The G League announced Thursday the inception of a new ‘professional path’ for top high school prospects, and the creation of ‘select contracts’ worth $125,000 in salary meant to accommodate those players and offer a viable alternative to playing college basketball. These 18-year-old prospects would spend a year on a G League roster, then be eligible for entry into the NBA draft, where their rights would make them available to all 30 teams.
This news is the latest development in the ongoing reform of the American amateur basketball system, and one worth monitoring as the NBA moves toward an eventual removal of its age minimum, which looks set to happen in 2022 at the earliest.