Getty Image / Ethan Miller
While some have been hoping to see the NBA’s next collective bargaining agreement include a change to the league’s one-and-done rule for incoming athlete.
That change hasn’t come yet, but some players have found a way around it in the meantime anyway.
Some players have headed overseas. Others have gone to the G-League Ignite to play at the professional level before they are allowed to play at the NBA level.
One has taken that last path to a whole new level.
According to The Athletic’s Tobias Bass, 4-star recruit Dink Pate has decided to reclassify from the Class of 2024 to 2023 and is going to join the G-League Ignite this year.
🚨BREAKING: Five-star Dink Pate has committed to play in the G-League Ignite and will reclass to 2023
He is expected be the youngest American-born professional basketball ever
Pate will make his debut during the Summer League @TheAthletic
Story: https://t.co/5AnwJSbpva pic.twitter.com/W4monMLf78
— Tobias Bass (@tobias_bass) April 17, 2023
Pate was viewed as a top 25 recruit in the class of 2024. After reclassifying, he became the 27th ranked recruit in the Class of 2023 according to 247 Sports.
Dink Pate received 37 offers before reclassifying including offers from some of the nation’s biggest programs. Those programs included Alabama, Kansas, Arizona, Indiana, Texas, and Houston.
At just 17 years old, Pate will be the youngest American-born player ever to play in the US when he makes his debut in the NBA’s Summer League this year.
In fact, he isn’t just one year away from being eligible for the NBA Draft. He has signed a 2-year contract with the G-League Ignite because he won’t be able o be drafted until 2025.
The 6’7″ shooting guard averaged just over 20 points per game last season while playing high school basketball in Texas.
Now he’ll make the jump straight to the professional level and will have a whole lot of time to impress NBA Scouts as he tries to work his way up draft boards for the 2025 draft.