The NBA's one-and-done rule has impacted basketball since its introduction in 2005. It's changed how the NBA approaches who they draft and develop their young athletes, but it's also impacted the lower levels of the sport from college to high school.
While the NBA has been reluctant to engage with high school athletes in the past, this stance has the potential to change in the near future. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the NBA is looking at becoming more involved with high school athletes. This could not only signal the end of the one-and-done rule, but programs specifically designed to develop the NBA's future stars. Via ESPN:
Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver and several of his top advisers have been engaged in listening tours and information-gathering missions with an array of stakeholders for months. That has included formal meetings with the National Basketball Players Association about adjusting the so-called "one-and-done" age-limit rule. But Silver's aim is much more comprehensive than simply re-opening the door for 18-year-olds to play in the NBA, sources said.
A plan is expected to include the NBA starting relationships with elite teenagers while they are in high school, providing skills to help them develop both on and off the court. It would ultimately open an alternate path to the NBA besides playing in college and a way 18-year-olds could earn a meaningful salary either from NBA teams or as part of an enhanced option in the developmental G League, sources said.
The NBA is focusing on getting involved in two important periods in which they currently have minimal contact with prospects: the high school years and the time between high school graduation and when a young player is physically and emotionally ready to join the NBA.
This would be a major change from how the NBA has typically dealt with high school athletes. They've typically avoided interacting with them in the past until they either declared for the draft or entered college.
It will be interesting to see to what extent the NBA is looking to involve itself. There's always the academy model where students attend schools specifically meant to develop and prepare them for the professional level, but the league could go other routes such as making the G League a more viable option, or creating a different alternative all together.
