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Every year at the NBA combine, I’m reminded that I keep getting older and NBA players seem to somehow get younger. No, the age requirements of the NBA didn’t change again, it’s just a symptom of aging that younger age groups somehow always seem younger than their actual age.
But, even without diving into my own struggles with mortality, it feels important to point out just how young these people are. It doesn’t do justice to just say things like “18-year-old Duke star Cooper Flagg,” or “a 19-year-old out of Alabama.”
One Western Conference team executive said to me this week, “I swear ... you can actually see baby fat on their faces.”
Yes! I saw that too! I see that some of them just got braces on their teeth, some of them are barely growing their first facial hairs, and their voices squeak when they’re talking.
These are the people that fans are pinning hopes and dreams on. They are the people that will be given multi-million dollar contracts. They are the people that will receive death threats on social media from gamblers, or angry fans, or fans of opposing teams.
They’re literal teenagers and they are being thrust into a world where they are expected to do so much. They’re expected to act like men who have years more life experience and handle things with grace and humility and to perform under immense pressure.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, other teenagers are maybe getting their first job and their only responsibility is to mow lawns or wait tables and maybe take the garbage out before mom or dad ask for it to be done.
It’s interesting because they are also expected to give NBA teams a sense of who they are as people and what things are important to them as humans. If you’d asked me at 18 who I was, I would have said that I love punk music and the most important thing is hanging out with my friends, even if I have to sneak out of my house to do it. I was a real risk vs. reward person.
I think part of the reason that it’s so hard to have a lasting NBA career is because making it through those early years with all the pressure and commitment and expectations takes a toll.
So, as we go through the next month of evaluating players who are barely old enough to vote, it’s important to remember what it actually was like to be a teenager.
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Quote of the week
“Of the rules that are presented, given the team that we have right now, at this moment, this is the best route. And I am proud of our group, that we got so much done this year in terms of evaluating our young players and knowing that we have to be able to make good decisions to add to it. And we gave ourselves the best possible shot that you can. That’s all you can ask for.” — Jazz general manager Justin Zanik after the NBA draft lottery
From the archives
Extra points
Egor Demin hopes to have a long NBA career, and then maybe retire to Utah (Deseret News)
This year’s NBA draft lottery is further proof that system is a failure (Deseret News)
Carlos Boozer joining Jazz front office staff (Deseret News)
Utah Jazz get 5th pick in NBA draft lottery (Deseret News)
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