High School Stars Are Signing With The NBA G League Setting The Stage For A New Trend
NBA Prospects Daishen Nix, Jalen Green, and Isaiah Todd
By: Omar Cook
Three of the nation’s top high school basketball prospects have elected to take an alternative route to sign with the NBA’s G League instead of playing collegiately. No. 1 prospect Jalen Green, No. 13 prospect Isaiah Todd, and now the 20th ranked prospect Daishen Nix, decommitted from UCLA to join his peers in the G-League. Nix is the first player to renege on his commitment after already signing his letter of intent.
"I think it was the right thing for me because it was a family thing and a myself thing," Nix told the Los Angeles Times. "Playing in G League is basically getting me ready for the NBA draft. It's just one step below the NBA."
This is significant because the NBA did away with allowing high school players to jump straight into the NBA which forced them to go to College for a year or play overseas. The effect has been players attending college for 1 season and leaving for the NBA creating a constant recruiting carousel for elite programs having to restock their team each season. Truth is, athletes were going to college just to fulfill the one year of eligibility that they needed for the NBA and not for educational purposes.
It will be s stretch to say that this will be a major blow to the NCAA, but just how much will this effect the NCAA revenue and viewers if more of the top prospects choose to go the alternative route? The NCAA is a billion dollar industry that feeds off the backs of collegiate athletes and justifies their compensation to the athletes in scholarships. Basically, free labor.
The G League gives high school players a new option to advance their skills against top level competition while also earning a salary for their talent. This could lead to a new trend of more elite high school athletes taking this route and possibly make the NCAA reconsider how it’s compensation rules towards its athletes.
Gone are the days of LeBron, Kobe, or Kevin Garnett leaving high school to be drafted, but the new normal could be high school to the G League! This is a win win for all high school athletes as they now have an option to go pro or continue their education.
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