NBA to allow scouting of top prospects in Vegas،
The NBA will allow scouts to monitor Cooper Flagg and other elite high school prospects during the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, according to a memo to teams obtained by ESPN.
As part of a growing partnership with Nike, NBA teams will be allowed to attend five Nike EYBL Scholastic Showcase Games on December 8-9, including a December 8 game at T-Mobile Arena between Montverde Academy and Link Academy, which will air on ESPNU (8 p.m. PT). Flagg, the No. 1 high school basketball prospect — committed to Duke — will face Texas commit Tre Johnson, ranked No. 4 in the 2024 class by ESPN.
The NBA In-Season tournament will take place at T-Mobile on December 7 and 9, so the NBA teams will already be in Las Vegas.
It is one of several high school events certified by the NBA in a memo sent to teams Nov. 20, which includes the Sunshine Prep Showcase at IMG Academy (Dec. 14-17 in Bradenton, Fla.), the Tarkanian Classic (December 15). -21 in Las Vegas), the City of Palms Classic (December 18-23 in Fort Myers, Florida), the HoopHall Classic (January 11-15, Springfield, Massachusetts), the Throne National Championship (March 28-31 in New York ) and the High School Boys Basketball Nationals (April 4-6, Brownsburg, Indiana), formerly known as the Geico Nationals.
NBA front offices have long pushed the NBA league office to allow increased access to evaluate elite prospects before they enter college.
In the past, NBA teams were not allowed to attend high school team events due to “no contact” rules, put in place during the David Stern era to prevent NBA scouts to enter high school gymnasiums.
“It sends a bad message from them,” Stern said in 2005. “Where does it stop?”
These rules are gradually being relaxed, in part because several elite prospects in recent years, such as Shaedon Sharpe, Mitchell Robinson and Darius Bazley, have chosen to forgo playing competitive basketball in the year between graduation from high school and eligibility for the NBA draft. Other top prospects, like James Wiseman and Darius Garland, have only played in a few college games due to eligibility or injury issues. This forced NBA teams to make difficult decisions on draft night with incomplete scouting information because they were previously not allowed to evaluate it live during their high school team's season.
The NBA has made significant inroads into the youth basketball market over the past year through its NBA app, creating partnerships with Nike EYBL Peach Jam and Nike Nationals in July, as well as streaming almost every game played by 2023 No. 1 pick Victor. Wembanyama in France last season. Four of the five EYBL Scholastic Showcase games will be streamed on the NBA app, with three games rebroadcast on NBATV.
As part of the event, the six high school teams – AZ Compass, IMG Academy, Veritas Academy, Orangeville Prep, Montverde and Link Academy – will also participate in NBA life skills seminars, coach development sessions and NBA Cares community outreach activities, as well as attending the NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals.
Nike merged with the NIBC this season to create a high school basketball superconference, called EYBL Scholastic, bringing together 14 of the top prep schools in North America. It is an extension of Nike's EYBL platform (also known as AAU) played in the spring and summer; and will include 84 games and 15 events during the 2023-24 season, 30 of which will be broadcast on ESPN platforms, culminating with the high school boys basketball national championships in early April.
