA, and USA Basketball—have a collective responsibility to help bring about positive change. Regarding the NBA’s draft eligibility rules, the NBA and NBPA will continue to assess them in order to promote the best interests of players and the game."
The NBA's rule that requires players to be 19 years old or have completed one year of college before becoming eligible for the NBA Draft, was implemented in 2006. Several players, including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett were successful in making the jump to the pros right out of high school.
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