On Tuesday morning the NBA’s “one-and-done” rule joined the endangered species list, as the rule may be coming to an end sooner rather than later. Yes, 18- and 19-year-old players may not have to spend a year in school pretending to care college basketball for much longer.
Talk to any hardcore college basketball fan, most will lament about the days when college freshmen would stay three or four years before they’d turn pro. Their eyes turn sepia and strangely they find a decent pair of rose-colored glasses to put on whenever they discuss this topic. For many college basketball fans, their biggest issue with college basketball is the fact that 18- and 19-year-olds have the ability to leave school and decide to make money for their efforts.
For those basketball fans that yearn for the days of 2005, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is here for you. As the Chairman of the College Basketball Committee, she brought one recommendation to the table: end the one and done rule.
The Commission stated in their 60-page report that the one-and-done rule has done more to hurt college basketball than help it, and has created a wider gap between those who want to get their education and those who want to go to school.
The one-and-done regime may have provided some benefits for the NBA and the NCAA in the past, but all stakeholders agree that the downsides now outweigh any
benefits. One-and-done has played a significant role in corrupting and destabilizing college basketball, restricting the freedom of choice of players, and undermining the
relationship of college basketball to the mission of higher education.
The NBA and NBPA conversations on eliminating the one-and-done draft rule — which would allow high school seniors to enter the NBA — are centered on the 2020 Draft as the earliest possible date for change, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 25, 2018
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA and the NBPA have had conversations about ending the one-and-done rule as well. Both entities are targeting the 2020 NBA draft as the first to allow high school seniors to be able to declare for the draft. One can hope that when the one-and-done rule is eliminated, there will be folks who will no longer chastise a young player for doing what’s best for his family from a financial standpoint.
Joint statement from The Union & @NBA regarding the Commission on College Basketball report -> https://t.co/3ZKHBBdxaS pic.twitter.com/lCoYm4KZUV
— NBPA (@TheNBPA) April 25, 2018
The NBA and NBPA also released a joint statement, which for the most part agreed with the commission’s findings. What might be the funniest part of their statement is their closing line, where it addresses the NBA’s draft eligibility rules and puts in no uncertain terms that both parties will continue to “assess them to promote the best interests of the players and the game.” Because if anyone has the best interests of the players, it’s absolutely the NCAA.
At the end of the day, the one-and-done rule was never going to stay in place much longer, as it’s a horrible look to market players under federal investigation both in college and in the NBA. The NBA now is more invested in player development than ever by increasing the salary of G-league players, and the league at some point will have a G-league affiliate for every single team. This was the most logical step for every party to take. The sad part is that we have to wait for 2020 for it to happen.
