The One and Done rule is a rule the NCAA and NBA have agreed on to force players that come out of high school to go play college basketball for a year and spend a year in academics. The problems with this outweigh the benefits and the NBA has begun trying to get rid of the rule entirely. The NCAA will likely hurt from this rule change, but the NBA is the professorial league and they need to put themselves first.
When people think of basketball they most likely think of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Lebron James. Michael Jordan is one of the best players ever and he was cut from his high school varsity basketball team. He made the junior varsity team and was outstanding. He then made the transition to college to play basketball in hopes of going to the NBA. He benefited from going to the University of North Carolina and it helped make him a better player and he had a great career in college, but he was not forced to go, but it was preferred in his era in the 80s. Kobe Bryant was another player most people know and he never attended college and jumped straight to the NBA. He won 5 championships and has gone down as one of the best players ever after having a historic career. He was one of the best high school basketball players ever because he had great stats, and he won a high school championship in Pennsylvania. Kobe could have gone on to play in college, but the buzz around his play gave him the ability to go straight to the NBA. Lebron James was one of the best basketball players for St Vincent-St Mary high school in Ohio. He was one of the best players in high school like Kobe, but technology started advancing and Lebron was publicized more and talked about in the media. Lebron has been the in the league for the last 15 years and still playing and has had great success winning titles and having great stats.
Kobe played 20 seasons in the NBA and Lebron is playing in his 16th year currently. Michael Jordan only played 15 seasons but took 2 years off during his career to play baseball. Lebron is in his 16th season and still playing very well so he looks to have a few more years left. Michael Jordan spent 3 years in college and those 3 years in college cost him a longer NBA career where he could have made more money and extend his stats. Kobe's career was derailed by an Achilles injury late in his career and he was never the same after, or he may have played even longer than 20 seasons. James career is still going due to his ability to stay healthy and his extra years in the NBA for not playing in college.
The point of these examples shows that some players can go to the NBA straight from high school. The NBA also has developmental called the G-league that can help players who do not play well once drafted or still need the extra help to work on their game. The NBA and G league would also start paying the athletes at 18, so they could start earning money and prove their worth for the NBA. The players could be eligible for endorsements and shoe contracts. The NCAA stops players from getting any money from signing autographs, commercials, endorsements, and for actually playing the college games. The NCAA makes so much money off these players and the players do not receive any of it. People will say they get to attend school for free and play college basketball, but instead of paying scholarships to players that are already superior to most players and belong in the NBA why not let them go straight to the NBA or the development league where they can put on a show and represent the pro league and have a longer durable career. The players could also go ahead and sign a contract and get money in case a career-ending injury that doesn't allow them to not achieve their dream of playing in the NBA and be broke due to not being paid for putting their body on the line.
Many of the kids who get scholarships to play college basketball are gifted athletes that will end up going pro in the NBA or another countries professional league or they could go to the development league after spending one year in college. This would allow the NCAA to save money on paying these stars and give them to players who deserved the scholarships for their great play but give to the people who are not good enough yet for the pros. A lot of the kids do not want to go to college, but only go to show off their talents so they can get drafted. They do not go to college for the reason of getting an education as you should. Why they should waste their time and the teachers time to have kids in their class who will not finish their degree is pointless. Some athletes go back to school and finish their degree they started in both NFL and NBA, but they do it by choice as it should be.
I feel the NCAA makes all this money from these players and do not pay them any of it, but they force them to come to play college basketball and make them the money. The players deserve to have the choice after high school of where they want to play. Zion Williamson is a freshman at Duke University who just got hurt playing in a game. He is being hyped as Lebron and Kobe were coming out of high school but didn't have the choice to immediately go pro and he could have hurt his draft stock for next year and his contract if the injury he just sustained would have been serious. The NCAA and NBA should really change this rule because it would benefit so many more people and the NCAA would still make their money, and the players would be better compensated with their ability t do what is best for their career.
