NBA age limit

                             NBA Age Limit

    The NBA age limit was first in placed in 2006 requiring that a player must be in college for one year or at least a year away from high school. There’s been a great deal of discussion regarding the possibility of the NBA increasing the age minimum from 18 to 20 or 21 during their next collective bargaining session. Many people look to the success of the NFL policy where players must be 3 years out of high school. Critics counter that football is more of a man’s game; too bruising and tough for younger bodies. They’ll cite that Baseball and Hockey have no age restrictions. But most believe that the NFL is the best overall product in professional sports. Here are the pros and cons of raising the age requirement.

The pros of raising the NBA age limit is, player’s get to experience all that comes with being a student athlete. College expands horizons, if even only for a year or two. The responsibility will mature the person so that they’ll be better prepared when they enter the NBA and even more importantly, when their NBA careers are over. At the point in time where the decision to tryout for the NBA comes, the player would be older and more mature. This would help him make a better decision while attempting to make it in the NBA and also make better decisions off the court and better help them selves with the amount of money that they will receive from the team that picks them. And finally it sends the message to the younger basketball players that basketball is about more than agents, endorsements and big money contracts and about getting an education to better themselves in the future have stability in there lives.

     The cons of raising the age limit are, the top high-school players will have to wait at least year or two before entering there name into the NBA draft. If the player is good enough to have pro scouts calling his name, he should be allowed to go play pro basketball in the NBA. If the player or player’s family really needs money, he should be allowed to make a future in the NBA just like in the real world where you can get a job after high school. The possibility of getting hurt and not being able to have at least a degree to back you up for the future many players who have leaped from high school to NBA have suffered career ending injuries and without having any college experience have suffered greatly. And lastly, few athletically gifted players won’t have the academic abilities required by a top rated basketball university.

       The NBA age limit has been a hot topic in the basketball community. A lot of NBA player's have shared their feelings towards this topic and a lot of them have felt that there shouldn’t be an age requirement in the NBA. It’s a situation that’s still being discussed by the NBA and also the NCAA. My take on this is that the NBA should imply a rule that allows high school athletes to apply for the NBA draft but if you decide to go to college you must stay in school for two years and or complete at least an associates degree before entering the NBA draft. This would help improve both the collegiate game and the NBA game. Most importantly this will give athletes a back up plan in case there NBA careers is cut short and they’ll have a degree so it can help them pursue other job aspirations.