NCAA says players who signed NBA contracts won’t be granted eligibility

Although the NCAA has granted four years of college eligibility to 2023 second-round pick James Nnaji, who recently enrolled at Baylor, players who have signed NBA contracts will remain ineligible to play college basketball, NCAA president Charlie Baker announced on Tuesday in a statement.

Baker’s statement provides some clarity on the NCAA’s stance amid
reports that college programs were reaching out to players with NBA experience, including former Mavericks two-way player Jazian Gortman and current Bulls two-way player Trentyn Flowers.

“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),” Baker said. “As schools are increasingly recruiting individuals with international league experience, the NCAA is exercising discretion in applying the ‘actual and necessary expenses’ bylaw to ensure that prospective student-athletes with experience in American basketball leagues are not at a disadvantage compared to their international counterparts. Rules have long permitted schools to enroll and play individuals with no prior collegiate experience midyear.

“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 wildly 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.”

It has become increasingly common in recent years for international prospects to come stateside and join NCAA programs after playing professionally in Europe. Players with G League experience, such as Thierry Darlan, have also been granted college eligibility. However, up until last week, a player who had been selected in the NBA draft hadn’t been awarded NCAA eligibility.

Although Nnaji was the 31st overall pick in the 2023 draft, he never signed an NBA contract, having continued to play in Europe as a draft-and-stash prospect. After initially acquiring his rights from Detroit in a draft-night trade, the Hornets later sent Nnaji to the Knicks in the three-team Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster last fall. New York still holds Nnaji’s NBA rights now that he’s a Baylor Bear.

Unlike Nnaji, Gortman and Flowers weren’t selected by an NBA team when they were draft-eligible, but both players have signed contracts with NBA teams and appeared in NBA games since going undrafted. As a result, Baker’s statement today suggests that neither Gortman nor Flowers would be granted NCAA eligibility, even though they’ve never played college basketball.

While the NCAA has made its stance known, that doesn’t mean the matter is settled. Gortman reportedly isn’t interested in enrolling in a college program, and Flowers may ultimately opt against it too, but at some point a player with NBA experience could challenge the NCAA’s eligibility rules, and there’s no guarantee the NCAA would prevail in a lawsuit.