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The NCAA’s position on eligibility for athletes whose background includes NBA experience has been firmly placed under the microscope in 2025.
The organization’s stance was called into question after James Nnaji joined the Baylor men’s basketball team. Nnaji’s move was compounded by reports that Trentyn Flowers, a rookie on a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls, was allegedly pursuing NCAA eligibility.
Just ahead of New Year’s Eve, NCAA President Charlie Baker drew a firm line on college eligibility for former student-athletes who gain NBA experience.
“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 Tuesday.
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NCAA president and former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker is interviewed by Boston Globe Sports writer Chris Gasper at the Globe Summit 2023. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
“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.”
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Baylor confirmed that Nnaji signed with the program on Christmas Eve. The move came roughly two and a half years after the Detroit Pistons selected Nnaji in the second round of the NBA Draft.
Nnaji has competed in the NBA summer league but has yet to appear in an NBA regular-season game. However, he does have experience playing at the professional level, having spent five years in the EuroLeague. Nnaji’s NBA rights were included in a three-team deal that sent his rights to the New York Knicks. The transaction also moved Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Knicks.
The NCAA logo on entrance sign outside the NCAA Headquarters on Feb. 28, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Flowers appeared to be heading to Louisville before agreeing to a contract in Australia. He has appeared in two NBA games this season with the Bulls.
Nnaji’s collegiate eligibility received clearance last week, a move that mirrored other international players who did not previously enroll in a college or university under the NCAA’s scope or appear in an NBA game.
James Nnaji of Barcelona takes a shot during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 34 match between LDLC Asvel Villeurbanne and FC Barcelona at LDLC Arena on April 12, 2024 in Lyon, France. (Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
There is a growing list of athletes who spent time in the NBA’s G League or competed at the international level seeking to play college basketball in the U.S. — a trend several prominent college basketball coaches have spoken out against.
Arkansas men’s basketball head coach John Calipari stated that no one should be permitted to play college basketball after being drafted into the pros, regardless of international status.
“Real simple. The rules be the rules, so if you put your name in the [NBA draft], I don’t care if you’re from Russia and you stay in the draft, you can’t play college basketball,” Arkansas coach John Calipari said in a wide-ranging rant on the state of college basketball Monday night. “‘Well, that’s only for American kids.’ What? If your name is in that draft and you got drafted, you can’t play because that’s our rule.”
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Gonzaga coach Mark Few appeared to take aim at the NCAA’s leadership structure saying: “It’s wild out there right now. We really don’t have any organizational or any real rules right now. I think guys are just trying to do whatever they can. Until there’s a rule that says you can’t do it, it’s hard to blame anybody for doing what they’re doing. Our lack of leadership has really shown.”
It remains unclear whether the NCAA’s amateurism rules, as reiterated by Baker, will be challenged in court.
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