What if you knew you were an amazing artist, but no one would buy your artwork  until you graduated from college? An amazing musician? According to the “Easy to fix one-and-dones in college basketball”, the definition of the One and Done Rule is “The NBA requires players to be at least 19 years old and one year removed from high school. This requirement is known as the one-and-done rule.” This takes away time that they could be playing making money playing in the NBA and gives them a higher chance of injury, which could make them fall down the draft boards and be paid much less. This results in a player being worse off than if they just came into the draft after high school. This is why the NBA should remove the One and Done rule.

First of all, many players could get injured playing college basketball. Take for account what happened to one of the nation’s most promising college basketball player, Zion Williamson. Zion is an amazing player, who most think will be selected with the number one pick of this year’s draft. However, he got injured during the season. Luckily, this injury was only minor, but think if this was a major injury, such as an ACL tear. That would cause him to drop on the draft board , making millions upon millions lest per year than he could’ve if he just went to the NBA right after high school. Take for example Michael Porter Jr. The article “Michael Porter Jr. signs rookie contract with the Denver Nuggets”, states “Porter was the top-rated high school recruit in the nation in 2017 before missing most of his lone season at Missouri following back surgery.” This is one of the reasons why the One and Done rule should be abolished.

Another reason that the NBA should get rid of the One and Done rule is they are delaying a player progress. What league do you think provides more learning as a player, the NBA or NCAA? “...the Association remains the best professional basketball league in the world by a hefty margin.” (Martin) In most people's opinion, that would be the NBA, as they are the top level of competition and have the best equipment, coaches, etc. So why make players wait in a league that won’t teach them as much as the NBA will?    

Some argue that most players aren’t mature enough to come out of high school to play in the NBA, but this is not a valid argument against the One and Done rule being eliminated, “ Development was a major topic of conversation with the executives I talked to.” While I can see where they are coming from, players that aren’t ready to go into the draft can just go to college, while the other players, such as Zion Williamson, can go straight into the NBA draft. Another argument that could be made against the One and Done rule is the busts. A bust is a player who is expected to be really good when they come onto a team, but then end up being not as good as expected. High school basketball is much different than NBA basketball, but you get a better comparison in the NCAA. To counter that, the rule was instituted in 2005, when scouting info was not what it is today. With players becoming more and more known, it is easier to tell whether a player is worth a 1st round draft pick, or should just play college basketball.

In summary, the NBA should get rid of the One and Done rule for a variety of reasons, including the chance of injury, player progression and there is not a solid claim against the One and Done rule. This is why the NBA should get rid of the One and Done rule.

Works Cited

"Easy to fix one-and-dones in college basketball." USA Today, 3 Dec. 2013, p. 09A. Research in Context. Accessed 18 Apr. 2019.

Martin, Josh. "Power Ranking the Best Basketball Leagues in the World, Outside of the NBA." Bleacher Report, 9 Aug. 2012. Accessed 18 Apr. 2019.

Mizell, Gina. "Michael Porter Jr. signs rookie contract with Denver Nuggets."

    The Denver Post, 3 July 2018. Accessed 18 Apr. 2019.

O'Connor, Kevin. "High School Angst: What Abolishing the One-and-Done Rule Would

    Mean for the NBA." The Ringer, 25 Feb. 2019. Accessed 18 Apr. 2019.