Thon Maker to declare for 2016 NBA draft, but is he eligible?

By Brett Pollakoff
Published

Thon Maker is an intriguing seven-footer who has been making the rounds as a top high school prospect for the last few years.

But instead of going to college for a season or playing professionally overseas to bide his time until the NBA comes calling, Maker's situation is one that he hopes will land him in the field of eligible candidates for the NBA Draft as early as 2016.

Maker officially announced his decision in a short video for Bleacher Report. 

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress breaks down Maker's case, which will be a unique one for the NBA to decide.

The 19-year old Maker believes he has a strong case to be considered draft eligible, since he reportedly graduated high school in Canada in June of 2015, and is now technically in his fifth year of high school.

The official NBA collective bargaining agreement rule states that a player can be eligible for selection in the NBA Draft if “the player is or will be at least nineteen years of age during the calendar year in which the Draft is held, and, at least one NBA Season has elapsed since the player's graduation from high school.”

On paper, Maker may technically meet the stated requirements, even if there may be a "spirit of the law" issue surrounding that fifth year of school.

But this is all still extremely complicated given Maker's particular set of circumstances, and considering the fact that NBA commissioner Adam Silver is on record as saying he actually wants to see the age limit increased, it's tough to predict how things will ultimately turn out.