Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says NBA should raise minimum age to 21 -- What do you think?
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Are spoiled brats running amok in the NBA?
Well, former Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar might not go that far, but he does agree that the league should raise its minimum-age requirement to 21.
During a speech at a sports-related banquet in Omaha on Wednesday, Abdul-Jabbar told the audience that the NBA has been victimized by young players who are really interested only in big pay days.
‘They get precocious kids from high school who think they’re rock stars -- ‘Where’s my $30 million?’ ‘ Jabbar said, according to the Associated Press. ‘The attitudes have changed, and the game has suffered because of that, and it has certainly hurt the college game.’
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, who continues to work as a special assistant to the Lakers, says college is the key to helping young players mature both emotionally and physically. Abdul-Jabbar pointed to the valuable life lessons he learned while attending UCLA.
‘Coach John Wooden encouraged me to be more than a jock,’ Abdul-Jabbar said. ‘He said if I let my intellectual life suffer because I was so into being an athlete that I would be less than I could be. I would tell all students to pursue your dreams, but don’t let your education suffer.’
What do you think? The NBA raised its entry age to 19 in 2005, but do you think it should be changed again?
-- Austin Knoblauch
Photo: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times
