The Spectrum

Issue date: 4/7/05 Section: Sports

Media Credit: AP Photo/MARK DUNCAN Lebron James, left, had no trouble adjusting to the NBA

So when I got this assignment this week to write about an age "limit" of players in the NBA, the first thing that clicked into my mind was a maximum age of all players in the league.
I wondered why it would really matter how old a player was as long as they personally could handle the strenuous nature of the game of basketball.
If you look outside of basketball and venture into the world of the NFL, one of the most well conditioned athletes in the league is 40-plus year old Jerry Rice.
He still, even as one of the oldest players in the league, has one of the most rigorous in-season and off-season workout regiments and is in quite possibly the best shape of any athlete in the four major sports.
Beyond that, I don't believe there should be an age minimum in the NBA. As much as I think it is a good idea to have something such as the NFL has where you need to be three years out of high school before entering the NFL draft, I think it wouldn't work in the NBA.
The youngest players in the league are the ones making the largest impact. To see this, look no further than Cleveland and LeBron James. This kid has more money then I will see in my life... and he isn't even 20.
I highly doubt you will find any other 20 year old in the business world (counting professional sports as a business as they really are), who has the power to basically run his organization.
In the Cavalier organization basically what LeBron says, goes. The one difference is that, he backs up his power by showing it with his play on the court. In my eyes, he is the most complete player in the NBA, and he is only 20, which means he has much more development left. I am scared to see how good he will get.
Beyond James, who is another one of the NBA's best players? The answer to that is Carmelo Anthony. If it weren't for James, Anthony would have been last years Rookie of the Year, no questions asked. You can even look back in the past few years at the number of players who either came right out of high school or right after their freshman year of college.
Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant, two players who got no closer to college than the McDonald's All-American game are now dominant players. Kobe rules the Lakers. If it wasn't for Garnett, the Timberwolves would be nowhere near where they are today.

Continued...

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