NBA, union eyeing lower eligibility age

MIAMI — The NBA and its players are continuing to move forward on plans to eliminate the “one-and-done” rule in college basketball.

The league has sent a proposal to the National Basketball Players Association on lowering the minimum age for entering the NBA draft from 19 to 18, and the union discussed the contents at a meeting in the Bahamas earlier this week, a person with knowledge of the matter said Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither side released the plan publicly.

USA Today Sports first reported the proposal being sent.

The proposal changed hands before All-star weekend and long before Duke star Zion Williamson, quite possibly the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, injured his right knee Wednesday night. The freshman standout is expected to play in the NBA next season and forgo his final three seasons of collegiate eligibility.

Neither the league nor the players’ union has hidden the fact that both sides want the current system changed. Commissioner Adam Silver said last July that it was time to revert to the policy that will allow players to go into the NBA right out of high school, something that will have to be bargained with the players.

The NBPA has had previous talks with the NBA on the idea, which is likely to be in place by the 2022 draft.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Boston’s Jayson Tatum, who went to the NBA after one season at Duke, said at All-star weekend. “If you’re good enough to come out of high school, I feel like you should be able to. But I don’t make those decisions.”

Golden State’s Demarcus Cousins, who played at Kentucky, told reporters Thursday that knowing what he knows now makes him question why players need to play college basketball, especially if they’re Nbaready.

“I don’t understand the point of it,” Cousins said of the ‘one-anddone’ rule. “What’s the difference between 18 and 19 and 17 and 18? You’re immature, you’re young, you’re ignorant to life in general. So what’s really the difference? You’ve still got a lot of growing to do as a man.”

The one-and-done rule has been in place since the 2006 draft. Silver, who was once a proponent of raising the draft minimum age to 20 before changing his mind, said last year that he believes the league and the players “can create a better system.”