Kareem Abdul Jabbar Believes Minimum NBA Entry level should be 21

yeah, i understand that college does that but maybe some proper education at an earlier age might help. i'm sure KAJ is talking about more than just the nba. he wants young black kids to look beyond just making it in the league.

the problem is that many of them don't have the proper education to even get into a university and when theyre at the university they have other ppl do their work for them. hardly an education.

my high school proposal will attempt to take help kids like AI (living in horrible conditions) and give them the education to live with or without basketball by preparing them for college. on the other hand take a kid like LBJ and bring him down to earth because everyone won't be kissing his ass.

anyway, it's just an idea that started out as sarcasm but ended up making a little sense... to me at least.

18 they should be able to play. like everyone else said. old enough to go to war then old enough to play. i know it's KAJ talking but i think the whole age limitation and any limitation on the nba (dress code etc.) seems a bit racist. look at hockey (fights ok), mlb (drafting young players).

 

There's actually some truth to your statement, most of the High Schoolers who get drafted in the NBA didn't actually pan out, and worse, due to bad decisions, are out of the league and scrapped for cash, owing more money than what they earned in the league..


remember for every LBJ, there's a Ricky Davis

 

College basketball at the top schools is also a big bucks profession.

 

It's hard for me to tell right now as to whether Kareem's suggestion is feasible or not, there should be further studies to be conducted. The message is clear: people should now the value of proper education. Only a few incoming athletes are the LeBron type and also the lack of experience and immaturity coupled with a ton of cash could lead to serious consequences like jail time and drugs. A proper education should minimize if not eliminate these possibilities. What they learn from school will help them in the long run, even after the NBA. We all enjoy watching the young players come into the league and piling highlight films and all that but when their career is over, they will have nothing left but basketball and maybe only basketball. Money comes and goes, but proper education is a lifetime investment. It's ironic that players coming straight out of HS are telling kids to stay in school and all that.

 

I was thinking, maybe the NBA can implement a new rule:

Players aged under 21 will be paid the vet minimum until they have reached the age of 21, in which case they will be able to negotiate a new contract.

This way high schoolers will most likely go else where if they want to make the buck before turning 21. Maybe players will also reconsider jumping straight to the pro's after graduating high school.

If this doesn't work then maybe make the pay lower than the vet min. Maybe half of it?

What say you?

 

Well, we are just talking baskeball here. Not running the country.

Because its just that, Pro Sports. That is completely different than you're ordinary job. Is there a basketball or sports degree in college? That "one year" in college required should count as a "minimum degree" to play pro ball. Until all sports get on the NBA's level of age limit, the NBA should NOT be singled out. Why is that? Most Pro sports besides the NFL and NBA are either 18 or younger. Yet, the NBA catches all the heat for young guys in the draft. Is it a race issues? Because lets be real, the NBA's draft isn't as pale as other sports draft.

 

They do have that right. See: Brandon Jennings.

The NBA, as a for-profit business, should have the right to set standards for their employees, including minimum levels of required experience.

 

19 is bad enough.

For most jobs, if your qualified and over 18 you have a shot at it. This is good enough.

 

Yea and you're old enough to go to prison for the rest of your life too.

I think if the kid is ready at 18 let him play if not set him on the bench or send him to the d-league.

 

Because the MLB kids go to trade school, essentially (the minor leagues). They have an entire system built around getting the kids ready. The NBA doesn't - it uses the NCAA for that purpose. They could alternatively develop a more sophisticated d-league, but right now, it doesn't serve much value.

Just compare it to football. Everyone has to be at least 3 years out of high school. When you go to the NFL, the top tier players are ready to contribute. In the NBA, the worst teams often end up drafting projects - which means the fans not only had the worst teams that year, but they will have to wait 2-4 years for their 19 yr old kid to become a functional NBA player, at which point they are nearing free agency.

The purpose of the rule change is not for the kids - it's for the league to be able to better evaluate talent and get NBA ready talent. It improves competitive balance. It also improves the quality of the college game. It also focuses players much less on one-on-one and more on teamwork, which should have lasting benefits on the quality of the NBA game.

 

You do. And the NBA is a business, and they have a right to set minimum qualifications for their jobs.

Just like a high school kid has a right to try to go work for Goldman Sachs, and GS has a right to say "hell no."

 

how do you tell if someone is "qualified" to play ball? if you have game, you have game period. and those teams pay those GMs and scout big money to determine who has game or not.

those teams do NOT have to draft those players (like you said they can say "hell no"). it isn't like the players are choosing where they want to go. they just put themselves in the draft. teams don't have to pick them.

i don't know why people are putting this on the young players. blame it to the teams/GMs who take a risk on those kids, when they don't have to.

 

What? Ricky Davis didnt come out of highschool and he just retired from the NBA at the end of what last season

 

I'd agree with that. One or the other with a couple options in between. A firm 21 year age limit is too old I think. There's been succesful 20 year olds in the league better than 28 year old 12th men. Michael Beasley was better than league average last season whether he was spoiled or not. Though its not so much the super blue guys, its the ones behind them

It could actually expand the D-League. Its probably whats enabled so many farm systems in MLB, its set up as players being 1 step closer to their dreams besides AA and AAA being a "setback".

And its probably why NCAA would rather be the farm club for future pros instead of D-Leagues doing it NCAA still benefits from those uncoachable underclassmen.

 

Ricky Davis is still in the NBA.

 

As far as the minimum age, I don't really have a dog in that hunt.

That being said, I just don't get how sports ever got tied in with serious academics. I don't see why a serious university should even have any athletic program.

I can, however, see something like "Slam Dunk College" with a curricula of Jump Shot Shooting 101, The Basics of Passing, Leadership and Team Spirit, Fundamentals of Blocking Out, etc.

A basic finance class on how to handle your sudden millionaire wealth might round off the degree plan.

 

If you are qualified is the key part. Companies have a right to set standards that determine whether or not you are qualified. Why shouldn't the NBA be allowed to set such a standard?

 

If new great players keep entering the league, pretty soon it's going to be hard to distinguish the "star players" from the rest of the players.

 

NBA needs to learn from European soccer. Make the d-league an academy for young rookies out of high school and develop them.

 

One way would be to set a minimum standard of previous experience. It's not unreasonable. It's done in most fields.

You would not be hired as faculty in a university Physics department without a Ph.D in Physics (or a related field). That degree shows that you've got the minimum level of experience required for the job. How is requiring a player to play in college or another pro league for a minimum of three years any more unfair than requiring an applicant to have an advanced degree that takes at least three years to earn?