Back in 2005 when the late David Stern was still the NBA commissioner, the league increased the age limit of entering the draft from 18 to 19. Under Adam Silver, though, things could change soon and return to what it was before.
Speaking in Las Vegas in his news conference after a meeting with the league's board of governors, Silver shared his hope that the age limit will go back to 18 when the league and the players meet for the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. For Silver, it's the “right thing to do.”
“I think there's an opportunity [to change it],”Silver explained, via ESPN. “It's [based on] larger conversations than just whether we go from 19 to 18, but I'm on record: When I balance all of these various considerations, I think that would be the right thing to do and I am hopeful that that's a change we make in this next collective bargaining cycle, which will happen in the next couple years.”
To recall, the NBA changed its age limit after the influx of high school players immediate jumping to the NBA, led by the likes of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James. David Stern and the NBA thought about increasing the limit to 20 years old, but the players didn't like it and they agreed on a compromise of 19.
Adam Silver admitted he also wanted the age-20 limit before, but with how things have evolved in the sport, he has a change of heart and thinks it is in the best interest of everyone involved to get the age limit back to 18.
“It may be the case that it's in all of our interests that we start impacting with these young players, especially because in our sport they are identified at such a young age and begin working with them on their development then,” Silver said. “Not just basketball skills but increasingly there's a focus on their mental health, their diets, just helping them build character and all of the important values around the sport.”
It remains to be seen how it will be addressed in the next CBA. The current CBA expires after the 2023-24 season, but the NBA and the NBA Players Association can opt out by December and start negotiations.
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