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Earlier this week, LaVar Ball leaked his latest Christmas present to the world; the announcement of the Junior Basketball Association. The JBA will essentially be an alternative league to college basketball. The only catch is that this league will be sponsored by Big Baller Brand, meaning that all players/teams will exclusively wear BBB products.
As of now, there aren’t many details on how the league will work, but the following is what we know. Top high school players will all be invited to join the league. Players in the league will earn anywhere from $3,000 - $10,000 per month. And all games will be played on NBA courts with NBA rules.
So far, opinions about the league vary:
LaVar's JBA is going to:
— Thomas Duffy (@TJDhoops) December 20, 2017
-Pay top-ranked HS kids to play
-Provide everyone with BBB gear/shoes
-Prepare kids for the NBA with pro rules
-Try to take down the corrupt NCAA
Let's see how this gets spun into a negative.
Lavar's league would be bad for black people:
— Jesse Washington (@jessewashington) December 20, 2017
—Disincentivizes education
—Drastically reduces career options for almost all players
—Deepens already disproportionate focus on athletics over education in the black community.
Instead, let's properly compensate college athletes. https://t.co/QMUhW3zlAX
what lavar hasnt considered is that if he truly succeeds, and dethrones the NCAA, what is stopping the NBA from dropping the age requirement to 18 and killing the crux of his big new idea? in practice succeeding to the highest degree will be the end for the JBA
— dj9872 (@puck2789) December 20, 2017
Shout out to Lavar Ball for creating the JBA, so that high school and college players won't continue to get exploited by playing for free, while colleges rake in billions from their talents ✊ pic.twitter.com/pTfmj3dJha
— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) December 20, 2017
POTENTIAL DOWNSIDE
There may not be enough players to join the league. Top athletes might want to learn from/play for coaches such as Mike Krzyzewski, John Calipari, and Geno Auriemma. Most second tier ballers won’t join either because they want an education to fall back on. The league doesn’t survive and winds up bankrupting BBB, because not enough income was generated in their five game season.
Another downside would be the NBA directly responding by allowing high school players to enter the G League after their senior year starting in the spring of 2018.
POTENTIAL UPSIDE
All top recruits join the league and continue to join the league long term. The NBA partners with the JBA and combines it with the G-League. This gives the JBA more access to NBA facilities, top-caliber coaches, and training facilities.
Big Baller Brand looks like the smartest athletic brand in the world. Keeping contracts with all top players after they enter the NBA. BBB eventually ends up on the same level as Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour in the eyes of the consumer and kids have to have BBB shoes to ball in.
The NCAA finally decides to pay athletes, but the hype of the JBA is too big for the NCAA to keep top players. The NCAA allows collegiate teams to play a limited number of games against JBA teams in the regular season to maintain viewership.
OTHER QUESTIONS REGARDING THE JBA
Will there be a Womens’ Division in the JBA?
How many teams will make up the league?
How many “top high school recruits” must be contacted in order to fill that many teams?
How long is a player allowed to stay in the JBA?
When will the JBA season run?
No matter what happens, the JBA will be an interesting shake up for the college basketball arena. Hopefully, it’s the solution that finally pushes the NCAA to pay collegiate athletes, because the last thing we want is the end of the March Madness Tournament.