Could this year’s freshman class in college basketball be the last to enter the NBA after spending just one year in college?
While that remains to be seen, it’s growing increasingly likely that NBA commissioner Adam Silver will move to end the one-and-done rule in the near future.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday that Silver and National Basketball Players Association chief Michelle Roberts met with the new commission on college basketball Thursday, and it reportedly could be the first steps toward eliminating the rule and allowing high school players to enter the NBA Draft.
“Nevertheless, there’s a growing belief within the league that Silver’s desire to end the one-and-done — the ability of college basketball players to enter the NBA draft after playing one year in college — could be pushing the sport closer to high school players having the opportunity to directly enter the league again,” Wojnarowski writes. “For that change to happen, though, the union would probably need to cede the one-and-done rule and agree to a mandate that players entering college must stay two years before declaring for the draft.”
The NBA’s one-and-done rule has been in effect since 2005 when it was put into the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
The Association undoubtedly would benefit from going away from the one-and-done policy, and instituting a rule such as the one that exists in college baseball where a high school player may enter the draft, but if they choose to go to college then they must stay for three years.
It certainly sounds like Silver is leaning that way.
