Skip to content

Celtics' Brown uses military enlistment to make point about 1-and-done rule

Maddie Meyer / Getty Images Sport / Getty

You can't legally drink a glass of wine until age 21 in the United States. You can, however, enlist in the military as early as age 18.

Between those two thresholds lies the NBA's so-called one-and-done rule, dictating that in order to be eligible for the draft, a player must turn 19 during his draft year and be at least one year removed from his high school graduation class.

That doesn't quite add up for Boston Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown.

"I think if you can serve in the military at 18, you should be able to play in the NBA," Brown said, according to MassLive's Tom Westerholm. "That would be my argument."

Brown seemed to flourish in his lone collegiate season at Cal, taking graduate-level courses as a freshman and ranking second on the team in scoring.

It appears inevitable, however, that future hoopers will have more choice in the matter. NBA commissioner Adam Silver himself stated at this week's annual board of governors meeting that he believes the league is finally ready to make a change to the one-and-done rule.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox