Over the last few years, the NBA has floated the idea of lowering the minimum age to become eligible for the draft. The age used to be 18 but it was eventually raised to 19. This put an end to the era of high schoolers going straight to the NBA draft. Instead, we were left with players who were forced to go to college for a year, which in some cases is a straight-up waste of time.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the NBA and the NBPA are discussing the new Collective Bargaining Agreement and one of the biggest stipulations is allowing 18-year-olds to enter the draft straight out of high school. This would be a huge move with massive implications for the entire NBA.
When this news was announced, NBA fans immediately thought of Bronny James Jr. As you can see in the tweets below, various fans came out and claimed that this move was being made to appease LeBron. As it turns out, however, this will only be put into effect in 2024, which was going to be Bronny’s draft year out of college, anyway. This means it has no effect on Bronny’s career, but it will have a huge effect on Bryce, who is now eligible as of 2025.
This is a huge move for the league and it will be interesting to see what kind of talents we see get boosted into stardom over the next decade.
Let us know what you think of the decision, in the comments below.