NBA Formally Proposes Lowering Draft Age From 19 to 18

The NBA has submitted a formal proposal to the National Basketball Players Association Thursday morning to lower the draft-eligible age to 18 from 19, sources have told USA Today Sports.

The NBA is aiming to implement the lower age draft by 2022 to ensure there’s ample of time for the proposed change.

During July’s NBA owners’ meeting Commissioner Adam Silver stated:

“My personal view is that we’re ready to make that change. It won’t come immediately, but…when I weighed the pros and cons—(and) given that (former Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice and her (NCAA) commission has recommended to the NBA that those one-and-done players now come directly into the league and, in essence, the college community is saying ‘We do not want those players anymore,’ I mean that sort of tips the scale in my mind that we should be taking a serious look at lowering our age to 18.”

It’ll be interesting to see when or if the proposal will pass through.