Judge temporarily clears ex-Alabama basketball player who entered 2023 NBA Draft to return
Charles Bediako, a former Alabama men’s basketball player who spent most of the last three years in the G League, is immediately eligible to return to the Crimson Tide and participate in practices and games, an Alabama judge ruled Wednesday.
Judge James H. Roberts Jr. of the Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court granted Bediako a temporary restraining order Wednesday, a day after he sued the NCAA in an attempt to return to the Crimson Tide’s basketball team for the rest of the season. The judge’s order is in effect for 10 days, and a hearing on Bediako’s request for a preliminary injunction was scheduled for Jan. 27.
In a motion filed to the circuit court of Tuscaloosa County, Ala., on Tuesday, Bediako sought a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction that would grant him immediate eligibility from the NCAA. A 7-foot center from Brampton, Ontario, Bediako previously played for Alabama for two seasons from 2021 to 2023, averaging 6.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 70 total games. Bediako, 23, declared for the 2023 NBA Draft with two seasons of eligibility remaining but went undrafted. He later signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs and played for multiple G League teams, most recently in December 2025. He has not appeared in an NBA game.
If Bediako suits up for Alabama, he could become the first modern example of a former college basketball player returning to the sport after forgoing eligibility to declare for the NBA Draft. (Larry Bird famously returned to Indiana State for his senior season after being selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1978 draft.)
And it would be the latest twist in the cloudy state of who is eligible to play college sports. Bediako’s lawsuit followed a wave of former G League players and international pros joining college basketball this season, including James Nnaji, a 2023 draft pick who played in the NBA Summer League and was recently granted four seasons of college eligibility at Baylor.
The NCAA has made signing an NBA contract, including a two-way deal, a red-line distinction in terms of who is eligible. The complaint alleges that Bediako filed the lawsuit only after the NCAA denied the University of Alabama’s request to reinstate his eligibility.
“The University of Alabama supports Charles and his ongoing efforts to be reinstated for competition while he works to complete his degree,” the school said Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the NCAA called for government intervention to help enforce its eligibility rules.
“These attempts to sidestep NCAA rules and recruit individuals who have finished their time in college or signed NBA contracts are taking away opportunities from high school students,” the NCAA said. “A judge ordering the NCAA let a former NBA player take the court Saturday against actual college student-athletes is exactly why Congress must step in and empower college sports to enforce our eligibility rules.”
The Crimson Tide next play Saturday against Tennessee, but did not say whether Bediako would suit up to play.
The @NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an @NBA contract (including a two-way contract). As schools are increasingly recruiting individuals with international league experience, the NCAA is exercising…
— Charlie Baker (@CharlieBakerMA) December 30, 2025
Bediako’s motion argued he would “suffer irreparable harm” if he is not immediately reinstated by the NCAA because of the competitive, financial and educational opportunities he would miss out on. The complaint stated that Bediako is enrolled at the University of Alabama for this semester, and under current eligibility rules, it’s the final one in which he could be eligible to compete because his five-year eligibility period began in 2021.
“When he elected to enter his name into the 2023 NBA Draft, Mr. Bediako could not have imagined the monumental change in the landscape of college athletics that has since occurred,” the complaint said. “Had Mr. Bediako known that he would have been able to earn compensation directly from his university while remaining a student-athlete, he never would have left school to pursue financial gain elsewhere.”
The eligibility of Nnaji, who has played in six games since Jan. 3, caused a stir in college sports, considering he had been previously drafted. But Nnaji, like the other international and G League players who have been granted eligibility, never played in the NBA or signed an NBA contract, including a two-way deal.
Representatives for Bediako argued against these eligibility distinctions in the complaint, stating “the NCAA has arbitrarily determined that it is acceptable” for an athlete to compete professionally and then in college, but not to return to college.
“There is no principled justification for treating these groups of student-athletes differently,” the complaint reads.
The judge’s order Wednesday also barred the NCAA from imposing any sanctions on Bediako or Alabama if he plays for the team.
Bediako’s case is the latest and newest wrinkle on a topic that has caused many prominent names in the sport, particularly coaches, to speak out on the confusion and uncertainty of these eligibility disputes. Arkansas coach John Calipari recently penned an op-ed in The Washington Post endorsing collective bargaining as a way to address ongoing issues in college sports.
