With eligibility questions and controversies making headlines during the ongoing college basketball season, NCAA president Charlie Baker released a statement Tuesday that said players who previously signed NBA contracts cannot play in the collegiate ranks.
“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),” the statement read.
“… While the NCAA has prevailed on the vast majority of eligibility-related lawsuits, recent outlier decisions enjoining the NCAA on a nationwide basis from enforcing rules that have been on the books for decades—without even having a trial—are widely destabilizing. I will be working with DI leaders in the weeks ahead to protect college basketball from these misguided attempts to destroy this American institution.”
This comes after the NCAA released a statement Monday to Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 regarding the topic:
Former G League Ignite player Thierry Darlan was ruled eligible to play college basketball at Santa Clara in September, while former G League player London Johnson committed to Louisville’s 2026 class in October.
However, James Nnaji’s commitment to Baylor this month generated far more attention and controversy.
Nnaji was a second-round draft pick of the Detroit Pistons in 2023. While he never played in a regular-season NBA game, his rights have been owned by the Pistons, Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks at different times.
Nnaji also played professionally overseas.
Given his history of being an NBA draft pick and the commitment to Baylor during an ongoing season, the development attracted plenty of attention.
UConn head coach Dan Hurley was among those who reacted:
In the face of that criticism, Baylor head coach Scott Drew told reporters, “Until we get to collective bargaining, I don’t think we can come up with rules that are agreeable or enforceable … We’re always going to adapt to put our program in the best position to be successful.”
To many college basketball fans and surely some coaches as well, allowing someone who was drafted in the NBA to return to the college ranks and play feels like something of a slippery slope and inflection point.
Yet Nnaji never actually played in the NBA, and Baker’s comments seem to suggest the NCAA isn’t going to allow those who have actually signed a contract in the NBA to take the court in the collegiate ranks.
