Blog Post #2 - Professional Sports Eligibility
Kobe Bryant and eight others passed away just one week ago in a tragic helicopter accident. Bryant accomplished many things in his lifetime: five time NBA champion, two time NBA Finals MVP, and father of four daughters, just to name a few. However, one of his first and most notable accomplishments may be his immediate jump from high school basketball to being drafted as a 17 year old by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA Draft. This almost unheard of achievement sparked a movement of basketball players, like LeBron James, who also went straight from high school to the NBA. In 2005 a rule change sparked controversy, it said players must be at least one year removed from high school before they could enter the NBA draft. This has resulted in countless debates and failed attempts to change the rule back to its previous state.
In the NFL, players must be three years removed from high school, often meaning they have completed their junior year of college. In the MLB, athletes are allowed to be drafted straight out of high school. Many wonder, though, what the rationale behind these different rules may be.
This article, published by the Sports Analytics Group from the University of California Berkley, discusses a new proposal to change the NBA rule. Prior to 2005, only 39 players were drafted out of high school to the NBA. However, after the 2005 rule change 132 players have been drafted immediately after their freshman year of college. How much of a difference does one year of college really make? If the rule is changed back it would allow players to make their own decision of whether to go to college or not, instead of having the decision already made for them. If you examine the MLB, where players are currently allowed to go directly from high school to professional play, only 0.5% of the players drafted are actually out of high school, meaning most end up attending college anyway. If this stat were translated to the two round, 60 player NBA draft, that would be less than one player each year. In my opinion, these young athletes should be allowed to make their own decision on whether to attend college or play professionally no matter the sport, but until a rule change, this is not the case.
https://sportsanalytics.berkeley.edu/articles/draft-eligibility.html
https://evanstiltswrd112.blogspot.com/2020/01/blog-post-1.html
In the NFL, players must be three years removed from high school, often meaning they have completed their junior year of college. In the MLB, athletes are allowed to be drafted straight out of high school. Many wonder, though, what the rationale behind these different rules may be.
This article, published by the Sports Analytics Group from the University of California Berkley, discusses a new proposal to change the NBA rule. Prior to 2005, only 39 players were drafted out of high school to the NBA. However, after the 2005 rule change 132 players have been drafted immediately after their freshman year of college. How much of a difference does one year of college really make? If the rule is changed back it would allow players to make their own decision of whether to go to college or not, instead of having the decision already made for them. If you examine the MLB, where players are currently allowed to go directly from high school to professional play, only 0.5% of the players drafted are actually out of high school, meaning most end up attending college anyway. If this stat were translated to the two round, 60 player NBA draft, that would be less than one player each year. In my opinion, these young athletes should be allowed to make their own decision on whether to attend college or play professionally no matter the sport, but until a rule change, this is not the case.
https://sportsanalytics.berkeley.edu/articles/draft-eligibility.html
https://evanstiltswrd112.blogspot.com/2020/01/blog-post-1.html
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