The NBA’s Minor League Could Soon Transform Pro Basketball

Darius Bazley, who turned 18 earlier this month, is one of the best basketball players his age in the country—a 6-foot-9 forward with ball-handling skill rare for his size. Along with a few peers in the elite ranks of high school basketball, Bazley faces a peculiar problem: His talents are worth millions in the NBA, but he can’t cash in because the league bars players who aren’t at least 19 years old. Since he isn’t eligible to walk the stage at the NBA’s June 21 draft in New York, he had to consider his options.

Most kids in his shoes go to one of a handful of universities (see: Duke, Kentucky, Kansas) that have made themselves into extended-stay residences for NBA draftees-in-waiting. They play in nationally televised games, then leave after a year. All the while, the National Collegiate Athletic Association insists they’re “student athletes” who can’t be compensated beyond scholarships and modest stipends. Occasionally, top prospects go to Europe, where they play professionally for six-figure salaries.