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Ugonna Onyenso

Pacific Notes: Kings, Sabonis, Warriors, Suns

By | at June 4, 2026 8:51 pm

The Kings are hosting a pre-draft workout on Friday featuring Boopie Miller (SMU), Nick Boyd (Wisconsin), Lamar Wilkerson (Indiana), Anthony Roy (Oklahoma State), Izaiyah Nelson (South Florida) and Ugonna Onyenso (Virginia), tweets James Ham of The Kings Beat.

Sacramento controls three picks (Nos. 7, 34 and 45) in the upcoming draft. Big men Onyenso (No. 43) and Nelson (No. 47) are the top-ranked prospects in that group on ESPN’s big board.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • After Evan Sidery claimed (via Twitter) that the Hornets and Kings discussed a possible trade involving Domantas Sabonis during the 2025/26 season, Ham shot down that rumor (Twitter link). “Not accurate,” a league source told Ham. Sabonis, a three-time All-Star center, is owed $94.1MM over the next two seasons.
  • Nick Avila of NBC Sports Bay Area rounds up seven mock drafts for the lottery picks controlled by the Kings (No. 7) and Warriors (No. 11). Four outlets have Sacramento selecting former Houston Cougars guard Kingston Flemings, while only one name appears multiple times (twice) for Golden State: Mexican forward Karim Lopez, who spent the last two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers in the National Basketball League.
  • Although the Suns currently only control the 47th overall pick in this month’s draft, they have a recent history of moving both up and down, notes Gerald Bourguet of Sports360AZ.com. He acknowledges the odds of Phoenix being able to land a first-round pick seem fairly low given the limited assets at the team’s disposal, but Bourguet lists five prospects the Suns should consider if they’re able to move into the first round, including Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie and Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson.
28 comments 2026 NBA Draft Charlotte Hornets Golden State Warriors Phoenix Suns Sacramento Kings

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Warriors, Curry, Kings

By | at June 2, 2026 7:00 pm

The Lakers enter the offseason with Luka Doncic under contract, as well as a whole lot of questions outside of the Slovenian star.

One of the key inflection points is what comes next for LeBron James. He could re-sign with the team, leave in free agency, or retire. If he does re-sign with the Lakers, how much does he command on his next contract?

Whether there is a right price to be found between the team and the 41-year-old star, who projects to be the third option offensively, is a topic of debate in the recent Los Angeles Times roundtable, with columnist Bill Plaschke believing that the two sides will be at odds in terms of what they’d want in a potential deal, though others disagree.

The panel found consensus in the desire to bring back free agent Austin Reaves and in the need to upgrade the center spot, regardless of whether or not Deandre Ayton picks up his $8.1MM player option for next season.

We have more news and notes from the Pacific Division:

  • The Warriors hosted six players in pre-draft workouts on Tuesday, the team announced (via Twitter): Donovan Atwell (Texas Tech), Quadir Copeland (NC State), Josh Dix (Creighton), RJ Godfrey (Clemson), Ugonna Onyenso (Virginia), and Oziyah Sellers (St. John’s). Golden State has the 11th and 54th overall picks in the 2026 draft. Onyenso is the highest-rated player on this list, coming in at 43 on Jeremy Woo’s big board for ESPN due to his impressive shot-blocking ability.
  • Stephen Curry‘s new deal with the Chinese shoe company Li-Ning is worth over $400MM over 10 years, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (via Twitter), who notes that the Warriors‘ star had other companies making competitive offers. Charania previously reported that the deal would allow Curry to sign other athletes to his brand and expand beyond sneakers (Twitter link).
  • While the Spurs and Knicks prepare to face off in the Finals, the Kings are stuck with reminders of where they’ve been and where they’re going. The year after Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers to the Finals, the Kings now prepare to watch the coach they fired, Mike Brown, face off against the other point guard they traded, De’Aaron Fox, while they’re stuck trying to navigate the same type of dysfunction that defined the franchise for 20 years, writes Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (subscriber link).
65 comments Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Lakers Sacramento Kings

Knicks Notes: Team Building, Brunson, Brown, Hart, Workouts

By | at May 26, 2026 8:18 pm

The Knicks are patiently awaiting the NBA Finals after sweeping Cleveland. How did they finally turn into a Finals team? The Athletic’s Fred Katz takes an in-depth look at that topic.

Some of the key moments included trading Kristaps Porzingis, which gave them future flexibility, deciding not to trade away assets for Jalen Brunson before they signed him as a free agent, and the subsequent deals for Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart.

The New York Daily News’ Peter Sblendorio, meanwhile, details how the Knicks’ 2022 bet on Brunson has paid major dividends.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • Brunson could join a very exclusive club if the Knicks go on to win the NBA championship, Vincent Goodwill of ESPN notes. Only two players 6’2” or under have been the undisputed headliners of their teams and led them to a championship. Isiah Thomas and Stephen Curry have done it and Brunson is now four wins away from becoming a member of that group.
  • Mike Brown wasn’t the Knicks’ top choice to replace Tom Thibodeau but his strategies and adjustments have proven his skeptics wrong, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes, Brown has been fired four times since 2010 but now sits four wins away from joining Red Holzman as the only other Knicks head coach with an NBA championship. “Our business is funny. In my previous job [with the Kings], I supposedly took them to a point that was higher and it didn’t work out,” Brown said. “I truly felt these Knicks were an NBA Finals team. I felt we had a true opportunity. Some jobs you take, you say, ‘OK, we’ll get better and we have to make the playoffs right now.’ But this one, I felt we legitimately had a chance if we could help them figure it out and the players can stay together during the process. Especially when we hit adversity. Because we hit adversity at different parts in this season. Not just us as a whole group, but even guys individually and myself as well. I did have that belief from day one.”
  • Hart was acquired from the Trail Blazers for Cam Reddish, Svi Mykhailiuk and guard Ryan Arcidiacono along with a first-round pick. That trade turned out to be a huge reason why the Knicks are now the Eastern Conference champions, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines.
  • The Knicks hosted six draft prospects on Tuesday — Arkansas’ Meleek Thomas, Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou, USF’s Izaiyah Nelson, BYU’s Keba Keita, Missouri’s Mark Mitchell and Akron’s Amani Lyles, according to SNY’s Ian Begley (Twitter links). Thomas and Yessoufou are the most intriguing names in that group, as Thomas is ranked No. 25 overall by ESPN and Yessoufou is ranked No. 34. Ugonna Onyenso, a seven-foot center who played last season at Virginia, has a workout scheduled with the Knicks this weekend, Bondy tweets. He is ranked No. 43 overall by ESPN. The Knicks have the 24th, 31st and 55th picks in the upcoming draft.
22 comments 2026 NBA Draft New York Knicks

Hawks Notes: NAW, Johnson, Playoff Loss, Workouts

By | at May 5, 2026 7:15 pm

Nickeil Alexander-Walker was named the league’s Most Improved Player. Following the Hawks‘ loss to the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, the 27-year-old expressed a desire to improve his game even further.

“I think for me, it allowed me to reshape my focus, to say, ‘You know what, I have a chance at making something special of this situation. I get to respond next year, try to go to the playoffs,’” Alexander-Walker he told Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “And, after losing the way we did, how I approach the game and having a whole season now under my belt and growing into it, and ‘OK, I can be so much better. This is how I improve.’ And then hopefully next year is different.”

Alexander-Walker sees the team continuing to improve, an exciting proposition for a player who signed a four-year contract prior to the season.

“It’s exciting and it’s promising,” he said. “And it shows that there is something there. Anytime you can have success to any degree when you work really hard, it’s reassuring to the process that you’re on. And it gives you that trial and error to say, ‘OK, we are doing the right thing. This is the right thing. Now, where did we go wrong along the way?’ Then you kind of, like, just reshape it and keep going and keep growing.”

Here’s more on the Hawks:

  • The Knicks held Jalen Johnson to 19.5 points per game on 43.5 overall shooting and 29 percent from long range in the first round. Johnson vows to be better the next time he gets into a postseason series. “If I’m being honest, it was just bad,” Johnson said, per Williams. “It was a terrible feeling. Unacceptable. Like I said, there’s plenty of room for growth, and we’re going to continue to grow from this. We’re going to learn a lot from this series, and just making sure the non-negotiables never happen again.”
  • Getting blown out by 51 points in the decisive Game 6 will serve as a motivator for the entire team, according to Johnson. “Just a lot of fuel going into the next season, a lot of fuel going into the offseason for everybody, and we’re going to make sure this never happens again, we never get this type of feeling again, just a sick feeling to our stomach,” he said.
  • Flory Bidunga (Kansas), Ugonna Onyenso (Virginia), Peter Suder (Miami OH) and Milos Uzan (Houston) are some of the prospects the Hawks are bringing in for pre-draft workouts, Williams tweets. Those players are potential second-rounders — Bidunga is ranked highest at No. 46 overall by ESPN. Atlanta possesses two first-round picks via trades, including a lottery selection, and the No. 57 overall pick late in the second round.
8 comments Atlanta Hawks

NBA Announces 73 Invitees For 2026 Draft Combine

By | at May 1, 2026 10:54 am

The NBA announced today (via Twitter) that 73 prospects have been invited to attend this year’s draft combine, which will take place in Chicago from May 10-17.

In addition to those 73 players, a handful of standout players from the G League combine, which is also held in Chicago just before the combine begins, are expected to receive invites to stick around for the main event.

Not all of the prospects invited to the combine will end up remaining in the 2026 draft pool, since many are early entrants who are testing the waters while retaining their NCAA eligibility.

College players must withdraw from the draft by the end of the day on May 27 if they wish to preserve that eligibility, while non-college players face a decision deadline of June 13. The feedback they receive from NBA teams at the combine may be a deciding factor for players who are on the fence.

Here’s the list of players who have been invited to the 2026 draft combine:

(Note: For players in international leagues, the country listed is where they had been playing, not necessarily where they’re from.)

  1. Matt Able, G, North Carolina State (freshman)
  2. Darius Acuff, G, Arkansas (freshman)
  3. Amari Allen, F, Alabama (freshman)
  4. Nate Ament, F, Tennessee (freshman)
  5. Christian Anderson, G, Texas Tech (sophomore)
  6. Tobe Awaka, F, Arizona (senior)
  7. Flory Bidunga, F/C, Kansas (sophomore)
  8. Tyler Bilodeau, F, UCLA (senior)
  9. John Blackwell, G, Wisconsin (junior)
  10. Cameron Boozer, F, Duke (freshman)
  11. Kylan Boswell, G, Illinois (senior)
  12. Nick Boyd, G, Wisconsin (senior)
  13. Jaden Bradley, G, Arizona (senior)
  14. Trevon Brazile, F, Arkansas (senior)
  15. Maliq Brown, F, Duke (senior)
  16. Mikel Brown Jr., G, Louisville (freshman)
  17. Brayden Burries, G, Arizona (freshman)
  18. Cameron Carr, G, Baylor (junior)
  19. Chris Cenac, F/C, Houston (freshman)
  20. Rueben Chinyelu, C, Florida (junior)
  21. Ryan Conwell, G, Louisville (senior)
  22. Sergio De Larrea, G, Spain (born 2005)
  23. AJ Dybantsa, F, BYU (freshman)
  24. Zuby Ejiofor, F, St. John’s (senior)
  25. Isaiah Evans, G/F, Duke (sophomore)
  26. Jeremy Fears, G, Michigan State (junior)
  27. Kingston Flemings, G, Houston (freshman)
  28. Ja’Kobi Gillespie, G, Tennessee (senior)
  29. Allen Graves, F, Santa Clara (freshman)
  30. Keyshawn Hall, G/F, Auburn (senior)
  31. Juke Harris, G, Wake Forest (sophomore)
  32. Joshua Jefferson, F, Iowa State (senior)
  33. Morez Johnson, F/C, Michigan (sophomore)
  34. Alex Karaban, F, UConn (senior)
  35. Jack Kayil, G, Germany (born 2006)
  36. Toibu Lawal, F, Virginia Tech (senior)
  37. Yaxel Lendeborg, F, Michigan (senior)
  38. Karim Lopez, F, Australia (born 2007)
  39. Aday Mara, C, Michigan (junior)
  40. Nick Martinelli, F, Northwestern (senior)
  41. Baba Miller, F/C, Cincinnati (senior)
  42. Dillon Mitchell, F, St. John’s (senior)
  43. Milan Momcilovic, F, Iowa State (junior)
  44. Malachi Moreno, C, Kentucky (freshman)
  45. Izaiyah Nelson, F, South Florida (senior)
  46. Tyler Nickel, F, Vanderbilt (senior)
  47. Ebuka Okorie, G, Stanford (freshman)
  48. Felix Okpara, C, Tennessee (senior)
  49. Ugonna Onyenso, C, Virginia (senior)
  50. Otega Oweh, G, Kentucky (senior)
  51. Koa Peat, F, Arizona (freshman)
  52. Darryn Peterson, G, Kansas (freshman)
  53. Labaron Philon, G, Alabama (sophomore)
  54. Jayden Quaintance, F/C, Kentucky (sophomore)
  55. Tarris Reed, C, UConn (senior)
  56. Billy Richmond, G/F, Arkansas (sophomore)
  57. Richie Saunders, G, BYU (senior)
  58. Emanuel Sharp, G, Houston (senior)
  59. Braden Smith, G, Purdue (senior)
  60. Hannes Steinbach, F, Washington (freshman)
  61. Bennett Stirtz, G, Iowa (senior)
  62. Andrej Stojakovic, G/F, Illinois (junior)
  63. Peter Suder, G, Miami (OH) (senior)
  64. Luigi Suigo, C, Serbia (born 2007)
  65. Dailyn Swain, G/F, Texas (junior)
  66. Tyler Tanner, G, Vanderbilt (sophomore)
  67. Meleek Thomas, G, Arkansas (freshman)
  68. Bruce Thornton, G, Ohio State (senior)
  69. Milos Uzan, G, Houston (senior)
  70. Henri Veesaar, C, North Carolina (junior)
  71. Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois (freshman)
  72. Caleb Wilson, F, North Carolina (freshman)
  73. Tounde Yessoufou, G/F, Baylor (freshman)

It’s worth noting that the NBA and the NBPA agreed to several combine-related changes in their latest Collective Bargaining Agreement. Here are a few of those changes:

  • A player who is invited to the draft combine and declines to attend without an excused absence will be ineligible to be drafted. He would become eligible the following year by attending the combine. There will be exceptions made for a player whose FIBA season is ongoing, who is injured, or who is dealing with a family matter (such as a tragedy or the birth of a child). That player would be required to complete combine activities at a later date.
  • Players who attend the draft combine will be required to undergo physical exams, share medical history, participate in strength, agility, and performance testing, take part in shooting drills, receive anthropometric measurements, and conduct interviews with teams and the media. Scrimmages won’t be mandatory.
  • Medical results from the combine will be distributed to select teams based on where the player is projected to be drafted. Only teams drafting in the top 10 would get access to medical info for the projected No. 1 pick; teams in the top 15 would receive medical info for players in the 2-6 range, while teams in the top 25 would get access to info for the players in the 7-10 range.
3 comments 2026 NBA Draft Newsstand

UConn’s Karaban Among Prospects Withdrawing From NBA Draft

By | at May 29, 2024 4:00 pm

After winning a pair of national championships as a starting forward at UConn, Alex Karaban will return to the Huskies for his junior year in search of a third consecutive title, he announced today (via Twitter).

The No. 36 prospect on ESPN’s big board, Karaban had been testing the NBA draft waters but will withdraw his name from the 2024 pool in order to retain his college eligibility. He averaged 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 31.4 minutes per game as a redshirt sophomore and has made 38.9% of his three-point attempts across his two college seasons.

Big man Ugonna Onyenso, who spent his first two college seasons at Kentucky, has also opted to withdraw from the NBA draft, agent Daniel Hazan tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Onyenso told Givony last month when he initially declared for the draft that he was “100% focused on the NBA” and wasn’t thinking about “coming back to play college basketball.” However, it appears he changed his mind after getting some feedback from teams during the pre-draft process. The No. 68 player on ESPN’s big board is in the transfer portal and still has to determine where to spend his junior season, Givony notes.

Meanwhile, another player on ESPN’s board (at No. 52), Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II has decided to keep his name in the draft and forgo his final year of college eligibility, as he announced on Instagram.

The Atlantic 10’s Defensive Player of the Year and co-Player of the Year in 2023/24, Holmes averaged 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.1 blocks in 32.5 minutes per game for the Flyers, posting an impressive shooting line of .544/.386/.713 in 33 games (all starts).

Here are more of today’s draft decisions from early entrants ahead of the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline:

Withdrawing from the draft:

  • Swingman Chibuzo Agbo will transfer from Boise State to USC for his super-senior season (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports).
  • Northwestern swingman Brooks Barnhizer will return to school for his senior season (Twitter link via Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68).
  • Guard Johnell Davis will transfer from Florida Atlantic to Kansas for his super-senior season (Twitter link via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN).
  • Guard Garwey Dual will return to school for his sophomore season. He played at Providence last season but is in the transfer portal now (Twitter link via Givony).
  • St. Joseph’s forward Rasheer Fleming will return to school for his junior season (Twitter link via Rothstein).
  • Clemson guard Chase Hunter will return to school for his super-senior season (Instagram link).
  • Forward Arthur Kaluma will return to school for his senior season. He played at Kansas State last season but is in the transfer portal now (Twitter link via Jeff Borzello of ESPN).
  • Forward Baba Miller will transfer from Florida State to Florida Atlantic for his junior season (Twitter link via Givony).
  • Southern Idaho center Shahid Muhammad will return to school for his junior season (Twitter link via Rothstein).
  • UIC swingman Toby Okani will return to school for his super-senior season (Twitter link via Goodman).

Remaining in the draft:

  • Memphis senior forward David Jones will stay in the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility (Twitter link via Givony).
  • Bowling Green State sophomore guard JZ Zaher will stay in the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility (Twitter link via Rothstein).
5 comments 2024 NBA Draft

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Gobert, Turner, Thunder, Blazers

By | at May 23, 2024 7:51 pm

It was a “rough” film session for the Timberwolves on Thursday following their Game 1 loss to Dallas, head coach Chris Finch told reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Finch, who spoke post-game about the team’s lack of composure and disappointing performance in clutch moments, was even harsher when he revisited the Game 1 loss a day later.

“I told the guys, ‘It’s been a long time since I’ve been this disappointed in your effort. Your performance, your attitude, your application and attention to detail just wasn’t there,'” Finch said. “The Western Conference finals started. Not sure if they got the memo. But they got it this afternoon.”

According to McMenamin, one team source said Thursday’s session was “about as fired up as he’s ever seen Finch.” The coach’s goal, the source explained, was to encourage his team to recognize what a rare opportunity it is to play in the conference finals and to urge them to increase their urgency and capitalize on that opportunity.

Finch also pointed out that the team’s three home losses in the postseason – Games 3 and 4 vs. Denver and Game 1 vs. Dallas – came after longer-than-usual layoffs, and with the Wolves coming off of big wins.

“I said to our guys, ‘We’re 3-3 at home, and we’ve had two kind of similar performances coming off stints of success,'” Finch said. “There’s a lot of ways immaturity kind of rears its head, and this might be one of them. But they’ve got our attention now, so there’s no reason for us to be feeling ourselves.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • While four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert gets much of the credit for leading the Timberwolves‘ top-ranked defense, assistant coach Elston Turner is a key under-the-radar contributor as the coordinator of that unit, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Describing the dynamic between Gobert and Turner, Finch took a moment to come up with an appropriate analogy. “Like divorced parents trying to co-parent,” the head coach said with a laugh. “A healthy co-parent. My only caveat to that is they’re not divorced. They’re on the same team.”
  • While there are still holes on the roster, Rylan Stiles of SI.com contends that the Thunder can afford to use the No. 12 overall pick in next month’s draft to take a shot on a higher-upside prospect who may be a year or two away from contributing rather than trying to find a win-now player who addresses a current need on the roster.
  • In a separate story for SI.com, Stiles wonders if the Thunder should take advantage of their window before paying Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander big raises by taking a swing on a veteran star who is owed significant money for the next couple seasons but who may not stay on the books beyond that.
  • Raequan Battle (West Virginia), Adem Bona (UCLA), Arthur Kaluma (Kansas State), Ugonna Onyenso (Kentucky), Will Richard (Florida), and Jaylon Tyson (California) participated in a pre-draft workout for the Trail Blazers on Thursday, tweets Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. None of those prospects is likely to receive consideration with Portland’s lottery picks (No. 7 and No. 14), but some could end up as second-round or undrafted free agent targets.
8 comments Minnesota Timberwolves Oklahoma City Thunder Portland Trail Blazers

44 Prospects Invited To G League Elite Camp

By | at May 4, 2024 11:57 am

Forty-four prospects for the 2024 NBA draft were invited to the NBA’s G League Elite Camp, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link).

The list of players is as follows:

The field of draft prospects scrimmage for two days in Chicago starting on May 11 ahead of the NBA’s annual draft combine. If players perform well enough, they’re often promoted to the larger combine immediately following the G League Elite Camp. Typically, at least a half dozen players move on.

While the combine usually focuses on the top-ranked players in each draft class, the G League Elite Camp offers opportunity to prospects further down boards who are more likely to go undrafted. Of the 44 names invited to the G League Elite Camp, only 16 rank among ESPN’s top 100 prospects. No prospect ranks higher than No. 48 (Onyenso) on ESPN’s board.

Nine of ESPN’s top 100 prospects have not been invited to Chicago for either event: Armel Traore (France), Zacharie Perrin (France), Andrija Jelavic (Croatia), Yannick Kraag (Netherlands), Tre Mitchell (Kentucky), Ilias Kamardine (France), Dylan Disu (Texas), Riley Minix (Morehead State) and Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee). According to Givony (Twitter link), the NBA might not announce the official list until Monday, so there’s a chance it’s amended.

The G League Elite Camp will give invitees who declared for the draft as early entrants an opportunity to see where they stand ahead of the draft withdrawal deadline on May 29. Not all of the players who participate in this event will remain in the draft pool.

Last year, future NBA players like Hornets forward Leaky Black, Pistons forward Tosan Evbuomwan, Mavericks forward Alex Fudge, Celtics guard Drew Peterson and Nets guard Jaylen Martin all participated in the event. Other recent notable alums of the event include Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and Clippers guard Terance Mann.

0 comments 2024 NBA Draft NBA G League Newsstand

NBA Adds Six More Names To Draft’s Early Entrant List

By | at May 2, 2024 5:30 am

After announcing on Tuesday that 195 prospects had declared for the 2024 NBA draft as early entrants, the league added six more names to that list on Wednesday, bringing the total number of early entrants to 201 (Twitter link).

The following players also entered the draft prior to last Saturday’s deadline, per the NBA:

Most of those players had been previously reported as early entrants or announced that they intended to enter the draft, then didn’t show up on the NBA’s initial list on Tuesday. Jonathan Givony of ESPN indicated (via Twitter) that a “miscommunication or mishap” at the league office appears to have resulted in them being initially omitted.

[RELATED: 2024 NBA Draft Early Entrants List]

Of the six (re-)additions to the early entrant list, Onyenso is the only one known to be committing forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility, per an earlier report from Givony. Some others may end up going pro, but they’re believed to be preserving their college eligibility for now — or their intentions haven’t been reported.

College players have until May 29 to make a decision on whether or not to keep their names in the draft pool or return to school, while international early entrants – or college players not concerned about retaining their NCAA eligibility – face a June 16 withdrawal deadline.

Here are a couple more updates on the 2024 NBA draft pool:

  • Former Florida Atlantic guard Johnell Davis is testing the draft waters and his preference is to go pro, but if he doesn’t like the feedback he gets during the pre-draft process, he has a lucrative fallback option, according to Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 (via Twitter). Davis has committed to Arkansas and will be in line for an NIL deal worth more than $1MM if he opts to use his final year of college eligibility, says Goodman.
  • Creighton big man Ryan Kalkbrenner – who was the No. 52 prospect on ESPN’s big board, according to Givony (Twitter link) – announced on Wednesday (via Twitter) that he plans to return to the Bluejays for his super-senior season. The standout center, who averaged 17.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game in 2023/24, has a chance to win a fourth consecutive Big East Defensive Player of the Year award, Givony notes.
1 comment 2024 NBA Draft

NBA Announces Initial Early Entrant List For 2024 Draft

By | at April 30, 2024 12:32 pm

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.

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.

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.

1 comment 2024 NBA Draft Newsstand
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