NBA Players Association President’s thoughts on the one and done rule

Last week, New Orleans Pelicans star guard CJ McCollum made an appearance on the Ryen Russillo Podcast. Among the various topics their conversation covered, the two chatted about the NBA’s one and done rule.

For those who are unaware, the one and done rule states that “[a] player must be 19 years of age by the date of said draft. NCAA players are considered eligible after playing at least one year at their respective college/university or school.”

This rule has been the subject of a great deal of controversy, as many have argued that players should have the right to enter the NBA Draft straight out of high school (as they were once allowed to do).

Anyway, during the podcast appearance, McCollum offered his thoughts on the matter. This is noteworthy because, along with his role on the Pelicans, McCollum also serves as the President of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). So, his opinion does hold a considerable amount of weight in this situation.

Anyway, here is what he had to say about it:

"I’ve always been in favor of players going out of high school and being able to become pros early – before they were able to be compensated early. I thought it was unfair that a majority of our athletes didn’t have a chance to make money and were forced to go to school. Because, oftentimes, the cream of the crop is ready, right? There’s, call it, five to eight guys a year that are ready to go out of high school [and] don’t really need that year. The rest of the guys probably should go to college or whatever the case may be. And I thought it was unfair that they were unable to be compensated. You fast forward to the way the league is now and the way that high school/collegiate sports are. Guys are making six figures, some are making seven figures. So, the financial aspect of being able to take care of your family is already happening. I was more in favor of it because of the financial freedom that being a professional athlete allows you to have. Now, with NIL, I said it publicly. I said, ‘I don’t think it has to happen now because we have 16-year olds, 17-year olds…making seven figures.”"

So, it appears McCollum was once a proponent of lifting the one and done rule. However, the addition of the NIL (which enables non-professional athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness) has changed his stance on the matter.

And considering that it was announced that the one and done rule would be a part of the new collective bargaining agreement, it doesn’t seem like we will be seeing any changes in this area any time soon.