Michael Jordan appeared in an exclusive one-on-one interview with Cigar Aficionado’s Marvin R. Shanken to discuss his life, achievements, and fifteen-season glorious career in the NBA. In this interview, the 6X NBA champion revealed some intriguing insights from his professional experience, including his advice for young basketball players looking to play professionally.

Oct 22, 2023; Homestead, Florida, USA; 23XI Team co-owner Michael Jordan sits atop of the pitbox during the 4EVER 400 presented by Mobil 1 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

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In this interview, Jordan was asked his thoughts on early exits from college to play professionally in the NBA. In reply to this question, Jordan replied with an insightful answer, firmly stating that players should be 20 years old or older before going to the pros. Otherwise, it could be a potential gamble for their career. Stating his thoughts in the interview, His Airness said,

 “I’m a firm believer that a player should be 20 years old or older before going to the pros. Anything less than that is potentially bad. You’ve got a lot of things you have to take into consideration. The lifestyle. Just the mental and physical demands of the NBA that these kids are going to be dealing with are tough.”

From his experience in the league, Jordan believes that players need to be mature enough to meet the physical and mental demands of the NBA. Jordan joined the NBA during his senior year at the University of North Carolina. Had he joined earlier during his junior or sophomore years, Jordan could not have been the arguably greatest player that he is regarded as today.

Jordan firmly believes that not attending college or getting enough games in the nascent stage of playing basketball can affect a player’s further career trajectory. Players who join the NBA early from college or straight after high school have potentially play fewer games, making it a huge gamble for NBA executives to invest in them. Adding on that note, Jordan remarked,

“As an NBA executive, if you have to invest in a player, you want to see more of the product that you are going to invest in. Since you aren’t going to see as many games [of those leaving school early] to be able to gauge the maturity of these guys’ basketball talent, you’re rolling the dice. You are gambling. If you don’t gamble right, you’re going to be set back two or three years.”

Jordan noted that this growing trend of moving to professional basketball early has even trickled down into the high school ranks as well. The Chicago Bulls legend says that young players are now focusing less on their academics but rather putting in all efforts for a professional career. In that regard, Jordan believes that an appropriate arrangement should be made between the NBA and the NCAA to accommodate players from the grassroots.

“I’m a firm believer in that. You can argue a lot of different situations, from social to financial. Maybe there has to be some type of arrangements, or agreement between the NCAA and the NBA, for those kids who are not financially stable. For them, there will always be pressure for going to the pros, to take care of their families.”

While Jordan’s assessment of this growing trend might be true, some league legends such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, and Kevin Garnett might have proved otherwise. All of these players went professional straight after high school. However, in argument to this, Jordan stated how players such as Kobe Bryant, KG, and Tracy McGrady took at least three years to establish their mark as professional basketball players.

Indeed, when such an insight comes from the 6X NBA champion, it can be food for thought. Jordan’s assessment clearly reflects on what it needs to become a great player in the NBA.

NBA created a new rule before the 2006 draft to only accept players above the age of 19 into the league

Undoubtedly, the above interview greatly impacted the NBA to change its rules for drafts into the league. Until the 2005 draft, players could go professional straight after high school, just like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Garnett did back in their day. However, before the 2006 draft, the NBA changed their draft rules to only allow players aged 19 or above to be automatically eligible for the draft.

The rule further states that non-international players must complete four years of their college eligibility. If these players do not enroll in a US college or university, they need to graduate from an American high school, having four years since their high school class graduation.

Alternatively, players can sign with a professional league anywhere in the world outside the NBA and play under a contract. Once released from their contract, such players will be eligible to play in the NBA. LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball are two popular NBA players who took this approach to enter the league.

There are speculations that the draft eligibility might once again be reverted to the previous format. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported in 2022 that the NBA and NBPA were in serious talks on new items for a potential Collective Bargaining Agreement.

According to this, draft age eligibility might once again be changed from 19 to 18, and the league might consider high school players for automatic eligibility for the NBA.