Opinion: The NBA must change its draft eligibility rules
When Zion Williamson’s defective shoe ripped open 36-seconds into Duke’s rivalry game against North Carolina, all eyes turned to the National Basketball Association to see if they will finally rip up their defective one-and-done rule.
By forcing teenagers to attend college for a year and play for a university that monopolizes off their free labor, the NBA has jeopardized the careers of hundreds of young players. Unfortunately, it took a generational talent being injured for the NBA to seek to correct this issue.
In 2006, the NBA included Article X into the collective bargaining agreement they signed with the players association. This article mandates that all draft-eligible players must be at least 19-years-old and one full year removed from high school graduation. All top players were then recruited by colleges, where it is assumed that top talent will play their freshman year before declaring for the draft, hence the rule’s nickname, one-and-done.
That brings us to last Wednesday night, when Williamson, the most famous prospect since LeBron James, laced up his white and blue Nike sneakers and prepared to play before a sellout crowd of over 9,000 at the direction of head coach Mike Krzyewski. Nike has paid Duke millions of dollars for their players to wear Nike apparel. The cheapest ticket for Wednesday’s game on the second-hand market was $2,000, with the average ticket price closer to $4,000. Krzyewski is being paid $8.89 million to coach Duke this year.
Due to their NCAA amateur status, the only people who were not making money off the talent of the players were the players, including Williamson, despite it being the players putting themselves at the most risk. If Williamson’s mild knee sprain had been a ligament tear or bone break, his entire career could have been jeopardized. Whenever a college player takes the court, they are risking millions of dollars playing in a league that does not pay them and they have no choice but to play in that league or go overseas and play in Europe for a season.
Last year’s NBA first overall draft pick, Deandre Ayton, will make $17.8 million in his first two seasons. After that, he will be able to sign an extension for over $100 million. A full max contract for a 10-year league veteran is currently at $220 million, and that value will increase in upcoming years. Forbes Magazine explains that Williamson is likely to become the third NBA player, after Michael Jordan and possibly LeBron James, to be paid over $1 billion playing basketball, considering both salary and endorsement opportunities.
If Williamson had fallen a little bit harder, or at a more awkward angle, and suffered a career-ending injury, that defective shoe he was forced to wear playing in the NCAA, where he was forced to play, could have cost him
$1 billion.
What the NBA must recognize is that players should not be forced to attend college to play basketball if they believe they can capitalize on their abilities without it. For one-and-done players, obtaining a college degree is not enough incentive to turn down the millions of dollars available at the professional level. And that’s not a bad thing.
Not even the possibility of improving under college coaches will make all players want to attend college. Williamson, whose high school videos have generated over 2 million views on YouTube, would have been the presumptive first overall draft pick, even if he never played a second of college ball.
The NBA has filed a petition with the players association to change the age limit to 18, with the rule change to take effect for the 2022 draft, according to USA Today. This solution will finally solve the unjust problem of forcing the best players to give free labor for a year to a school they will never
graduate from.