Ever since stepping in and filling the role of NBA commissioner as David Stern’s replacement, Adam Silver has progressed the league forward in numerous avenues. Whether it be amending a relationship between Charles Oakley and James Dolan or encouraging coaches and players to speak their minds, Silver has done a great job leading the league in the right direction.
One of the hot button topics that seems to come up year after year, especially during this time, is the highly disputed one-and-done rule. Under the current rules, the NBA age minimum is 19 years old which is generally one year after completing high school.
On Wednesday, Silver went on The Herd hosted by Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports and talked about how he is keeping an open mind in regards to the rule and wouldn’t necessarily be against amending the age minimum. Video courtesy of Colin Cowherd:
In his interview, Adam Silver cites current Sixers forward Ben Simmons as a good example for how the one-and-done rule isn’t always a help and how you could consider his single year at LSU as pointless.
Silver is clearly more than aware of this pressing issue that has become more and more relevant over recent years. A lot of these young players see their freshman year of college as a sort of formality and just look to avoid injury in order to keep their draft stock intact.
If the point of that one required year of college is to make sure the players come in mentally ready for the NBA and its rigors, there are plenty of examples to dispute that mindset also. Some of the brightest and most talented stars over the past two decades have come straight out of high school including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Garnett, three players who have all been global ambassadors of the league.
Based on his most recent open-minded comments, expect the one-and-done rule to be among one of the multiple issues Adam Silver and the NBPA address over this coming offseason.
