NBA Announces Initial Early Entrant List For 2024 Draft
The NBA has officially released the initial list of early entrants for the 2024 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 195 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 138 are from colleges, 43 had been playing for teams internationally, and 14 were playing non-college ball stateside (ie. the G League or Overtime Elite).
While that early entrant total obviously far exceeds the number of players who will be selected in this year’s draft (58), it’s down significantly from the figures we’ve seen in recent years. A record 353 early entrants initially declared for the draft in 2021, but that number dropped to 283 in 2022 and 242 a year ago. The NCAA’s NIL policy, which allows college athletes to be paid based on their name, image, and likeness, has presumably been a major factor in that trend.
This year’s total of 195 early entrants figures to decline significantly by May 29 and again by June 16, the two deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it’s still likely that the eventual number of early entrants will exceed 58 players. That group will join the college seniors with no remaining eligibility and other automatically eligible players in this year’s draft pool.
Our tracker of early entrants for the 2024 draft is fully up to date and can be found right here.
Here are the changes we made to our tracker today:
Newly added players
College players:
These players either didn’t publicly announce that they were entering the draft or we simply missed it when they did.
- Achor Achor, F, Samford (senior)
- Jesse Bingham II, G/F, Indianapolis (senior)
- Jaden Bradley, G, Arizona (sophomore)
- Nimari Burnett, G, Michigan (junior)
- Isaiah Crawford, G/F, Louisiana Tech (senior)
- Anthony Dell’Orso, G/F, Campbell (sophomore)
- Noah Farrakhan, G, West Virginia (senior)
- RJ Felton, G, East Carolina (junior)
- Rasheer Fleming, F, St. Joseph’s (sophomore)
- Tyler Harris, G/F, Portland (freshman)
- Meechie Johnson, G, South Carolina (senior)
- Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton (senior)
- Toibu Lawal, F, VCU (sophomore)
- Kino Lilly Jr., G, Brown (junior)
- Javian McCollum, G, Oklahoma (junior)
- Igor Milicic Jr., F, Charlotte (junior)
- Shahid Muhammad, C, Southern Idaho (sophomore)
- Matthew Murrell, G, Mississippi (senior)
- Baye Ndongo, F, Georgia Tech (freshman)
- Carlos Nichols, G, Southern Crescent Tech (GA) (freshman)
- Wooga Poplar, G, Miami (FL) (junior)
- Jason Spurgin, C, Bowling Green (senior)
- A.J. Staton-McCray, G, Samford (junior)
- Jarin Stevenson, F, Alabama (freshman)
- Milos Uzan, G, Oklahoma (sophomore)
- Jaykwon Walton, G/F, Memphis (senior)
- Deshawndre Washington, G/F, New Mexico State (junior)
International players:
These players weren’t previously mentioned on our list of international early entrants. The country listed here indicates where they last played, not necessarily where they were born.
- Miguel Allen, F, Spain (born 2003)
- Gael Bonilla, F, Spain (born 2003)
- Michael Caicedo, G/F, Spain (born 2003)
- Milhan Charles, F, Holland (born 2004)
- Brice Dessert, C, France (born 2003)
- Ruben Dominguez, G, Spain (born 2003)
- Ugo Doumbia, G, France (born 2003)
- Lucas Dufeal, F, France (born 2003)
- A.J. Johnson, G, Australia (born 2004)
- Gustav Knudsen, G/F, Denmark (born 2003)
- Konstantin Kostadinov, F, Spain (born 2003)
- Liutauras Lelevicius, G/F, Lithuania (born 2003)
- Eli Ndiaye, F/C, Spain (born 2004)
- Ousmane Ndiaye, C, Spain (born 2004)
- Musa Sagnia, F/C, Spain (born 2003)
- Cezar Unitu, G, Romania (born 2005)
- Fedor Zugic, G, Germany (born 2003)
Other players:
- Abdullah Ahmed, C, Westchester Knicks (born 2003)
- Somto Cyril, C, Overtime Elite (born 2005)
- Reynan Dos Santos, G, Overtime Elite (born 2004)
- Djordjije Jovanovic, F, Ontario Clippers (born 2003)
- Jalen Lewis, F/C, Overtime Elite (born 2005)
- Malique Lewis, F, Mexico City Capitanes (born 2004)
- Babacar Sane, F, G League Ignite (born 2003)
Players removed
Despite reports or announcements that the players below would declare for the draft, they didn’t show up on the NBA’s official list.
That could mean a number of things — they may have decided against entering the draft; they may have entered the draft, then withdrawn; they may have had no NCAA eligibility remaining, making them automatically draft-eligible; they may have incorrectly filed their paperwork; or the NBA may have accidentally omitted some names.
It seems that last possibility is a real one, as Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets that a “miscommunication or mishap’ at the league office may result in a dozen or more additional names being added to the NBA’s early entrant list.
We’ve still removed the following names from our early entrant list for the time being, but it sounds like some could be re-added soon.
Note: Some of these players may also be transferring to new schools.
- Jabri Abdur-Rahim, G/F, Georgia (senior)
- Marchelus Avery, F, UCF (senior)
- Aaron Bradshaw, C, Kentucky (freshman)
- Mikeal Brown-Jones, F, UNC Greensboro (senior)
- Walter Clayton Jr., G, Florida (junior)
- David Coit, G, Northern Illinois (junior)
- Malik Dia, F, Belmont (sophomore)
- Terrence Edwards Jr., G/F, James Madison (senior)
- Elijah Fisher, G, DePaul (sophomore)
- BJ Freeman, G, Milwaukee (junior)
- Vladislav Goldin, C, Florida Atlantic (senior)
- Dominick Harris, G, Loyola Marymount (junior)
- Jordan Ivy-Curry, G, UTSA (senior)
- Kobe Johnson, G/F, USC (junior)
- Chris Ledlum, G/F, St. John’s (senior)
- Caleb Love, G, Arizona (senior)
- Zeke Mayo, G, South Dakota State (junior)
- Selton Miguel, G, South Florida (senior)
- Kylen Milton, G, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (senior)
- Dillon Mitchell, F, Texas (sophomore)
- Ugonna Onyenso, C, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Micah Parrish, G/F, San Diego State (senior)
- Micah Peavy, G/F, TCU (senior)
- Noah Reynolds, G, Green Bay (junior)
- Hunter Sallis, G, Wake Forest (junior)
- Adou Thiero, G, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Aboubacar Traore, G/F, Long Beach State (junior)
Draft Notes: Brazile, Bradshaw, Traore, More Early Entrants
Arkansas junior forward Trevon Brazile won’t be playing for new Razorbacks head coach John Calipari next season. Brazile tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN that he has decided to forgo his remaining college eligibility and enter the 2024 NBA draft.
“I’m 100 percent into the draft,” Brazile said. “Arkansas made a big hire with John Calipari. I’m happy for the program, but the main thing for me is keeping a one-track mind. I am going out for my dreams in the NBA.”
The No. 42 overall prospect on ESPN’s big board, Brazile had an up-and-down season in his return from ACL surgery, averaging 8.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game while shooting .488/.353/.695.
According to Givony, Brazile is a candidate to improve his stock during the pre-draft process, since NBA evaluators are intrigued by his combination of length and mobility, as well as his ability to space the floor on offense and protect the rim on defense.
Here are several more draft-related notes and updates:
- Freshman center Aaron Bradshaw is one of several Kentucky players entering the 2024 draft. He announced on Instagram that he’ll test the waters while retaining his NCAA eligibility and also will enter the transfer portal. Bradshaw averaged just 13.7 minutes per game in his first college season, registering 4.9 PPG and 3.3 RPG. He’s the No. 73 prospect on ESPN’s top-100 list.
- French forward Armel Traore, the No. 80 prospect on ESPN’s board, has declared for the draft, he tells Givony (Twitter link). A 6’9″ forward with a 7’3″ wingspan, Traore has had a productive season for Blois Basket in France’s top league, Givony notes.
- Initially thought to be testing the draft waters, Miami forward Norchad Omier has hired an agent and intends to keep his name in the draft pool, as Michelle Kaufman of The Miami Herald details.
- The following players are also among the early entrants for the 2024 draft. They’re testing the waters unless otherwise indicated:
- Jabri Abdur-Rahim, G/F, Georgia (senior) (link via Joe Tipton of On3 Sports)
- Michael Ajayi, F, Pepperdine (junior) (Twitter link)
- Jalen Blackmon, G, Stetson (junior) (Twitter link via Jeff Borzello of ESPN)
- Walter Clayton Jr., G, Florida (junior) (Twitter link)
- Jalen Cook, G, LSU (senior) (Twitter link)
- Note: Cook’s announcement doesn’t say anything about retaining his NCAA eligibility, so we’re assuming he intends to go pro.
- Robert McCray, G, Jacksonville (sophomore) (Instagram link; hat tip to RookieScale.com)
- Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has updated his 2024 mock draft following the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are the top NCAA players in Wasserman’s mock, coming off the board at No. 2 and 3, respectively.