College basketball has jumped the shark.
On Wednesday, NBA Draft analyst Jonathan Givony reported that James Nnaji, the No. 31 overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, has enrolled at Baylor and “is immediately eligible to play college basketball this season” after being granted four years of eligibility by the NCAA. (h/t On3’s Joe Tipton)
The move, as Givony writes, marks a “monumental” moment in college basketball, one that also highlights the absurdity of the current era of college athletics.
Former 2023 NBA second-round draft pick’s Baylor eligibility highlights urgent need to fix system
Nnaji, 21, declared for the 2023 NBA Draft in April of that year after playing overseas. In four seasons across EuroLeague and Liga Endesa play, the 6-foot-11 Nigerian-born center has averaged just 9.5 minutes per game but shot 69.5 percent.
He was selected with the first pick of the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft by the Pistons, who traded his draft rights to the Charlotte Hornets. In October 2024, Nnaji’s rights were included in the three-team trade that also sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks. He played for the Knicks’ summer league team in July 2025.
From a basketball perspective, Nnaji will provide excellent size for the Baylor Bears (9-2) as they get set to enter Big 12 play on Jan. 3. Per KenPom, the Bears are No. 7 in Division I in offensive rebound rate (41.7 percent) and should maintain that edge with Nnaji.
It’s not his fault for taking advantage of a system without any guardrails. The NCAA’s decision is also in line with what it told The Athletic in July 2025 regarding international players 22 years of age who are automatically entered into the draft.
“Under NCAA rules, if a player is drafted by an NBA team in the 2025 draft, he may still be eligible to compete for a D-I program provided he meets all other NCAA academic and athletics eligibility requirements,” an NCAA spokesperson said.
In September 2025, the NCAA granted former G Leaguer Thierry Darlan eligibility.
On Tuesday, Villanova head coach Kevin Willard ripped the current structure, telling reporters, “This era is insane… The NCAA is totally a clueless loss. It’s a joke.
“I just tried to sign a 47-year old Chinese guy in the Chinese European League… I think Oklahoma just signed a 24-year-old Russian [Kirill Elatontsev]. It’s like, what are we doing?” an exasperated Willard said. (h/t The Villanovan’s Dylan Johnson)
But there is a path forward that could provide much-needed relief.
With players successful in a string of antitrust lawsuits, the next logical step forward is to enter collective bargaining agreements. But as ESPN’s Dan Murphy wrote earlier this month, “The NCAA and campus leaders are adamantly opposed to turning athletes into employees.”
Murphy notes that “cost and infrastructure” play significant roles in leaders’ opposition, but the cost of continuing to argue and — based on precedent — lose cases could be just as substantial.
A recent CBA proposal offered by Athletes.org, the players association for college athletes, provided one possible solution based on “a non-employee collective bargaining model that grants college athletes a special status—similar to how SAG-AFTRA represents its members—while still classifying them as independent contractors rather than employees.
“This model preserves athletes rights while addressing a central concern of universities: employee designation,” the CBA framework continued.
With a CBA, rules could be in place to, at the very least, make players selected in an NBA Draft ineligible to play NCAA basketball.
It would be a momentous, long-overdue moment in college athletics. Some may argue that it’s inevitable. Following Wednesday’s ruling, it’s necessary.
.webp?ssl=1 "Can Ferrari and McLaren challenge Mercedes in Miami?")
