Vinicius Da Silva

NBA Announces Initial Early Entrant List For 2021 Draft

The NBA has officially released the initial list of early entrants for the 2021 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 353 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 296 are from colleges, while 57 are international early entrants.

That number obliterates the previous record of 236 early entrants, established in 2018. That had been expected, however, since the NCAA gave players an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in seniors having to decide between staying at college for one more season or declaring for the draft as an “early” entrant.

Since well over half of the college early entrants are seniors, there are actually fewer college underclassmen than usual in this initial group of early entrants.

This year’s total of 353 early entrants figures to shrink significantly by July 7 and again by July 19, the two deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it still looks like the pool will remain extremely crowded, with the eventual number of early entrants certain to exceed 60, the number of picks in the draft.

Our tracker of early entrants for the 2021 draft now includes seniors and is fully up to date. It can be found right here. It doesn’t include players who are automatically draft-eligible this year. As Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets, that list of auto-eligible players includes the prospects who played for the G League Ignite, such as Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga.

Here are the changes we made to our tracker today:


Newly-added players:

College players:

These players hadn’t previously been included on our unofficial list of underclassmen early entrants and weren’t on the list of senior early entrants that the NBA sent to teams last week.

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.


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could mean a number of things — they may have decided against entering the draft; they may have entered the draft, then withdrawn; they may have incorrectly filed their paperwork; or the NBA may have accidentally omitted some names.

In any case, we’ve removed the following names from our early entrant list for the time being.

NBA Updates List Of Early Entrants For 2020 Draft

Following the NBA’s August 17 deadline for early entrants to declare for the 2020 NBA draft, the league has issued an updated list of the early entrants who remain in this year’s draft pool.

The list, which includes 72 college players and 36 international prospects, looks pretty similar to the one you’ll find on our running tracker.

The NBA’s update confirms that Joe Saterfield, a wing from Ranger Community College, is no longer in the draft pool, but guard Michael Lenoir, from Creating Young Minds Academy in Texas, has entered his name.

Meanwhile, in the international pool, center Berke Atar, forward Philippe Bayehe, center Vinicius Da Silva, guard Selim Fofana, center Dut Mabor, forward Yigitcan Saybir, and forward Andrii Voinalovych have removed their names from draft consideration. Croatian forward Darko Bajo, previously believed to be pulling his name out of the draft, remains on the early entrant list, and center Aboubacar Traore from Canada’s Dynasty Sports Institute has entered his name.

The college players who remain in the draft pool have foregone their remaining NCAA eligibility, since the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline for early entrants passed earlier this month. However, the NBA’s own withdrawal deadline doesn’t arrive until 10 days before the draft. Many international prospects figure to pull out by then, and some of the college players could too, if they decide to go pro without becoming immediately draft-eligible.

Currently, the 2020 draft is scheduled for October 16, though there’s still a chance it could be further delayed. If it remains on October 16, the withdrawal deadline for the early entrants listed below will be October 6.

Per the NBA, here’s the list of the 108 early entrants who remain in the 2020 draft pool for now:

College Players:

  1. Precious Achiuwa, F, Memphis (freshman)
  2. Milan Acquaah, G, California Baptist (junior)
  3. Ty-Shon Alexander, G, Creighton (junior)
  4. Cole Anthony, G, North Carolina (freshman)
  5. Brendan Bailey, F, Marquette (sophomore)
  6. Saddiq Bey, F, Villanova (sophomore)
  7. Tyler Bey, F, Colorado (junior)
  8. Jermaine Bishop, G, Norfolk State (junior)
  9. Dachon Burke, G, Nebraska (junior)
  10. Vernon Carey Jr., C, Duke (freshman)
  11. Nate Darling, G, Delaware (junior)
  12. Lamine Diane, F, Cal State Northridge (sophomore)
  13. Devon Dotson, G, Kansas (sophomore)
  14. Anthony Edwards, G, Georgia (freshman)
  15. CJ Elleby, F, Washington State (sophomore)
  16. Malik Fitts, F, Saint Mary’s (junior)
  17. Malachi Flynn, G, San Diego State (junior)
  18. Tony Goodwin II, G/F, Redemption Academy (N/A)
  19. Josh Green, G/F, Arizona (freshman)
  20. Ashton Hagans, G, Kentucky (sophomore)
  21. Tyrese Haliburton, G, Iowa State (sophomore)
  22. Josh Hall, F, Moravian Prep (N/A)
  23. Rayshaun Hammonds, F, Georgia (junior)
  24. Jalen Harris, G, Nevada (junior)
  25. Niven Hart, G, Fresno State (freshman)
  26. Nate Hinton, G/F, Houston (sophomore)
  27. Elijah Hughes, G/F, Syracuse (junior)
  28. Isaiah Joe, G, Arkansas (sophomore)
  29. Dakari Johnson, G, Cape Fear CC (freshman)
  30. C.J. Jones, G, Middle Tennessee (junior)
  31. Mason Jones, G, Arkansas (junior)
  32. Tre Jones, G, Duke (sophomore)
  33. Saben Lee, G, Vanderbilt (junior)
  34. Michael Lenoir, G, Creating Young Minds Academy (N/A)
  35. Kira Lewis, G, Alabama (sophomore)
  36. Nico Mannion, G, Arizona (freshman)
  37. Naji Marshall, F, Xavier (junior)
  38. Kenyon Martin Jr., F, IMG Academy (N/A)
  39. Tyrese Maxey, G, Kentucky (freshman)
  40. Jaden McDaniels, F, Washington (freshman)
  41. Isiaha Mike, F, SMU (junior)
  42. EJ Montgomery, F, Kentucky (sophomore)
  43. Aaron Nesmith, G, Vanderbilt (sophomore)
  44. Zeke Nnaji, F, Arizona (freshman)
  45. Jordan Nwora, F, Louisville (junior)
  46. Onyeka Okongwu, F/C, USC (freshman)
  47. Isaac Okoro, F, Auburn (freshman)
  48. Daniel Oturu, C, Minnesota (sophomore)
  49. Reggie Perry, F, Mississippi State (sophomore)
  50. Filip Petrusev, F/C, Gonzaga (sophomore)
  51. Nate Pierre-Louis, G, Temple (junior)
  52. Immanuel Quickley, G, Kentucky (sophomore)
  53. Jahmi’us Ramsey, G, Texas Tech (freshman)
  54. Paul Reed, F, DePaul (junior)
  55. Nick Richards, F/C, Kentucky (junior)
  56. Jay Scrubb, G, John A. Logan College (sophomore)
  57. Jalen Smith, F, Maryland (sophomore)
  58. Cassius Stanley, G, Duke (freshman)
  59. Isaiah Stewart, F/C, Washington (freshman)
  60. Tyrell Terry, G, Stanford (freshman)
  61. Xavier Tillman, F/C, Michigan State (junior)
  62. Obi Toppin, F, Dayton (sophomore)
  63. Jordan Tucker, F, Butler (sophomore)
  64. Devin Vassell, G, Florida State (sophomore)
  65. Nick Weatherspoon, G, Mississippi State (junior)
  66. Kaleb Wesson, F/C, Ohio State (junior)
  67. Kahlil Whitney, F, Kentucky (freshman)
  68. Emmitt Williams, F, LSU (sophomore)
  69. Patrick Williams, F, Florida State (freshman)
  70. James Wiseman, C, Memphis (freshman)
  71. Robert Woodard II, F, Mississippi State (sophomore)
  72. Omer Yurtseven, C, Georgetown (junior)

International Players:

Note: The country indicates where the player had been playing, not necessarily where he was born.

  1. Deni Avdija, F, Israel (born 2001)
  2. Brancou Badio, F, Spain (born 1999)
  3. Darko Bajo, F, Croatia (born 1999)
  4. Marek Blazevic, C, Lithuania (born 2001)
  5. Adrian Bogucki, C, Poland (born 2000)
  6. Leandro Bolmaro, F, Spain (born 2000)
  7. Henri Drell, G/F, Italy (born 2000)
  8. Imru Duke, F, Spain (born 1999)
  9. Michele Ebeling, F, Italy (born 1999)
  10. Paul Eboua, F, Italy (born 2000)
  11. Osas Ehigiator, C, Spain (born 1999)
  12. Joel Ekamba, G, France (born 2001)
  13. Miguel Gonzalez, G/F, Spain (born 1999)
  14. Killian Hayes, G, Germany (born 2001)
  15. Sehmus Hazer, G, Turkey (born 1999)
  16. Rokas Jokubaitis, G, Lithuania (born 2000)
  17. Georgios Kalaitzakis, G, Lithuania (born 1999)
  18. Vit Krejci, G, Spain (born 2000)
  19. Arturs Kurucs, G, Latvia (born 2000)
  20. Yam Madar, G, Israel (born 2000)
  21. Theo Maledon, G, France (born 2001)
  22. Karim Mane, G, Canada (born 2000)
  23. Sergi Martinez, F, Spain (born 1999)
  24. Nikola Miskovic, F, Serbia (born 1999)
  25. Aristide Mouaha, G, Italy (born 2000)
  26. Caio Pacheco, G, Argentina (born 1999)
  27. Joel Parra, F, Spain (born 2000)
  28. Aleksej Pokusevski, F, Greece (born 2001)
  29. Sander Raieste, F, Estonia (born 1999)
  30. Nikos Rogkavopoulos, F, Greece (born 2001)
  31. Njegos Sikiras, F, Spain (born 1999)
  32. Marko Simonovic, C, Serbia (born 1999)
  33. Mouhamed Thiam, C, France (born 2001)
  34. Aboubacar Traore, G, Canada (born 2001)
  35. Uros Trifunovic, G, Serbia (born 2000)
  36. Arnas Velicka, G, Lithuania (born 1999)