Should High School Players Wait a Year Before Going to NBA?

Student’s Name Course Instructor Date Should High School Players Wait a Year Before Going to NBA? Times have changed and so have the rules that used to apply to American basketball. For over a long time until 2007, players that were considered to be truly elite were allowed to go to the NBA immediately without necessarily having to pass through college. However, with time new rules were instituted that are still being used to determine the eligibility of a player to be drafted to the NBA. The most stressed rule is the one on age limit, whereby players need to be 19 years before they can be considered for the NBA. In addition, a year has to be spent in college before any considerations are made. With the ongoing debate on whether or not to make the players wait for a year before going to the NBA, there is a reason to believe that the best solution is not to insist on the one-year wait and instead allow players to go to the NBA directly after high school. High school players should not wait a year before going to the NBA because this will be like forcing an interest on them, it will restrict them from earning money from their careers and a lot of time will be unnecessarily wasted in that one year. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that a player becomes good after the one year, which makes the wait to be viewed as a form of discrimination against young talented players. Therefore, the wait is not important since players are exposed to unnecessary risks such as injuries in that one year that could reduce their value as players. Results and Findings Most of the high school players are not interested in college and therefore making them wait for one year before going to the NBA will amount to forcing an interest on them. A report by Barra (N.p) echoes the same idea and adds that colleges are more interested in the young players playing for them have little interest in having them attend classes. This in a way is unfair to the young players who could use the time in pursuit of their dreams. Evidently, a majority of the players who end up in the NBA admit to not having the slightest interest in spending a year in college. Instead, they prefer to use that time to get professional drafts with the NBA and be in a better position to use their talents productively and not just to satisfy the athletic departments of their colleges. This lack of interest in education is shown in the cases where the players give up on education once the year ends. As a result, forcing them to wait for this long can work negatively for their future as athletes because their minds are focused on being through with the year and getting out of college. Time is another reason why high school players should go to the NBA without waiting for a year. As Carter (N.p) notes, a lot of teaching goes on in the NBA that sometimes surpasses that offered by colleges to the players. Before and after practice the players are taught much that is related to what they wish to do in the future and the fact that they interact, practice and play with the world’s best players, makes the learning experience more fruitful. Therefore, by considering this, there is really no need to make the high school players wait for a year before going to the NBA. Moreover, in the one year spent in college, many time restraints could make it hard for a player to have adequate opportunities to prepare and practice for the NBA. For example, the time spent in the gym is usually limited in colleges whereas such limitations do not apply in the NBA. In the end, it only makes sense not to make the players wait for a year before going to the NBA. After going through college or being forced to wait for that one year, there is no guarantee that these young players do better or have sustained NBA careers later on. In the same way, there is also no guarantee that not waiting for a year will impact negatively on the preparedness of a player for the NBA. Notably, old and seasoned NBA players like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant managed to enter the NBA draft without waiting for one year (Hughes N.p). As a result, they got the rare opportunity of having their skills tested at the highest level and surprisingly succeeded at this. From this early exposure to high standards, they were able to earn many contracts that changed their lives for the better. Unfortunately for the upcoming players, they cannot dream of achieving this much, however great they may be because the new system automatically labels them emotionally unprepared and not ready for the NBA. The dreams for young stars are deferred until after the one year. In order to make the whole process sensible and beneficial to all, such players should not be made to wait for a year as long as there are indications that they are prepared for the big stage with the challenges that come with it. Waiting for a year exposes the players to various risks such as injuries that could potentially lead to the depreciation in their overall value. Hughes (N.p) gives an example of a player Nerlens Noel from Kentucky who lost his chances of being picked in the NBA draft because of an injury. Despite him having been ranked the number one in his college team and therefore a highly likely candidate for the NBA, a torn AC that he suffered while playing for his college meant that he could not be picked. From this, it is quite evident that forcing the players to spent one year playing for the college puts them at a very great risk of suffering the same fate. At the end of the day, players with great potential are lost because of this requirement to wait for a year before joining the NBA. Another thing worth noting is that, as these players wait for that year in college, they risk losing their value. College standards are different from NBA standards and due to this; they may conform to the former and miss out on being selected in the NBA draft. The injuries to usually contribute to this reduced value. Therefore, for all the mentioned reasons, high school players should not wait a year before going to the NBA. Instead, the transition should be direct. The main reason for the one-year wait is to allow the players to hit the 19-year age requirement put in place by the NBA. Ideally, this age discrimination tends to lock out the best players and deny them the opportunity to develop their careers from an early age. Interestingly, all evidence points to the fact that being under 18 years has not prevented young players from being the best. The players Kobe and LeBron are examples of those who joined the NBA while still very young. The fact that their names are known and being mentioned means that so far they have achieved much success than even those who waited for a year before going to the NBA. Insisting on the one-year and 19-year age limit puts college players at a disadvantage financially since in most cases, they are forced to give up huge salaries in the name of attending classes. This would go a long way in helping them take care of their families and hence, there is need to do away with the rules that require high school players to wait for a year before going to the NBA. The sole reason for the existence of colleges is to prepare students to be financially stabl...