Official Early Entrants List For 2018 NBA Draft
The NBA has officially announced that 91 early entrant prospects will be eligible to be selected in the 2018 NBA draft next week. Although the number of early entrants is much higher than the number of picks in the draft (60), the list of early entrants is still significantly smaller than it was at the entry deadline in April. At that point, 236 early entrants had declared for the draft. Nearly 150 have withdrawn since then after testing the waters.
Here’s the complete list of early entrant prospects eligible for the 2018 NBA draft:
College Underclassmen:
- Deng Adel, F, Louisville (junior)
- Rawle Alkins, G, Arizona (sophomore)
- Mike Amius, F, Western Carolina (junior)
- Kostas Antetokounmpo, F, Dayton (freshman)
- Deandre Ayton, C, Arizona (freshman)
- Marvin Bagley III, F/C, Duke (freshman)
- Mohamed Bamba, C, Texas (freshman)
- Keita Bates-Diop, F, Ohio State (junior)
- Tashawn Berry, G, Dakota College (sophomore)
- Leron Black, F, Illinois (junior)
- Jordan Brangers, G, South Plains CC (sophomore)
- Mikal Bridges, F, Villanova (junior)
- Miles Bridges, F, Michigan State (sophomore)
- Bruce Brown, G, Miami (junior)
- Troy Brown, G/F, Oregon (freshman)
- Jalen Brunson, G, Villanova (junior)
- Elijah Bryant, G, BYU (junior)
- Tony Carr, G, Penn State (sophomore)
- Wendell Carter Jr., C, Duke (freshman)
- Kameron Chatman, G/F, Detroit (junior)
- Bryant Crawford, G, Wake Forest (junior)
- Eric Davis Jr., G, Texas (junior)
- Tyler Davis, C, Texas A&M (junior)
- Marcus Derrickson, F, Georgetown (junior)
- Hamidou Diallo, G, Kentucky (freshman)
- Donte DiVincenzo, G, Villanova (sophomore)
- Dikembe Dixson, F, UIC (sophomore)
- Trevon Duval, G, Duke (freshman)
- Drew Eubanks, F, Oregon State (junior)
- Jacob Evans, G/F, Cincinnati (junior)
- Tremaine Fraiser, G, Westchester CC (junior)
- Melvin Frazier, G/F, Tulane (junior)
- Wenyen Gabriel, F, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Kaiser Gates, F, Xavier (junior)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G, Kentucky (freshman)
- D.J. Hogg, F, Texas A&M (junior)
- Aaron Holiday, G, UCLA (junior)
- Kevin Huerter, G, Maryland (sophomore)
- DeAngelo Isby, G, Utah State (junior)
- Jaren Jackson Jr., F/C, Michigan State (freshman)
- Justin Jackson, F, Maryland (sophomore)
- Ismaila Kane, F, Atlanta Metropolitan (freshman)
- Devonte Klines, G, Montana State (junior)
- Kevin Knox, F, Kentucky (freshman)
- Terry Larrier, F, UConn (junior)
- Marquez Letcher-Ellis, F, Rice (sophomore)
- Makinde London, F, Chattanooga (junior)
- Brandon McCoy, C, UNLV (freshman)
- De’Anthony Melton, G, USC (sophomore)
- Chimezie Metu, F/C, USC (junior)
- Shake Milton, G, SMU (junior)
- Max Montana, F, San Diego State (junior)
- Doral Moore, C, Wake Forest (junior)
- Malik Newman, G, Kansas (sophomore)
- A.J. Nywesh, G, Minnesota State-Moorhead (junior)
- Josh Okogie, G, Georgia Tech (sophomore)
- Ajdin Penava, F, Marshall (junior)
- Michael Porter Jr., F, Missouri (freshman)
- Billy Preston, F, Kansas (freshman)
- Jerome Robinson, G/F, Boston College (junior)
- Mitchell Robinson, C, Western Kentucky (freshman)
- Brandon Sampson, G, LSU (junior)
- Corey Sanders, G, Rutgers (junior)
- Collin Sexton, G, Alabama (freshman)
- Landry Shamet, G, Wichita State (sophomore)
- Yankuba Sima, C, Oklahoma State (junior)
- Anfernee Simons, G, IMG Academy (N/A)
- Fred Sims Jr., G, Chicago State (junior)
- Zhaire Smith, G/F, Texas Tech (freshman)
- Ray Spalding, F, Louisville (junior)
- Omari Spellman, F, Villanova (freshman)
- Khyri Thomas, G, Creighton (junior)
- Gary Trent Jr., G, Duke (freshman)
- Allonzo Trier, G, Arizona (junior)
- Jarred Vanderbilt, F, Kentucky (freshman)
- Moritz Wagner, C, Michigan (junior)
- Lonnie Walker, G, Miami (freshman)
- Robert Williams, F/C, Texas A&M (sophomore)
- Trae Young, G, Oklahoma (freshman)
International Early Entrants:
- LiAngelo Ball, G, Lithuania (born 1998)
- Isaac Bonga, F, Germany (born 1999)
- Luka Doncic, G/F, Spain (born 1999)
- Tryggvi Hlinason, C, Spain (born 1997)
- Michal Kolenda, F, Poland (born 1997)
- Arnoldas Kulboka, F, Italy (born 1998)
- Rodions Kurucs, F, Spain (born 1998)
- Dzanan Musa, G/F, Croatia (born 1999)
- Williams Narace, F, France (born 1997)
- Elie Okobo, G, France (born 1997)
- Issuf Sanon, G, Slovenia (born 1999)
- Filip Zagrajski, G, Croatia (born 1997)
The NBA’s final list of early entrants doesn’t include Brian Bowen (South Carolina), Micah Seaborn (Monmouth), and Tavarius Shine (Oklahoma State), despite the fact that they had remained in the draft past the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline last month. Because those players pulled out of the draft between the NCAA and NBA deadlines, they won’t be draft-eligible yet, but also won’t be able to continue their college careers. They can begin their professional careers in the G League or in an international league.
For details on which prospects originally declared for the draft, then withdrew their names, be sure to check out our previous unofficial early entrant list.
Draft Notes: Hornets, Grizzlies, Blazers, Lakers, Nuggets
Villanova’s Mikal Bridges had his conditioning tested during his first pre-draft workout today in Charlotte, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Bridges and St. Joseph’s James Demery were the only players at the hour-long session, which featured full-court sprints mixed with long-range shooting toward the end of the process.
“They pushed us,” Bridges said. “I’m really well conditioned and they [wanted to see me] shoot the ball while I’m tired. [It was about] showing them everything, like some ballhandling that they didn’t see” when he was in college.
Projected as a lottery pick, Bridges may still be available when the Hornets select at No. 11. However, Bonnell notes that the Cavaliers, Knicks and Sixers — the three teams directly in front of Charlotte — could all have interest.
There’s more draft-related news to pass along:
- The Hornets have six more players coming in tomorrow, highlighted by potential lottery pick Lonnie Walker of Miami, Bonnell tweets. Dayton’s Kostas Antetokounmpo, whose brother is a star with the Bucks, will also be on hand.
- Antetokounmpo will be in Memphis on Monday for a six-player workout, the Grizzlies announced in an e-mail. Joining him will be Missouri’s Jordan Barnett, Temple’s Obi Enechionyia, Virginia’s Devon Hall, Kansas’ Malik Newman and North Carolina’s Theo Pinson.
- The Trail Blazers focused on 3-and-D players in today’s workout, according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Villanova’s Donte DiVincenzo, Miami’s Bruce Brown and Cincinnati’s Jacob Evans all fit that description, which appears to be what the Blazers want with the 24th pick. “I can guard multiple positions and it’s kind of a role where the responsibility isn’t so great,” DiVincenzo said. “The responsibility is you have two things to really do, really focus on, and be great at. And when you can do that, it just opens up time on the floor.”
- The Trail Blazers also held a workout on Friday, relays Casey Holdahl of NBA.com, with UCLA’s Aaron Holiday, Villanova’s Jalen Brunson, Duke’s Gary Trent Jr., Tulane’s Melvin Frazier, Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop and Louisville’s Raymond Spalding attending.
- The Lakers will bring in six players for a Sunday workout, the team announced on Twitter. Scheduled to attend are Michigan’s Moritz Wagner, Missouri State’s Alize Johnson, Connecticut’s Terry Larrier, Rhode Island’s Jared Terrell, Western Michigan’s Thomas Wilder and TCU’s Kenrich Williams.
- The Nuggets have a pair of sessions set for early next week, the team announced through e-mail. Coming in Monday will be Bates-Diop, along with Creighton’s Marcus Foster, Colorado’s George King, USC’s Chimezie Metu and Oakland’s Kendrick Nunn. Scheduled for Tuesday are Holiday and Williams, as well as Notre Dame’s Matt Farrell, Penn State’s Tony Carr and Elie Okobo of France.
- Micah Seaborn of Monmouth, one of the late deciders at Wednesday’s withdrawal deadline, elected to remain in the draft, according to Josh Newman of USA Today.
Checking In On NCAA Early Entrants For Draft
As we detailed about 24 hours ago, Wednesday represented a key deadline for NCAA underclassmen who had declared for the 2018 NBA draft. Early entrants who haven’t yet hired an agent technically have until June 11 to pull their names out of the draft, based on NBA rules. But the NCAA has its own set of deadlines, and May 30 was the last day for early entrants to withdraw from the draft and retain their college eligibility.
As such, we saw a flurry of announcements on Wednesday, with players like Kevin Huerter (Maryland), Omari Spellman (Villanova), Jarred Vanderbilt (Kentucky) deciding to remain in the draft, while other notable prospects like Tyus Battle (Syracuse), Jontay Porter (Missouri), and PJ Washington (Kentucky) elected to return to school.
Our full early entrant list has been updated with the latest news, but there are still a small handful of gaps in that list. The NBA won’t release an official list of early entrants for 2018 until after the league’s own June 11 deadline, so we’ll have to wait nearly two weeks for confirmation on this year’s draft class. However, here’s a breakdown of our numbers for now:
- NCAA early entrants who are believed to be staying in the draft: 79
- NCAA early entrants who reportedly withdrew from the draft: 96
- NCAA early entrants who showed up on the NBA’s initial list in April whose decisions haven’t been announced or reported, as far as we can tell: 7
The seven players whose statuses we’re unsure about are Tashawn Berry (Dakota College), Dextor Foster (ASA College), Tremaine Fraiser (Westchester CC), Victor Lewis II (West Texas A&M), Jordan Murdock (Friends University), Keanu Peters (Salt Lake CC), and Micah Seaborn (Monmouth). If we missed any updates on any of those players, please let us know in the comment section.
Meanwhile, even though that June 11 NBA withdrawal deadline isn’t overly important for college prospects, it’s a key date for international early entrants. Over the next week and a half, we’ll likely hear plenty of updates on that group of 55 players, many of whom will remove their names from the 2018 draft pool.
Draft Updates: Govindy, Pansa, Faye, Seaborn
The list of international prospects declaring for the 2018 NBA draft as early entrants continues to grow. As ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reports (via Twitter), three 1997-born big men currently playing in France are entering this year’s draft pool, per their agency Comsport. Those players are Melvyn Govindy, Jean-Marc Pansa, and Ibrahima Fall Faye. They’ll have until June 11 to decide whether to remain in the 2018 draft or withdraw their names. If they pull out of this year’s event, they’ll be draft-eligible in 2019.
Here are a few more draft notes:
- Givony has updates on two more international early entrants declaring for the draft, reporting that Turkish forward Muhaymin Mustafa and Congolese center Viny Okouo have both made themselves eligible (Twitter link). While Okouo was born in 1997, Mustafa was born in 1999, which means he’d have two more chances to enter the draft early if he withdraws his name this year.
- Slovenian shooting guard Blaz Mesicek has elected to enter the draft as an early entrant, per agent Misko Raznatovic (Twitter link). The 1997-born prospect has averaged 9.7 PPG and shot 40.8% on three-pointers in 26 games for Brindisi in the Italian League.
- Monmouth junior guard Micah Seaborn announced in a post on Instagram that he has opted to enter the NBA draft without hiring an agent. Seaborn established new career highs in 2017/18 with 13.7 PPG and a .436/.442/.887 shooting line.
- Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders breaks down the 2018 NBA draft class in tiers, with a three-player top tier of “potential future All-Stars” leading the way.