It's a somewhat hypocritical system, but the NBA prohibits scouts from observing matches between top high schools and different academies. “Hypocritical” because nothing prevents them from going to Europe and observing young people of the same age… In any case, the league has exceptionally decided to do a violation of the rules due to the Final Four of its “In-Season Tournament”.
The semi-finals and final of the NBA Tournament take place in Las Vegas, and on December 8 and 9, five matches of the Nike EYBL Scholastic Showcase Games will take place in the same location. The opposition between Montverde Academy and Link Academy will also be broadcast on ESPN.
The opportunity for the NBA scouts, present on site, to see Cooper Flagg, considered the potential number 1 of the 2025 Draft, in action, as well as Tre Johnson, promised to be in the Top 5 of this same Draft.
Established by David Stern in the mid-1980s, the regulations on scouting have since been relaxed, notably because high school students skip the NCAA to go abroad or to the G-League, or because certain “prospects” compete very few NCAA matches. Consequence: it becomes important to see them at work from high school to get a better idea of their potential.
