As we detailed on Wednesday, outspoken basketball dad LaVar Ball announced this week that he intends to launch a new professional league called the Junior Basketball Association for high school grads who don’t want to attend college before going pro.
While Ball has perhaps worn out his welcome with a segment of basketball fans tired of hearing him promote his sons (and himself), his latest idea has some merit. With NBA rules currently prohibiting prospects from entering the draft until they’re at least one year removed from high school, top young players are generally one-and-done in college – where they don’t get paid – or head overseas, where the exposure is minimal and they can have a hard time earning minutes.
Ball’s proposal reportedly calls for an 80-player, 10-team league, which would be fully funded by Big Baller Brand and would pay salaries ranging from $3-10K per month. The idea would be to recruit top prospects who want to focus fully on basketball – and be paid for their work – rather than making a cameo at a college before making the leap to the NBA.
The plan makes sense, but it’s ambitious, and there would be plenty of roadblocks in its way. As Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes, recruiting top prospects would be challenging. And without top prospects, fans are unlikely to pack arenas and the league probably wouldn’t be able to secure a big broadcast-rights deal. In turn, that would make it hard to afford to pay salaries, travel fees, arena fees, and all the other costs that come with running a successful league.
On top of all that, the NBA is reportedly considering altering its one-and-done rule and once again giving players the option of entering the draft out of high school. That could happen as soon as 2019 or 2020, and would limit the appeal of a hypothetical Junior Basketball Association.
What do you think? Will this league actually get off the ground? And if it does, will it have a chance to be a success? Vote in our poll below and then weigh in with your thoughts in the comment section.
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This guy is terrible
Made a fortune off it though
Can’t you go to the G League directly out of High School and get paid?
How many open seats will there he in the professional venues. Nobody wants to see that
This guy is a genius and I feel like I’m the only person who realizes it
Hi LaVar
That’s because you are.
He’s so ridiculous but he uses it to his advantage and got rich off it. He’s a pretty savvy businessman.
Thank you MattyWil! You get it!
The main thing NCAA guys have over LaVar’s league that won’t happen is a 30 game schedule against top level competition, and it’s “”””televised.”””
Just because it is Lavar Bell I can ensure everyone I will never pay any more attention to any discussion of this league … that will never happen.
To Lonzo, I assume Daddy is using your money for all of his business endeavors. My question to you is, are you looking to be broke?
It’s all Lavars own money that he made with the brand/company he started.
Because of his kids.
If it’s LaVar’s money, why didn’t he start it until after Lonzo signed his NBA contract? LaVar can’t be trusted. He’s an NFL wanna be that didn’t happen, so he’s pushing his sons to be everything he couldn’t be. Lonzo is his only endorsement for his shoe company, and wants $1000 for shoes signed by Lonzo. He thinks he can compete with Nike, Adidas, etc. He is legally insane!
It won’t work because it doesn’t come from a place of wanting to help these kids more than pushing his brand, glorifying and enriching himself and exploiting these kids instead of the NCAA exploiting them.
If I could make 50k playing against other top prospects and then go to the NBA, that’s better than the NCAA regardless of who’s running the league.
But aren’t you “making” 50k+ when you get a scholarship to play and therefore a free education? There is a lot to be said for that. Especially if you ask any of the millions of people that have to pay enormous college debt for decades.
And as a college athlete (especially top one-and-done prospects) you get so much free stuff—clothes, shoes, room and board, full meal plans, etc. Even though though the kids may not like the school aspect of college, they get so many benefits that it’s completely worth it for one year.
College has its perks, but “getting an education” isn’t a valid argument for top prospects who are almost definitely only staying for one year.
…but the ones who are staying for a year wouldn’t be going to this Junior League, right?
Furthermore, I certainly did get an education in my first year of college. For those players that don’t pan out, or for those who get injured and don’t end up with a lucrative career in the NBA, a free year of college is a step in the right direction toward a different career path.
LaVar’s league wouldn’t be playing 30 games. His league might have a few of the top 50 players. The other 47 would be in the NCAA. Those who stay in college for 1 year can go back. LaVar’s league wouldn’t be playing in NBA areana’s, but most likely high school gyms. Have you ever been to a high school all-star game? I have, and only a few of LaVar’s guys would be all stars. These big time players have the choice of going to Duke, Kentucky, etc. and being on tv, or LaVar’s league and not being on tv at all.
Any top athlete will go for NCAA because NBA scouts will want them because of the schedule and competition they face. LaVar’s league would be lucky to get 5 elite prospects, and nobody would want to watch the level of competition. It would be like 1 or 2 good players on a NAIA college team.
that salaries paragraph made me do a double take. looks like salaries could be $3 to $10,000. I thought “I could see a league where Ball pats a kid $3.”
The league won’t work unless they get some big-name sponsors to help pay the kids and help pay for expenses. Big Baller Brand isn’t successful enough yet to front all the costs. And considering that it is proposed that all players/coaches would have to wear BBB gear (I assume there would be nothing mandating what shoes they have to wear though), I doubt big sports companies (Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, etc) are going to help fund the costs unless they managed to secure a prominent marketing/advertising position.
It will work when he had investment funding from Donald Trump
(Has)
I wonder if he could ask him politely maybe he would for a public thank you
It should work if he can recruit one or two top prospects. The rest will follow suit. If the one and done rule is changed then it won’t work, unless they go to 2 year minimum in college.
The rest won’t follow suit because the NBA guys want players who play a year or 2 of college competition, not a high school intrasquad game.
Like Noah’s benefit to the Knicks and Chris Paul’s healthy season, we will continue to hear discussion about this but never actually see it exist.
Can believe all the blind mice that follow Ball. Shame Shame
G League teams don’t get to play in nice arenas.
Let’s say you get 80 guys, 2 are in the top 50. They only play in 4 cities. Who will pay (especially LaVars prices) to see a few guys they’ve never heard of play basketball. The only reason the G League survives is because it’s supported by the NBA, same for the WNBA (went to 1 game and sat row 2, midcourt, nobody there) It would bankrupt BBB in no time (BBB won’t make it on only Lonzo’s endoresment anyway!)
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert gave Michigan State coach Tom Izzo $6 million for recruiting. Do you think he’d do that for LaVar? No!
Don’t forget the “”one”” American player who played where LiAngelo and LaMelo are “supposed” to go said he thought they might last a month. This looks like another stunt to get LaVar’s kids basketball publicity.
More like, a plan that started with finding a league for his sons that he hasn’t burned bridges in.
It can work. Ball does not have to be a genius, just not blow it; keep the costs low. I would recommend LA and East Virginia, there are people there who would buy into this stuff.
LaVar is rotten to the core. I can’t wait for someone to shut him down and someone will. Have a Happy Holidays. Are you going to the downtown parade if the Browns go 0-16. Sure looks like Josh Rosen will be their qb next year.
Thanks and I hope so. They should go ahead and make Rosen, Grand Marshall! Be a good nickname too. Take that, Big Ben, Red Rifle & Short Pass Joe.
Oh no! Rosen said he’d consider going back to UCLA, same with Darnold and USC, to avoid the Browns. Reports say Rosen is skipping bowl game so he’ll go in draft. They said he’ll play for Browns whether he wants to or not. Who’s next!!
Ready to see IT back on court to see how chemistry goes.
They said lake effect snow Monday-Wednesday then frigid temps. Drive safe.