the nba banned high school players in 2002.
the nba banned high school players in 2002.
when did the nba ban high school players?
2002
in the past, high school players were also eligible to be selected. however, starting in the 2006 draft, high school players were not eligible to enter the draft directly after graduating from high school. the rules now state that high school players will gain eligibility for draft selection one year after their high school graduation, and they must also be at least 19 years old as of the end of the calendar year of the draft. some players have chosen to use that year to play professionally overseas for example, such as brandon jennings (italy), emmanuel mudiay (china), and terrance ferguson (australia). thon maker was eligible for the 2016 draft despite not going to college because he chose to undertake a postgraduate year, so he was technically one year removed from graduation.
nba draft
despite the success of some high school players drafted, the entry of high school players into the nba remains controversial. critics say that high school players are not mentally and physically mature or prepared enough to handle the pressure of professional play. thus, they are more likely to fail. instead, they believe that colleges are useful at filtering out players who can dominate against weak competition in high school, but cannot succeed at a higher level of play. they also think that the influx of high schoolers bypassing colleges in favor of the nba has caused collegiate game to deteriorate. universities are wary of spending time recruiting as many players that are motivated financially to turn pro fresh out of high school.
nba high school draftees