Will the NBA G League Be a Threat to the NCAA?

Recently, a new trend has surfaced that may not be good news for the NCAA.

Earlier this month, it was announced that five-star guard Jalen Green, the nation’s second-best player in the class of 2020, according to 247sports, elected to sign with the NBA’s G League instead of inking a scholarship offer with a college.

Then two more high-class high school prospects followed in Isaiah Todd and Daishen Nix.

Nation’s No. 1 PG Daishen Nix decommits from UCLA and plans to sign with the G League, per @ShamsCharania

He joins Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd on the new team in Southern California @brhoops pic.twitter.com/0btYUdLnOx

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 28, 2020

“I think it was the right thing for me because it was a family thing and a myself thing,” Nix said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “Playing in G League is basically getting me ready for the NBA draft. It’s just one step below the NBA.”

The G League’s developmental program lasts one year and provides prospects with something that universities can’t; money and experience playing with and against professional players.

Jay Bilas weighs in on what this means for the NCAA

"We should be encouraging young people to come to college and incentivizing it."@JayBilas gives his thoughts on top recruits entering the NBA G League instead of playing for a university. pic.twitter.com/1AKEBSzlQZ

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 30, 2020

ESPN’s Jay Bilas usually offers up strong takes when it comes to the NCAA and college basketball. The former Duke Blue Devil joined Steve Russell on Sportscene to discuss his thoughts about what this means for the NCAA going forward.

It’s a threat to the top talent, absolutely,” Bilas said. “Is it a threat to college basketball survival or it doing well? No … college basketball survived without Kobe Bryant and Lebron James, and that’s true. But I’m not sure surviving is the point or doing fine is the point.”

Bilas strongly believes that the NCAA’s treatment of college athletes, specifically those that play college basketball, has led some of these top high school prospects to make the decision to skip college.

“The NBA is doing the right thing for its business,” Bilas said. “Colleges should start doing the right thing for its business, and provide incentives for players to go to school and stay in school if we really believe that school is a good thing.”