The NBA instituted the one-and-done rule in 2006 in hopes that prospects would wait until they were mature enough to take their game to the pros. According to Zach Lowe of ESPN, the league sent a memo to all 30 teams in the league foreshadowing changes that could allow high school athletes to be once again eligible for the NBA draft.
The one-and-done rule has long been a point of discussion for NBA and NCAA fans. With the league’s current collective bargaining agreement expiring in 2024, the rule that prohibits athletes under the age of 19 or less than a year removed from high school from entering the NBA, will continue to receive much attention.
The memo, per Lowe, indicated that the league would look to address one-and-done no sooner than the 2021 draft.
Following from ESPN,
The NBA on Friday sent teams a memo indicating that “eligibility rules” for the draft may shift as early as 2021 (but no earlier) as the league reviews issues “related to player development and the corruption investigation in college basketball,” according to a copy of the memo obtained by ESPN.
The memo does not mention the one-and-done rule by name, but it is meant to remind teams that the league and the players union could agree to scrap one-and-done before the expiration of the current collective bargaining deal in 2024 — and perhaps well before then, sources say. The memo says that, as of now, the league does not expect changes in draft eligibility rules to take place at any time “prior to the 2021 or 2022 draft.”
If such a change were to happen, it could create a single draft loaded with the best prospects from two consecutive high school classes.
With the 2018 NBA Draft scheduled for Thursday, June 21, the news of a potential abolishment of the one-and-done rule could affect any draft night deals involving picks.
The league made sure to remind teams to be mindful of the eligibility changes that could come in the future ahead of Thursday’s draft, according to Lowe.
