Teenagers Leaving Early for the NBA–Why is it Taboo?

the kid decides when he’s ready to take the risk…it’s all about becoming an adult making decisions that could have life-altering consequences, this is the beauty of growing up and developing decision-making abilities

The rule was never meant for the kids but for the NCAA and to help scouts who fell in love with high school players that did not pan out.

Athletes in college are just commodities to be used to earn money. If a kid does not play well he is replaced and loses his scholarship so no more education for him unless he come out of pocket.

and in almost all cases they are meant to protect the quality of the product. Accountants, Lawyers, Doctors, Nurses, Psychiatrists, etc. all must go through nearly a decade of schooling before they are allowed to practice professionally. Could a small handful of them skip a few years and still be quality professionals? Maybe. But to allow everyone to make the “choice” to skip ahead and become professionals can degrade the quality of the product. I’m not trying to say basketball is on par with medicine in terms of the importance of the skill of the practitioner to society, but if the NBA feels letting 18 year olds enter the league degrades the quality of their product, so be it.

Let’s face it. Only Lebron, Amare, Dwight Howard, and Moses Malone came right into the league out of high school and held their own in their first season. Even Kobe, KG, and McGrady looked out of place during their first year, only able to show brief flashes of what they would become. Jermaine O’Neal, Rashard Lewis, and Tyson Chandler floundered for years before becoming factors in the NBA. No one came in and set the world on fire right away. To allow anyone to come on in despite physical and emotional immaturity doesn’t help the product. And it doesn’t help the majority of highly-touted high school players (many of whom are only 17), who have to consider millions of guaranteed dollars at such a young age.

That being said, basketball is a young man’s game, so I feel that no limit beyond two years should be allowed. If a player can play in a college atmosphere against 18-23 year olds for one or two years and the NBA wants them, they should be allowed to enter the draft. At that point, they have played the college game and know what it can do for them. If they are an overrated prospect, they will probably be exposed during one college season. If they are immature, one college season will help that process along better than one NBA season. If Kobe or Lebron or KG would’ve been forced to spend one year playing college ball, I highly doubt any of them would be bitter about the experience in the long run.