The New York Knicks still have the draft rights to 21-year-old 2023 NBA Draft pick James Nnaji. The center is reportedly entering the transfer portal ahead of what would be his second season in the NCAA after being drafted to the NBA and playing in two Summer Leagues for two different franchises.
Nnaji's unique navigation of professional basketball landscape continues
After the Knicks acquired the draft rights to Nnaji in their trade for All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, the center played for them in his second-career Summer League before leaving the NBA and G-League altogether for the NCAA.
The Knicks still own Nnaji's rights, but the big man took his talents to the Baylor Bears in December in a shocking move back to school. Nnaji wasn't the first player with NBA-adjacent experience to head to the NCAA, with several players who had played in the G-League signing with Division I schools ahead of the start of college basketball's season.
But Nnaji's move to Baylor, and the resulting publicity surrounding the mid-December move, paved the way for several other players with G-League and Summer League experience to play in college basketball's NIL era. Even though Nnaji's eligibility raised plenty of concerns among coaches at the collegiate level, including John Calipari, the center seems set for another season in the NCAA.
Especially if Nnaji and his camp don't think that there will be many opportunities at the NBA level for the young big man, it makes plenty of sense to get another season's worth of coaching and experience in college. At 21, the center is a similar age to most NCAA athletes – especially in the modern era of a fifth year of eligibility.
Nnaji is represented by the same agent as the newest Knick, Jeremy Sochan. New York added the former Spur in the buyout market following the 2026 trade deadline.
Nnaji might not be the only player New York sees head for the NCAA
There's a large possibility looming that Nnaji won't be the only player that New York loses to college basketball from their G-League affiliate in Westchester. The Knicks signed Dink Pate as an undrafted free agent following his second season in the G-League at just 19 years old.
The versatile, young wing turned 20 in March and has never played at the NBA or NCAA levels before, making him one of the hottest targets on the market for this "Wild West" of collegiate hoops in the NIL era.