Can You Play in the NBA Without Going to College?

Many people dream of playing in the NBA, but is it possible to make it to the big leagues without playing college basketball first? We explore this question and more in this blog post.

Introduction

In the United States, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is the top professional basketball league. It is composed of 30 teams; 29 US-based clubs and 1 Canadian club. Each team plays an 82-game regular season schedule, which starts in late October and ends in mid-April. After the regular season, eight teams from each conference (Eastern and Western) advance to the playoffs. The playoffs start in late April and end in early June, with the NBA Finals – the championship series of the NBA – taking place in June.

Players who wish to play in the NBA must meet certain eligibility requirements. For example, they must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft and they must have completed one year of college basketball or four years of high school basketball. However, players who meet these requirements may still not be drafted by an NBA team; only 60 players are selected during each year’s NBA Draft.

Players who are not drafted by an NBA team may sign a contract with any team that is willing to have them on their roster, but most undrafted players end up playing for teams in lower-level professional leagues or in international leagues. A small number of players each year are able to bypass college basketball and enter the NBA Draft directly out of high school; however, this is becoming increasingly rare as the rules have changed to require players to be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft.

In short, while it is possible to play in the NBA without going to college, it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so.

The NBA’s One-and-Done Rule

The NBA’s one-and-done rule is the requirement that a player must be at least 19 years of age during the calendar year of the draft, and if a player enrolls in college, he must wait one year after his high school graduation before being eligible for the NBA draft. The rule was established in 2006, and it applied to players who were first enrolled at an American college or university no earlier than the fall of 2005.

The one-and-done rule was implemented because the NBA wanted to discourage players from entering the league too early and not completing their development. The league wanted players to have an opportunity to mature physically and gain experience against top-level competition before making the leap to the pros.

The one-and-done rule has been criticized by some who believe that it forces players to go to college when they may be ready for the NBA. Others have argued that it benefits the colleges because they get to reap the rewards of having star players on their teams for one season before they move on to the NBA.

There is no age limit in international basketball, so many top prospects choose to play professionally overseas until they are eligible for the NBA draft. This has led some to argue that the one-and-done rule gives an unfair advantage to international players who are used to playing against grown men while American prospects are still adjusting to playing against other college athletes.

Whether you agree with the one-and-done rule or not, it appears here to stay for now. If you’re a highly talented high school basketball player with dreams of playing in the NBA, you’ll need to plan on spending at least one year in college first.

The Pros and Cons of Going to College

The debate over whether or not college is necessary in order to succeed in the NBA has been ongoing for years, with strong arguments on both sides.

On one hand, it could be argued that going to college gives players a chance to develop their skills and learn the game at a higher level. College also provides players with an opportunity to get an education, which can be beneficial if their NBA career doesn’t work out.

On the other hand, there are a number of players who have skipped college and gone straight to the NBA and had success. These players argue that they would have been better off developmentally if they had gone straight to the NBA. They also argue that college is a waste of time and money when you could be making millions of dollars in the NBA.

So what’s the answer? There is no right or wrong answer, and ultimately it’s up to each individual player to decide what’s best for them. There are pros and cons to both options, and it’s important for players to weigh all of the factors before making a decision.

The G League Path

The G League, or the NBA Development League, is the NBA’s official minor league. It’s made up of 26 teams, each affiliated with an NBA franchise. Players in the G League are signed to “select contracts,” which are different from the standard NBA contract in a few ways. For one, select contracts pay $125,000 for the five-month season, whereas a first-year NBA player would make a minimum of $870,000. Select contracts also include some perks that NBA contracts don’t, like health insurance and housing stipends.

The G League has been around since 2001, but it wasn’t until recently that it became a viable path to the NBA. In 2017, the league introduced “two-way contracts,” which allow players to shuttle back and forth between the G League and the NBA. These contracts are standard NBA contracts that pay $77,250 while the player is in the G League and pro-rated based on the number of days spent in the NBA (up to a maximum of 45 days). In 2019-20, there will be up to 17 two-way contract slots available on each NBA team.

In order to be eligible for a two-way contract, a player must have four years of professional experience or less (including time spent in international leagues). So far, only players who have gone undrafted out of college or who have spent time in the G League have signed two-way contracts. Nevertheless, it’s possible that we could see players bypassing college altogether in order to sign a two-way contract out of high school.

International Path

An international player is anyone who was not born in the United States and has not played high school or college basketball in the U.S. Most international players come to the NBA after playing professionally in their home countries or in other leagues around the world.

The path to the NBA for an international player is different than it is for players who come from the U.S. One difference is that international players are not eligible for the NBA Draft until they turn 22 years old or have been out of high school for at least four years.

Another difference is that international players who are drafted by an NBA team do not have to go to college before they can play in the NBA. In fact, very few international players have gone to college at all before playing in the NBA.

So, if you’re an international player and you want to play in the NBA, you can take one of two routes: either get drafted by an NBA team or sign with an NBA team as a free agent.

The vast majority of international players who have played in the NBA have been drafted by an NBA team. In order to be drafted, you must first declare yourself eligible for the draft and then wait until you are selected by a team. If you’re not selected in the draft, you can still sign with an NBA team as a free agent.

Conclusion

In short, the answer is no. You cannot play in the NBA without going to college. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far between. The last player to be drafted into the NBA without playing college basketball was Freddy Adu, who was selected by the Washington Wizards with the first overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.

Adu was a highly touted prospect from Ghana who came to the United States when he was eight years old. He opted to bypass college and declare for the NBA Draft after high school. Adu played just two seasons in the NBA before he was out of the league entirely.

The vast majority of players who have made it to the NBA have done so by honing their craft in college. College provides players with an opportunity to learn and grow as basketball players while also helping them develop physically and mentally. It is still the best path to take if you want to make it to the NBA.