2021 NBA Draft Early Entrants List
The NBA announced in March that early entrants who wish to declare for the 2021 NBA draft have until the end of the day on Sunday, May 30 to make that decision official.
In recent years, we’ve generally had over 200 players declare for each draft as early entrants, with fewer than half of those players ultimately keeping their names in the draft and going pro. We can expect that pattern to continue in 2021, with many early entrants declaring before the end of May, and then withdrawing from consideration by the NCAA’s deadline (July 7) or the NBA’s deadline (July 19).
The list of “early” entrants is even bigger than usual this season because the NCAA granted players an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic. That means seniors who would’ve typically become automatically eligible for the draft now have the option of declaring or remaining in college for an extra year.
We’ll use this post to keep track of reports and announcements on early entrant prospects and their decisions. We’ll archive them all in a running list here, which will be accessible anytime under “Hoops Rumors Features” on the right sidebar of our desktop site, or in the “Features” page found in our mobile menu.
The players below are listed in alphabetical order. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.
Last updated 7-20-21 (8:50pm CT)
College Underclassmen:
Remaining in the draft:
- Santi Aldama, F, Loyola Maryland (sophomore)
- Joel Ayayi, G, Gonzaga (junior)
- Dalano Banton, G, Nebraska (sophomore)
- Scottie Barnes, F, Florida State (freshman)
- Charles Bassey, C, Western Kentucky (junior)
- Giorgi Bezhanishvili, F, Illinois (junior)
- Brandon Boston Jr., G/F, Kentucky (freshman)
- James Bouknight, G, UConn (sophomore)
- Pedro Bradshaw, G/F, Bellarmine (junior)
- Greg Brown, F, Texas (freshman)
- Jared Butler, G, Baylor (junior)
- D.J. Carton, G, Marquette (sophomore)
- Justin Champagnie, G/F, Pittsburgh (sophomore)
- Josh Christopher, G, Arizona State (freshman)
- Sharife Cooper, G, Auburn (freshman)
- Derek Culver, F/C, West Virginia (junior)
- Sam Cunliffe, G/F, Evansville (junior)
- Cade Cunningham, G, Oklahoma State (freshman)
- Ayo Dosunmu, G, Illinois (junior)
- David Duke, G, Providence (junior)
- Nojel Eastern, G, Howard (junior)
- Kessler Edwards, F, Pepperdine (junior)
- RaiQuan Gray, F, Florida State (junior)
- Alan Griffin, G/F, Syracuse (junior)
- Quentin Grimes, G, Houston (junior)
- Aaron Henry, G/F, Michigan State (junior)
- Feron Hunt, F, SMU (junior)
- Matthew Hurt, F, Duke (sophomore)
- Nah’Shon Hyland, G, VCU (sophomore)
- Isaiah Jackson, F, Kentucky (freshman)
- David Johnson, G, Louisville (sophomore)
- Jalen Johnson, F, Duke (freshman)
- Keon Johnson, G, Tennessee (freshman)
- Kai Jones, F, Texas (sophomore)
- Balsa Koprivica, C, Florida State (sophomore)
- A.J. Lawson, G, South Carolina (junior)
- Scottie Lewis, G, Florida (sophomore)
- Sterling Manley, F/C, North Carolina (junior)
- Tre Mann, G, Florida (sophomore)
- Miles McBride, G, West Virginia (sophomore)
- Mac McClung, G, Texas Tech (junior)
- Davion Mitchell, G, Baylor (junior)
- Evan Mobley, F/C, USC (freshman)
- Moses Moody, G, Arkansas (freshman)
- Trey Murphy III, G, Virginia (junior)
- RJ Nembhard, G, TCU (junior)
- Joel Ntambwe, F, Texas Tech (sophomore)
- Jason Preston, G, Ohio (junior)
- Joshua Primo, G, Alabama (freshman)
- Neemias Queta, C, Utah State (junior)
- Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, F, Villanova (sophomore)
- Damion Rosser, G, New Orleans (junior)
- Day’Ron Sharpe, F/C, North Carolina (freshman)
- Javonte Smart, G, LSU (junior)
- Jaden Springer, G, Tennessee (freshman)
- TJ Starks, G, Cal State Northridge (junior)
- DJ Steward, G, Duke (freshman)
- D.J. Stewart, G, Mississippi State (sophomore)
- Jalen Suggs, G, Gonzaga (freshman)
- Cameron Thomas, G, LSU (freshman)
- JT Thor, F, Auburn (freshman)
- Franz Wagner, G/F, Michigan (sophomore)
- Kyree Walker, G/F, Hillcrest Prep Academy (AZ) (post-graduate)
- Duane Washington, G, Ohio State (junior)
- Trendon Watford, F, LSU (sophomore)
- Romeo Weems, F, DePaul (sophomore)
- Joe Wieskamp, G/F, Iowa (junior)
- Aaron Wiggins, G, Maryland (junior)
- Brandon Williams, G, Arizona (sophomore)
- Ziaire Williams, F, Stanford (freshman)
- Bryce Wills, G/F, Stanford (junior)
- Marcus Zegarowski, G, Creighton (junior)
Note: Kentucky freshman guard Terrence Clarke declared for the draft and signed with an agent, but was killed in a car accident on April 22.
Withdrew from the draft after testing the waters:
- Max Abmas, G, Oral Roberts (sophomore)
- Ochai Agbaji, G, Kansas (junior)
- Josiah Agnew, G, Denmark Technical College (SC) (freshman)
- Fardaws Aimaq, F/C, Utah Valley (sophomore)
- Warith Alatishe, F, Oregon State (junior)
- Keve Aluma, F, Virginia Tech (junior)
- Eric Ayala, G, Maryland (junior)
- Armando Bacot, F, North Carolina (sophomore)
- Marcus Bagley, F, Arizona State (freshman)
- Justin Bean, F, Utah State (junior)
- Izaiah Brockington, G, Penn State (junior)
- Keyshawn Bryant, F, South Carolina (junior)
- D.J. Burns Jr., F, Winthrop (sophomore)
- Maurice Calloo, F, Oregon State (junior)
- Marcus Carr, G, Minnesota (junior)
- Colin Castleton, C, Florida (junior)
- Julian Champagnie, G/F, St. John’s (sophomore)
- Moussa Cisse, C, Memphis (freshman)
- Kofi Cockburn, C, Illinois (sophomore)
- Jermaine Couisnard, G, South Carolina (sophomore)
- Kendric Davis, G, SMU (junior)
- Darius Days, F, LSU (junior)
- Hunter Dickinson, C, Michigan (freshman)
- Tyson Etienne, G, Wichita State (sophomore)
- Dawson Garcia, F, Marquette (freshman)
- Patrick Greene Jr., G, National Park College (AR) (sophomore)
- Quincy Guerrier, F, Syracuse (sophomore)
- Jordan Hall, F, St. Joseph’s (freshman)
- Bryce Hamilton, G, UNLV (junior)
- De’Vion Harmon, G, Oklahoma (sophomore)
- Ron Harper Jr., G/F, Rutgers (junior)
- Trevor Hudgins, G, NW Missouri State (junior)
- DeVante’ Jones, G, Coastal Carolina (junior)
- Latrell Jones, G, Portland (junior)
- Johnny Juzang, G/F, UCLA (sophomore)
- Miller Kopp, F, Northwestern (junior)
- E.J. Liddell, F, Ohio State (sophomore)
- Makur Maker, C, Howard (freshman)
- Matthew Mayer, G/F, Baylor (junior)
- Josh Mballa, F, Buffalo (junior)
- Sean McNeil, G, West Virginia (junior)
- Isaiah Mobley, F, USC (sophomore)
- Issa Muhammad, F, Daytona State (FL) (sophomore)
- Kevin Obanor, F, Oral Roberts (junior)
- Jordan Phillips, G/F, UT Arlington (junior)
- Scotty Pippen Jr., G, Vanderbilt (sophomore)
- Courtney Ramey, G, Texas (junior)
- Antonio Reeves, G, Illinois State (sophomore)
- Cody Riley, F, UCLA (junior)
- Orlando Robinson, F/C, Fresno State (sophomore)
- Shawn Royal Jr., G/F, Victory Rock Prep (FL) (post-graduate)
- Kevin Samuel, C, TCU (junior)
- Marcus Sasser, G, Houston (sophomore)
- Ronaldo Segu, G, Buffalo (junior)
- Jaden Shackelford, G, Alabama (sophomore)
- Terrence Shannon Jr., G/F, Texas Tech (sophomore)
- Deon Stroud, G, Fresno State (sophomore)
- C.J. Walker, F, UCF (sophomore)
- Sahvir Wheeler, G, Georgia (sophomore)
- Jeenathan Williams, G/F, Buffalo (junior)
- Trevion Williams, F, Purdue (junior)
- Jalen Wilson, F, Kansas (freshman)
- Sidney Wilson, G/F, SIU-Edwardsville (junior)
- Isaiah Wong, G, Miami (sophomore)
College seniors
Remaining in the draft:
- Derrick Alston Jr., G/F, Boise State
- Jose Alvarado, G, Georgia Tech
- Jonah Antonio, G, Wake Forest
- Jonathan Baehre, F, Clemson
- Mitch Ballock, G, Creighton
- Troy Baxter Jr., F, Morgan State
- Chudier Bile, F, Georgetown
- Jahvon Blair, G, Georgetown
- Isaac Bonton, G, Washington State
- Chaundee Brown, G, Michigan
- Marcus Burk, G, IUPUI
- Jordan Burns, G, Colgate
- Manny Camper, G/F, Siena
- Nahziah Carter, G, Washington
- Arinze Chidom, F, UC-Riverside
- Matt Coleman III, G, Texas
- Trevion Crews, G, Bethel (IN)
- T.J. Crockett, G, Lindenwood (MO)
- Jalen Crutcher, G, Dayton
- Oscar Da Silva, F, Stanford
- Ryan Daly, G, St. Joseph’s
- Zaccheus Darko-Kelly, G/F, Univ. of Providence (MT)
- Cartier Diarra, G, Virginia Tech
- Marek Dolezaj, F, Syracuse
- Chris Duarte, G, Oregon
- Ian DuBose, G, Wake Forest
- Juwan Durham, F, Notre Dame
- Tahj Eaddy, G, USC
- Lydell Elmore, F, High Point
- Romeao Ferguson, G, Lipscomb
- LJ Figueroa, G, Oregon
- Aleem Ford, F, Wisconsin
- Blake Francis, G, Richmond
- Hasahn French, F, Saint Louis
- DJ Funderburk, F, N.C. State
- Ty Gadsden, G, UNC Wilmington
- Gorjok Gak, C, California Baptist
- Marcus Garrett, G, Kansas
- Luka Garza, C, Iowa
- Samson George, F, Central Arkansas
- Asante Gist, G, Iona
- Terrell Gomez, G, San Diego State
- Jordan Goodwin, G, Saint Louis
- Justin Gorham, F, Houston
- Elyjah Goss, F, IUPUI
- Jayvon Graves, G, Buffalo
- Quade Green, G, Washington
- Dou Gueye, F, Louisiana
- Matt Haarms, C, BYU
- Javion Hamlet, G, North Texas
- Deion Hammond, G, Monmouth
- Amauri Hardy, G, Oregon
- Romio Harvey, G, Harding University (AR)
- Sam Hauser, F, Virginia
- Kashaun Hicks, G/F, Norfolk State
- Taveion Hollingsworth, G, Western Kentucky
- Jay Huff, F/C, Virginia
- Anthony Hughes Jr., G, Millsaps College (MS)
- Jhivvan Jackson, G, UTSA
- Loren Cristian Jackson, G, Akron
- Casdon Jardine, G/F, Hawaii
- DeJon Jarreau, G, Houston
- Tristan Jarrett, G, Jackson State
- Justin Jaworski, G, Lafayette
- Damien Jefferson, G/F, Creighton
- Bryson Johnson, G, Univ. of The Ozarks (AR)
- Carlik Jones, G, Louisville
- Herb Jones, F, Alabama
- Corey Kispert, F, Gonzaga
- Cameron Krutwig, C, Loyola Chicago
- Matt Lewis, G, James Madison
- Spencer Littleson, G, Toledo
- Isaiah Livers, F, Michigan
- Denzel Mahoney, G/F, Creighton
- Makuach Maluach, G/F, New Mexico
- Sandro Mamukelashvili, F/C, Seton Hall
- Kyle Mangas, G, Indiana Wesleyan
- JaQuori McLaughlin, G, UCSB
- Jadyn Michael, F, Colorado Christian
- Asbjorn Midtgaard, C, Grand Canyon
- Isaiah Miller, G, UNC Greensboro
- Damek Mitchell, G, Lewis-Clark State College (ID)
- Matt Mitchell, F, San Diego State
- Steffon Mitchell, F, Boston College
- Ruot Monyyong, F/C, Little Rock
- Clay Mounce, F, Furman
- Matthew Moyer, F, George Washington
- Obadiah Noel, G, UMass-Lowell
- Kobi Nwandu, F, Niagara
- Eugene Omoruyi, F, Oregon
- EJ Onu, F, Shawnee State (OH)
- Chris Parker, G, Liberty
- Jock Perry, C, UC-Riverside
- John Petty Jr., G, Alabama
- Jamorko Pickett, F, Georgetown
- Danny Pippen, F, Kent State
- Yves Pons, G/F, Tennessee
- Micah Potter, F/C, Wisconsin
- Brandon Rachal, G/F, Tulsa
- Austin Reaves, G, Oklahoma
- Alex Reese, F, Alabama
- Nate Reuvers, F, Wisconsin
- Elvin Rodriguez, G, Science & Arts of Oklahoma
- Colbey Ross, G, Pepperdine
- Olivier Sarr, C, Kentucky
- Jordan Schakel, G, San Diego State
- Taz Sherman, G, West Virginia
- Devontae Shuler, G, Ole Miss
- Aamir Simms, F, Clemson
- Jericho Sims, F/C, Texas
- Chris Smith, F, UCLA
- Dru Smith, G, Missouri
- Justin Smith, F, Arkansas
- Mike Smith, G, Michigan
- Anthony Tarke, G/F, Coppin State
- Jalen Tate, G, Arkansas
- Terry Taylor, G/F, Austin Peay
- MaCio Teague, G, Baylor
- Christian Terrell, G, Sacramento State
- Koby Thomas, G/F, Coppin State
- Ethan Thompson, G, Oregon State
- Jeremiah Tilmon, C, Missouri
- D’Mitrik Trice, G, Wisconsin
- Jordy Tshimanga, C, Dayton
- Justin Turner, G, Bowling Green
- Chandler Vaudrin, F, Winthrop
- Eric Vila, F, UTEP
- Mark Vital, G/F, Baylor
- M.J. Walker, G, Florida State
- Keaton Wallace, G, UTSA
- Josh Washburn, G, Carthage (WI)
- Isaiah Washington, G, Long Beach State
- Ibi Watson, G, Dayton
- Romello White, F, Mississippi
- Devin Whitfield, G, Lincoln Memorial Univ. (TN)
- McKinley Wright IV, G, Colorado
- Moses Wright, F, Georgia Tech
Withdrew from the draft after testing the waters:
- Geo Baker, G, Rutgers
- Dalonte Brown, F, Miami (Ohio)
- Navar Elmore, F, Livingstone (NC)
- David Jean-Baptiste, G, Chattanooga
- Jalen Johnson, F, Mississippi State
- Christiaan Jones, G, Stetson
- John Knight III, G, Southern Utah
- Kameron Langley, G, North Carolina A&T
- Jaizec Lottie, G, Flagler (FL)
- Loudon Love, F, Wright State
- Remy Martin, G, Arizona State
- Kameron McGusty, G, Miami
- Davion Mintz, G, Kentucky
- Alex Morales, G, Wagner
- Darius Perry, G, UCF
- Quentin Scott, F, Texas State
- Roman Silva, C, Oregon State
- Maleek Taylor, F, Allen University (SC)
- Clyde Trapp, G, Clemson
- Stanley Umude, G, South Dakota
- Alonzo Verge Jr., G, Arizona State
- Richard Washington Jr., G/F, San Jose State
- Fabian White Jr., F, Houston
- Keith Williams, G, Cincinnati
- Jacob Young, G, Rutgers
International players
Note: The country indicates where the player had been playing, not necessarily where he was born.
Remaining in the draft:
- Juhann Begarin, G/F, France (born 2002)
- Vrenz Bleijenbergh, G/F, Belgium (born 2000)
- Biram Faye, F/C, Spain (born 2000)
- Usman Garuba, F/C, Spain (born 2002)
- Josh Giddey, G, Australia (born 2002)
- Rokas Jokubaitis, G, Lithuania (born 2000)
- Alperen Sengun, C, Turkey (born 2002)
- Amar Sylla, F/C, Belgium (born 2001)
Withdrew from the draft after testing the waters:
- Carlos Alocen, G, Spain (born 2000)
- Mert Akay, G, Serbia (born 2000)
- Ibou Badji, C, Spain (born 2002)
- Aleksander Balcerowski, C, Spain (born 2000)
- Kenny Baptiste, F, France (born 2000)
- Hugo Besson, G, France (born 2001)
- Tarik Biberovic, G/F, Turkey (born 2001)
- Danko Brankovic, C, Croatia (born 2000)
- Gora Camara, C, Italy (born 2001)
- Malcolm Cazalon, G, Serbia (born 2001)
- Vinicius Da Silva, C, Spain (born 2001)
- Tom Digbeu, G/F, Lithuania (born 2001)
- Ousmane Diop, F, Italy (born 2000)
- Mouhamet Diouf, F, Italy (born 2001)
- Matthieu Gauzin, G, France (born 2001)
- Gregor Glas, G, Serbia (born 2001)
- Haowen Guo, F, China (born 2000)
- Justus Hollatz, G, Germany (born 2001)
- Ariel Hukporti, C, Lithuania (born 2002)
- Dalibor Ilic, F, Bosnia (born 2000)
- Kenan Kamenjas, C, Bosnia (born 2000)
- Jovan Kljajic, G, Spain (born 2001)
- Yoan Makoundou, F, France (born 2000)
- Zsombor Maronka, F/C, Spain (born 2002)
- Karlo Matkovic, F/C, Serbia (born 2001)
- Nikita Mikhailovskii, F, Russia (born 2000)
- Aristide Mouaha, G, Italy (born 2000)
- Mario Nakic, F, Belgium (born 2001)
- Barra Njie, G, Sweden (born 2001)
- Vladislav Odinokov, F/C, Russia (born 2000)
- Joel Parra, F, Spain (born 2000)
- Tomas Pavelka, C, Spain (born 2000)
- Marko Pecarski, F/C, Serbia (born 2000)
- Ivan Perasovic, F, Croatia (born 2002)
- Franger Pirela, G, Spain (born 2002)
- Nemanja Popovic, F, Serbia (born 2001)
- Jaime Pradilla, F/C, Spain (born 2001)
- Roko Prkacin, F, Croatia (born 2002)
- Gabriele Procida, G/F, Italy (born 2002)
- Sitraka Raharimanantoanina, F, France (born 2001)
- Hugo Robineau, G, France (born 2000)
- Nikos Rogavopoulos, F, Greece (born 2001)
- Ziga Samar, G, Spain (born 2001)
- Gui Santos, F, Brazil (born 2002)
- Pavel Savkov, G/F, Spain (born 2002)
- Alexander Shashkov, C, Russia (born 2000)
- Boris Tisma, F, Spain (born 2002)
- Bojan Tomasevic, F, Serbia (born 2001)
- Uros Trifunovic, G, Serbia (born 2000)
- Luc van Slooten, F, Germany (born 2002)
Draft Notes: Cooper, Guerrier, Bryant, NCAA Tournament
Eligibility issues and an ankle injury limited Sharife Cooper to just 12 games during his first year at Auburn, but the freshman guard still may be prepared to go pro. Sources tell Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link) that Cooper is expected to declare for the 2021 NBA draft.
While Cooper hasn’t confirmed that decision yet, it won’t be a surprise if he decides to forgo his remaining college eligibility. After averaging 20.2 PPG and 8.1 APG in his 12 games with the Tigers, he’s currently the No. 17 player on ESPN’s big board of 2021 prospects, making him a strong candidate to be a first-round pick this summer.
Here’s more on the draft:
- Syracuse sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier will test the draft waters this spring, his former coach and longtime advisor Ibrahim Appiah told Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com. Guerrier, who averaged 13.7 PPG and 8.4 RPG in 28 games in 2020/21, could return to the Orange for at least one more year, depending on the feedback he receives.
- South Carolina junior forward Keyshawn Bryant is declaring for the draft without hiring an agent, he announced on Twitter. Bryant averaged 14.4 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 18 games (27.0 MPG) in 2020/21.
- Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) take a closer look at some of this year’s top prospects fared during the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, examining the play of Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, and Franz Wagner, among others.
John Collins To Miss At Least One Week With Ankle Injury
Hawks big man John Collins, who suffered a sprained left ankle during Tuesday’s loss in Phoenix, underwent an MRI on Wednesday, according to the team. Following that MRI, Collins has been diagnosed with a lateral ankle sprain and associated bone bruise, the Hawks announced today.
Although Collins has begun “low-level” rehab activities, he’ll miss some time as a result of the injury. Atlanta said Collins will be reevaluated in one week, and there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready to return at that point.
Collins, who will be a restricted free agent at season’s end, is having a strong contract year for the Hawks, averaging 18.2 PPG and 7.8 RPG on .545/.380/.838 shooting in 47 games (30.3 MPG).
The 23-year-old has been Atlanta’s second-leading scorer and a full-time starter this season, so the team will miss him as it jockeys for playoff position. Currently, the Hawks rank seventh in the East with a 23-24 record, but only a half-game separates them from the teams ahead of and behind them in the standings.
With Collins out, the Hawks figure to lean more heavily on Danilo Gallinari and Solomon Hill in the frontcourt.
Pacers Sign Oshae Brissett On 10-Day Contract
APRIL 1: A week after his deal was first reported, Brissett has officially signed a 10-day contract with the Pacers, the club announced today in a press release. It’ll be worth approximately $99K and will run through April 10.
MARCH 25: With small forward T.J. Warren now officially out for the entire 2020/21 season, the Pacers will audition second-year small forward Oshae Brissett on a 10-day deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
As Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets, Brissett had a stellar season for the Pacers’ G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, earning All-G League Second Team honors for his play in the NBAGL Orlando “bubble.”
In 12 games (including 10 starts), the 22-year-old averaged 18.6 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.7 BPG. He also connected on a respectable 33.3% of his 6.5 three-point looks per game.
After going undrafted out of Syracuse in 2019, the 6’7″ Brissett played out his rookie year for the Raptors during the 2019/20 season, where current Pacers head coach Nate Bjorkgren was an assistant, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. He appeared in 19 games for Toronto, averaging 7.1 MPG.
The Pacers waived Jalen Lecque earlier today to open a spot on the 15-man roster, which Brissett will fill.
Bucks Sign Jeff Teague
APRIL 1: The Bucks have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Teague.
MARCH 29: Free agent point guard Jeff Teague will sign with the Bucks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Teague was waived by the Magic over the weekend after they acquired him as a salary throw-in to complete the Evan Fournier trade with the Celtics.
Teague, 32, signed a one-year deal with Boston during the offseason. He appeared in 34 games, including five starts, and averaged 6.9 PPG and 2.1 APG in 18.1 MPG while shooting 41.5% from the field.
For his career, Teague has averaged 12.3 PPG, 5.6 APG and 2.3 RPG in 805 games for the Hawks, Pacers, Timberwolves and Celtics.
With Milwaukee, he’ll add some depth at the point behind Jrue Holiday and will reunite with former Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer.
The Bucks have an open roster spot for Teague. They were seeking to fortify their guard depth after trading reserve point guard D.J. Augustin to Houston in the deal that brought veteran forward P.J. Tucker to Milwaukee.
Milwaukee will have one more opening on its 15-man roster after signing Teague, so the move doesn’t rule out the possible addition of Austin Rivers.
Health Updates: Harden, Durant, Drummond, More
The Nets announced today that James Harden, who left Wednesday’s game with hamstring tightness, has also been ruled out for Thursday’s contest vs. Charlotte. However, according to Shams Charania of Stadium (video link), the injury isn’t considered to be serious, and Harden will be day-to-day going forward.
Harden’s teammate, Kevin Durant, has been dealing with a more serious hamstring issue, having not played at all since February 13. But Charania says Durant is “closing in” on a return to action, adding that if this were the postseason, the star forward would already be playing. Durant still isn’t expected back until possibly sometime next week.
Meanwhile, Blake Griffin will rest on the second night of a back-to-back for injury management purposes, but the Nets will have their other buyout-market addition, LaMarcus Aldridge, available on Thursday for the first time, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Here are a few more health updates from around the NBA:
- Andre Drummond‘s debut with the Lakers didn’t exactly go as planned. The veteran center left the game with a right toe bruise, a diagnosis that understated how painful the injury was, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes. “I didn’t really think anything of it,” Drummond said, referring to a play where Brook Lopez stepped on his foot. “I came back in the second quarter and it was hurting a little bit more. And then after halftime, I finally took my sock off to look and my whole toenail was gone. So, it was just all bad from there. I couldn’t walk or run. So I just told Coach (Frank Vogel) to take me out.” Drummond is considered day-to-day.
- Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova has yet to appear in a game this season due to a concussion and an appendectomy, but that may change on Thursday. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said on Wednesday that Dellavedova is close to being ready, and that he’s hopeful of a “Delly sighting” against Philadelphia, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
- Suns big man Frank Kaminsky isn’t injured, but he’s on the shelf for now after being placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
- As we relayed earlier today, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will remain sidelined through at least mid-April.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Out Until At Least Mid-April
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still isn’t close to a return, according to head coach Mark Daigneault, who said on Wednesday that the guard will be out for at least the first half of April, per ESPN’s Royce Young. Gilgeous-Alexander has been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
“(Mid-April) will be our next touchpoint with him,” Daigneault said, indicating that Gilgeous-Alexader will be reevaluated in about two weeks. “He’s progressing and doing his thing.”
Gilgeous-Alexander has had his best season as a pro so far in 2020/21, averaging 23.7 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 4.7 RPG on .508/.418/.808 shooting in 35 games (33.7 MPG).
However, as Young observes, the Thunder want to be careful with SGA’s workload, since the team is coming off a shortened offseason and the former lottery pick may play for Team Canada in the Olympic qualifiers this summer, resulting in another abridged break between seasons.
Additionally, the 20-27 Thunder are signaling that they’re not exactly going all-out in a push for one of the final playoff spots in the West this season, having traded away veteran guard George Hill and sat big man Al Horford. Still, the expectation is that Gilgeous-Alexander will return before the end of the season, says Young.
Cade Cunningham Declares For 2021 NBA Draft
Oklahoma State star and potential No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham formally announced on Thursday that he will enter the 2021 NBA draft, writes Cliff Brunt of The Associated Press.
The 6’8″ freshman guard was one of the most dynamic players in the nation during his first and only college season, averaging a conference-best 20.1 PPG to go along with 6.2 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1.6 SPG. He had a shooting line of .438/.400/.846 in his 27 games with the Cowboys (35.4 MPG), winning the Wayman Tisdale Award as the NCAA’s top freshman.
Although Oklahoma State had a relatively early exit from the NCAA tournament, falling in the second round to Oregon State, that 80-70 defeat didn’t reflect poorly on Cunningham, who scored 24 points in the losing effort.
There are a handful of impressive young players expected to join Cunningham at the top of draft boards this year, including Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green, and Jonathan Kuminga. However, Cunningham has long been considered by draft experts to be the top prospect in the 2021 class and is the strong favorite to be the first player off the board on July 29.
As Jonathan Givony of ESPN notes in his scouting report of Cunningham, there are still some questions about whether the 19-year-old can be the go-to offensive creator for an NBA team. However, Cunningham’s size, physical tools, improved shooting touch, and defensive versatility make him a potential two-way force, says Givony.
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Charles Bassey Entering 2021 NBA Draft
Western Kentucky center Charles Bassey has decided to enter the 2021 NBA draft following his junior season and fully intends to go pro, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
“I’m declaring for the draft and hiring an agent,” said Bassey, who nearly went pro after his freshman year in 2019. “I’m completely going into this one for sure.”
As Givony details, Bassey was this season’s Conference USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, returning from a left leg fracture that sidelined him for the majority of the 2019/20 season.
The No. 25 prospect on ESPN’s big board, Bassey averaged a double-double in 28 games for Western Kentucky in 2020/21, posting 17.6 PPG, 11.6 RPG, and an impressive 3.1 BPG.
Givony writes that the big man has “significant potential” as a defender at the NBA level, and is developing an outside shot to go along with his impressive above-the-rim finishes.
Thabo Sefolosha Discusses Retirement
Veteran NBA wing Thabo Sefolosha, who last played for the Rockets in 2019/20, hasn’t officially announced his retirement as a player. However, in a recent appearance on the Fastbreak podcast, Sefolosha didn’t object to being characterized as retired by the hosts.
“It’s treating me good,” Sefolosha said, when asked how he has adjusted to retirement. “It’s a nice change of pace being back home with the family. It has been great.”
As Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com relays (via Twitter), Sefolosha went on to explain that he has returned to his home country of Switzerland with his family and is enjoying spending more time with his wife and children. While he didn’t explicitly close the door on playing basketball again, the 36-year-old doesn’t sound like someone pursuing another NBA contract.
“We had already talked about it at the end of last season, coming back to Switzerland,” Sefolosha said. “We have kids that are growing up and it was important for us to be as a family together, spending more time together with myself being more involved and being able to spend more time with homework and all of this.
“After 14 years, I felt like it was kind of time for me to take a step back and spend the majority of my time doing something different now.”
Assuming Sefolosha has played in his last NBA game, he’ll call it a career after appearing in 869 regular season games and another 96 postseason contests. The former 13th overall pick averaged 5.7 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 21.9 minutes per game in the regular season, spending time with the Bulls, Thunder, Hawks, Jazz, and Rockets.
Sefolosha was also a strong perimeter defender, having earned a spot on the NBA’s All-Defensive Team in 2010. Although he didn’t win a championship, he played in the NBA Finals once, with the Thunder in 2012.
Sefolosha last appeared on the court on March 8, 2020, having opted out of the summer restart in Orlando.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.