"Absolutely not"; "Cooper would’ve made the draft more exciting": Fans debate whether high school players should be allowed in the NBA Draft

SportsCenter's Instagram post on Wednesday sparked debate among fans. The post highlighted a list of NBA stars who transitioned directly from high school to the NBA, including NBA legends Kobe Bryant, Shaun Livingston, LeBron James, Tracy McGrady, and Kevin Garnett, among others.

However, it wasn't the post itself that sparked the debate. What initiated the debate was the caption.

"Should the NBA allow high schoolers to declare for the draft again?" the post was captioned.

Fans had different stances in response to this question. Some fans claimed high school hoopers shouldn't transition directly to the NBA.

"Absolutely not. The 1 and done college players barely know how to play basketball. A college kid these days really not going to now how to play basketball," one fan said.

"EMPHATICALLY, NO! For every Kobe, Lebron, and T-Mac, you have that many more that won't be ready at that point. Half of these kids don't even have a lot of the skill set needed for NBA right out of high school," another wrote.

"Unpopular opinion, you're watering the game down even more bringing in 17-18 year olds that don't know how to play the game just yet. Let players develop before we bring them in, creating a stronger league. The more 18 year olds brought in, the more very good 26 and 27 year olds get pushed out the league. PATIENCE," another fan wrote.

"Na. The high school players back then seemed more ready for the NBA. These kids now definitely need a year of guidance in college after being coddled their whole lives up to that point," another claimed.

On the other hand, some fans felt it was okay to bring high school graduates directly into the NBA.

"Copper would've made the draft more exciting last year🤷🏾‍♂️" one fan claimed.

"Are you allowed to enter the work force after high school is most industries? Yes. So why shouldn't they be able to?" another fan said.

"Yea, for some players that 1 year in college is in the way," another wrote.

"Absolutely not" "Cooper would’ve made the draft more exciting": Hoops fans debate whether high school players should be allowed in the NBA Draft or not . (Image via Instagram @sportscenter)

Until 2005, top-ranked high school hoopers could make themselves available for the NBA draft, and that allowed many players like Kobe and LeBron to go directly from high school to the NBA. However, following a rule change in 2005, players must now be at least 19 years old before they can be eligible for the NBA draft. They also must be one year removed from high school or spend a year in college.

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Notable NBA stars who made the jump straight from high school to the NBA

Prior to the rule change in 2005, the NBA allowed high school basketball players to skip college completely and transition directly from high school to the NBA. Some notable legends who moved to the NBA directly include Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, and Shaun Livingston, among others.

The late NBA legend Bryant won five NBA championships and was an 18-time All-Star. LeBron, who still plays in the NBA, is a 4× NBA champion, 4× NBA Most Valuable Player, and 21× NBA All-Star.

Kevin Garnett (15 × NBA All-Star), Tracy McGrady (7 × NBA All-Star), and Shaun Livingston also had impressive careers in the NBA. Garnett and Livingston were also NBA champions.