Stern advocated a minimum age limit for NBA players. Starting with the 2006 NBA draft, players could no longer be selected straight out of high school and needed to be at least 19 years old, creating the one-and-done rule. In 2001, Stern had stated, "If these kids have the ability to get a little more maturity, a little more coaching, a little bit more life experience overall, that's good." He was criticized for his reference to the 18-year-old adults, most of whom were African American, as "these kids", when other professional sports and occupations allowed 18-year-olds.