Wake Up NBA, Banish the One and Done Rule

Wake+Up+NBA%2C+Banish+the+One+and+Done+Rule

Sam Lance, Co-editor-and-chief

In 2005 the NBA made a collective bargaining agreement stating that players must be 19 years old and one year removed from high school to enter the NBA draft.

It is now known as the one-and-done rule, and it needs to be terminated.

According to Bleacher Report, the rule “was meant to protect unprepared high school players from the difficult professional transition while also giving NBA teams a better opportunity to evaluate potential draftees on the college stage.”

However, the rule does a lot more harm than good. Today’s top prospects now have to attend one year of pointless college that they are getting nothing out of because they are just there to play basketball.

“It didn’t make any sense,” Kobe Bryant, who went directly from high school to the NBA, said to the LA Times. “Some players go to college for four years and don’t learn anything about the game whatsoever and get a degree in geography.”

And Bryant made an impact his rookie season, averaging 7.6 points and 2 rebounds a game with only 15.5 minutes a game. Another star, Lebron James, came to the NBA after high school and averaged over 20 points his rookie campaign.

This shows that players can be ready for NBA competition straight out of high school, instead of sitting through a year of college that they aren’t really learning anything from.

While they might be prepared for the competition, others say that they are unprepared for the major money managing at stake.

However, countless players like Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Amar’e Stoudemire and Monte Ellis are all financially stable and have continued successful lives off of the court.

Still, advocates for the one and done rule may see no harm. What’s so terrible about holding them back for just one year?

It’s simply money. These players have dedicated their whole lives to the sport, and if they get drafted out of high school and get their signing bonus, they are set. What if they get injured in the one year of college? How are they supposed to support their families then?

Additionally, because of the new one-and-done rule, scandals at the University of North Carolina have emerged. Basketball players were given make up classes with fake grades, all to keep them focused on the game.

And more scenarios like this are bound to happen if the NBA doesn’t change its rule.

“It’s a dumb rule,” NBA player Lou Williams said. “Some guys don’t even want to go to college.”