Getty Adam Silver and Deandre Ayton
The NBA draft has been a topic of discussion even long before the next wave of young talent is slated to enter the league. A large reason for this stems from the fact that the eligibility rules and deadlines placed have been rumoured to feature changes in the near future. As things stand, the rules are fairly cut and dry, but they are primed to be overhauled sooner than later.
In recent years, prospects had to enter college or play elsewhere professionally before entering the NBA draft. The reason for this was largely due to the fact that players have to be 19 years old in order to put their name in the mix to make the leap to the next level, but that’s the first and biggest rule that’s likely to change.
Before we dive into rule changes on the horizon, we’ll take a look at the current draft eligibility rules and the deadline for a player to withdraw their name.
NBA Draft Eligibility Rules & Deadline to Withdraw Name
As of the 2019 NBA Draft, a player not only has to be 19 years old but also must be one year removed from graduating high school. Here’s a look at a few of the general draft rules, courtesy of DraftSite.com:
- Player must be 19 years old during calendar year AND be at least one year removed from graduating high school.
- Must declare for the draft 60 days in advance
- American players who sign an international contract and play are eligible by age 19
This is a starting point, but there have already been a few changes implemented for players. One of which is the fact that a prospect is able to enter their name into the draft and even hire an agent to help assist in the process, but still return to school potentially, as SB Nation detailed.
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How this works is that the player must submit their name to the Undergraduate Advisory Committee (UAC) and their agent must be approved by the NBA Player Association. From there, the player can accept benefits in the form of transportation along with meals and lodging related to meetings with the agent or workouts with NBA teams. If these rules are followed, a player still has the option to return to school after beginning the process.
Players are able to withdraw their name from the NBA draft at any point up to May 29 and return to college.
Upcoming NBA Draft Rule Changes
By far the biggest upcoming change is the expected lowering of the age in which a player can enter their name into the draft. USA Today reported that the NBA submitted a proposal to the NBA Players Association to lower the age from 19 to 18, which would allow a much larger number of prospects into the draft.
More specifically, it could lead to high school players entering their names and also eliminate many one-and-done prospects at the collegiate level.
As far as when this would happen, the expectation has been either the 2021 or 2022 draft, which would essentially create a “double draft” with top college and high school prospects in one of the years.
Interestingly, there has been some talk involving another potential change, but no movement has come on it yet. As SB Nation’s Brian J. Leung pointed out, the NCAA has updated rules on NBA draft flexibility. This would allow players to return to school if they are not drafted, but it will only go into action if the NBA changes the rules on players who go undrafted.
College basketball players who request an Undergraduate Advisory Committee evaluation, participate in the NBA combine and aren’t drafted can return to school as long as they notify their athletics director of their intent by 5 p.m. the Monday after the draft.
There are quite a few interesting possible changes on the horizon for the NBA draft, but when they could all come together remains the real question mark.
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