James Nnaji committed to play college basketball at Baylor and will join the Bears as a mid-year enrollee. He was previously selected with the No. 31 overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.
For better or worse, it is a monumental moment for collegiate athletics.
This will be Nnaji’s first season of college basketball. He is set to become an “amateur” after five years as a “professional.”
Who is James Nnaji?
Nnaji was born and raised in Makurdi, Nigeria. He later moved to Hungary to enroll at the Ratgeber Basketball Academy in 2018 at the age of 14. That allowed him to begin his professional career with Ratgeber Akademia, a top team in the Hungarian Basketball League.
At 7-foot-0, 250 pounds, Nnaji made the move to Barcelona in 2020 to join FC Barcelona B. He was eventually moved up to the A-team in 2021 and led it to a junior championship against Real Madrid.
Another big year with Barcelona in 2022-23 made him a legitimate NBA prospect.
And then James Nnaji was drafted with the No. 31 overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft by the Pistons. Detroit later traded him to Charlotte. Charlotte later traded him to New York as part of the three-time trade involving Karl-Anthony Towns. He also spent 2024 and 2025 with Basquet Girona of the Spanish league and Merkezefendi Belediyesi Denizli Basket of the Turkish league.
Now, at 21 years old, Nnaji is going to play college basketball at Baylor.
The Bears expect him to be eligible immediately. Either for their final non-conference game on Dec. 29 or at the start of the next semester in January. It is a notable addition for a team in need of a big.
How is an NBA Draft pick eligible to play college basketball at Baylor?
The NCAA recently allowed for former G-League players to play in college. It was a monumental decision that further blurs the line between professionalism and amateurism.
There have been a few of these kinds of athletes who decided to go play in college over the last few weeks and months. Former G-League guard T.J. Clark recently sent shockwaves across the sport when he committed to Ole Miss more than two years after he entered and stayed in the 2023 NBA Draft. He just didn’t get selected and never cracked the NBA.
Mid-year enrollees are not new to the sport either. Former Robert Morris star Kam Woods recently debuted for USC.
It has become common place but James Nnaji takes this even one step further. Not only is he a mid-year enrollee, he was drafted.
Although Nnaji played in the NBA Summer League and in the G-League, he never at any point made an NBA roster. Thus, per the new rules, he is allowed to play college basketball as a former G-Leaguer.
Nnaji is now enrolling at Baylor just a few months after he played Summer League with the Knicks.
The Bears have just one healthy big on their roster. High Point transfer Juslin Bodo Bodo was injured during the offseason and will redshirt. True freshmen Maikcol Perez and Mayo Soyoye are both out for the year as well. That leaves only Caden Powell so former NBA Draft pick James Nnaji is on the way!