Age Limit In The NBA

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ADV-100 Age Limit in the NBA (Final Cut) Former NBA commissioner David Stern, retired February of this year. After his 30 years of service as leader, Adam Silver, Stern's long-time assistant, has taken over the position. Silver, who attended Duke University, plans to introduce himself to the league by proposing to change the draft eligibility age to twenty. This controversial issue will have to be agreed upon by the owners and players, just as it was in 2006, when David Stern increased the age requirement from eighteen to nineteen. While another year of college for anyone seems favorable, this rule change stands to be more beneficial to the "Big Business" of basketball rather…show more content…
Some of these players were so uniquely talented that two of them won Rookie of the Year honors, during their transition from High School to the NBA. While not all players were as successful, three of these young men were good enough to eventually win MVP award, the most prestigious award that can be received by an individual, in the NBA. Even with the undeniable examples of proven success of these special players, the NBA and its owners still question the mental and physical maturity of these kids versus the men of the NBA. This observation of maturity should be done on an individual basis. If they feel a player is not ready for the NBA, rather mentally or physically, the decision should be made then not to draft him. Otherwise, they will be taking opportunity away from players in the future that are ready to play with the best NBA, right…show more content…
NBA owners spend millions of dollars annually on scouting and on the development of young prospective basketball players. Increasing the age requirement, will allow college basketball coaches another year to work with these players. This also, gives their scouts an additional year to study these players, translating to more information on the investment rather than taking chances on a player’s right out of high school. Allowing these colleges to spend an extra year with players, should reduce the NBA's responsibility of the development of young players. Providing scouts with an additional year, should assist in investing in the right players. Ultimately, they can use college to filter out the players that are not likely to succeed without the financial penalty. Universities may benefit the most from this rule change. Requiring players to remain at the university level until the age 20, should translate into billions of dollars for colleges. In 2010, Turner Sports network and CBS network paid the NCAA $10.8 billion in order to televise the annual March Madness basketball tournament. This money is expected to increase greatly if players are required to remain in college because of age despite individual talent. Furthermore, wouldn't all these scholarships better serve someone who will be pursuing employment after
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