The NCAA’s decision to grant immediate eligibility to James Nnaji, a former NBA Draft pick, marks a potentially transformative moment in the relationship between professional and college basketball.
Nnaji, a 7-foot, 21-year-old Nigerian-born center, has committed to Baylor University and received four years of NCAA eligibility, allowing him to play for the Bears beginning in the middle of the 2025–26 season. This ruling is unprecedented in modern college basketball and has sparked widespread confusion and criticism across the sport.
Nnaji was selected 31st overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, initially by the Detroit Pistons, before his rights were traded to the Charlotte Hornets and later to the New York Knicks in a three-team deal involving Karl-Anthony Towns. Despite being drafted, Nnaji never signed an NBA contract and has not played in an NBA regular-season game. Instead, he has spent several years playing professionally overseas with clubs such as FC Barcelona, Merkezefendi, and Girona, and has also appeared in NBA Summer League games, most recently with the Knicks.
According to reports, the Knicks will retain Nnaji’s NBA rights while he plays at Baylor, effectively creating a situation likened to an NBA team “loaning” a drafted player to a college program. This has raised alarms that NBA teams could now draft prospects, stash them in college basketball, and continue to control their professional futures. Coaches, analysts, and fans reacted strongly, with UConn coach Dan Hurley and former Indiana coach Tom Crean publicly criticizing the NCAA’s lack of clarity and long-term planning. Media members such as Jeff Goodman and Zach Braziller described the decision as evidence that NCAA rules are being improvised without consistent standards.
Don’t be mad at the players , agents, brokers or coaches. Don’t be mad at the current people in charge.
If you’re upset go back and look at every “perfunctory “ committee that was formed to take a path of least resistance and who put them together and participated. Years ago.— Tom Crean (@TomCrean) December 24, 2025
Santa Claus is delivering mid season acquisitions…this s*** is crazy!! 🤪
— Dan Hurley (@dhurley15) December 24, 2025
It’s hard to blame Scott Drew or any of the college coaches for this if it’s allowed by the NCAA.
But it’s become a complete joke now because there are no rules anymore.
It’s just “make it up as you go” now.
And where does it end? https://t.co/6pGKj8bZoT
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) December 24, 2025
Old enough to remember players being ruled ineligible for accepting a free meal from fans. Now, players can literally get drafted and come back to school. Just a mockery of the sport at this point.
— Zach Braziller (@NYPost_Brazille) December 24, 2025
The controversy is amplified by the NCAA’s own bylaws, which state that a men’s basketball player may jeopardize eligibility by entering the NBA Draft and being drafted. The apparent loophole in Nnaji’s case centers on the fact that he never enrolled in college before being drafted and never signed an NBA contract. Because NCAA draft-related amateurism rules apply only after initial collegiate enrollment, Nnaji was deemed eligible despite years of professional experience overseas.
This decision follows a broader trend of the NCAA allowing former professional players, including ex–G League athletes, to compete in college basketball. With NIL compensation turning top NCAA programs into one of the most lucrative basketball environments in the world, the traditional definition of amateurism has eroded. Critics argue the Nnaji ruling sets a dangerous precedent, undermines the NCAA’s credibility, and could fundamentally reshape the pipeline between college basketball and the NBA.
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