Maybe we could have guessed this move, but we did not know it would happen this quickly by the NBA. The NBA responds to Lavar Ball’s Junior Basketball Association (JBA) by allowing would-be high school graduates join the G-League and make a six-figure salary.
The players would be able to use the NBA platform to hire agents, get endorsements, and use the off-the court development programs the NBA offers. This exactly what the JBA is meant to be. It’s for players who would go to college but instead chose to make money off of their talent instead of playing in college for one-year. The players would get paid $125,000 a year.
Even with this news, the path to the NBA will still be a challenge for many. Going to college allow players to develop with great coaches as well as get a good education. That is the benefit of the college route. The NBA has been very persistent in helping player make their dreams a reality as well as giving the players safety nets when the possible make the wrong decision.
In Ball’s league, the JBA, players were paid $3,000/month for just a few months, so this is clearly a superior option. However, there is one place where the JBA still has the G-League beat (as I reported this summer): Jobs at Big Baller Brand! https://t.co/B4tHmzID8L https://t.co/YcKuAPFO4k
— Jake Nisse (@jakenisse32) October 18, 2018
What I mean by this is that the NBA and the NCAA are allowing players who were not drafted to chose to come back to college and still play in college.
As for the JBA, it will be interesting to see if the JBA continues to be a league or will dissolve like most leagues that try to compete against the major leagues like the United States Football League vs the NFL.
We all know that the goal for Lavar Ball is to get all three of his sons in the NBA, so this could be a great way for his two other sons, LaMelo and Liangelo Ball, to get into the league.
Let’s see how this unfolds.
(Feature Photo Credit: NBA.COM)