{"id":11193,"date":"2025-06-24T16:40:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T16:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/11193\/"},"modified":"2025-06-24T16:40:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T16:40:11","slug":"more-and-more-nba-prospects-are-choosing-to-cash-in-on-their-collegiate-fame-and-pass-on-the-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/11193\/","title":{"rendered":"More and more NBA prospects are choosing to cash in on their collegiate fame and pass on the draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Will Wade\u2019s work building N.C. State into an immediate winner<\/a> included the pursuit of an entrant in the NBA draft, just in case he returned to college.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t a huge risk: With all the cash flowing in college, the number of early entrants to the NBA draft has continued to shrink. This year\u2019s draft<\/a> starts Wednesday night with its lowest total of those prospects in at least 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you can play the long game a little bit more,\u201d Wade told The Associated Press, referring to how college players can look at their futures. \u201cLook, I can get paid the same I would get paid in the G League, the same I would get paid on a two-way (contract), some guys are getting first-round money.\u201d<\/p>\n

And more money is on the way.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Oklahoma<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein, center, drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers center Thomas Bryant (3) during the first half in Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (Kyle Terada\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein, center, drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers center Thomas Bryant (3) during the first half in Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (Kyle Terada\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been four years since college athletes were permitted to profit off the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL)<\/a>, opening the door for athlete compensation that was once forbidden by NCAA rules. Next week, on July 1, marks the official start of revenue sharing<\/a> where schools can begin directly paying athletes following the $2.8 billion House antitrust settlement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For Wade, that led to signing Texas Tech\u2019s Darrion Williams after 247sports\u2019 fifth-ranked transfer withdrew from the draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically now if you\u2019re an early entry and you\u2019re not a top-20, top-22 pick \u2014 where the money slots \u2014 you can pretty much make that in college,\u201d the new Wolfpack coach said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all part of a seismic change that has rippled through college athletics since the pandemic, its impact touching the NBA. Players willing to \u201ctest the waters\u201d in the draft before returning to school now have a lucrative option to consider against uncertain pro prospects.<\/p>\n

And it shows in the numbers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith all the money that\u2019s being thrown around in NIL, you\u2019re having a lot less players put their names in,\u201d Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon<\/a> said. \u201cYou\u2019re having pretty good players pulling their names out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Declining number of early entrants<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s drop is significant when compared to the years before anyone had heard of COVID-19. There was a spike of college players jumping into the draft in the pandemic\u2019s aftermath, when they were granted a free eligibility year<\/a> to temporarily make even a fourth-year senior an \u201cearly\u201d entrant.<\/p>\n

But those numbers had fallen as those five-year players cycled out of college basketball, and they\u2019re now below pre-pandemic levels. That decline coincides with NIL\u2019s July 2021 arrival, from athletes doing paid appearances or social-media endorsements<\/a> to boosters forming collectives offering NIL packages amounting to de facto salaries<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a result:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Eighty-two players appeared on the NBA\u2019s list of early entrants primarily from American colleges with a smattering of other teams, down 49% from 2024 (162) and nearly 47% compared to the four-year average from 2016-19 (153.5);<\/p>\n

\u2014 Thirty-two remained after withdrawal deadlines, down from 62 last year and 72.0 from 2016-19;<\/p>\n

\u2014 Adding international prospects, 109 players declared for the draft, down from 201 last year and 205.0 from 2016-19;<\/p>\n

\u2014 And only 46 remained, down from 77 in 2024 and 83.8 from 2016-19.<\/p>\n

\"Duke<\/p>\n

\n Duke head coach Jon Scheyer answers a question during media day at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo\/Eric Gay, file)\n <\/p>\n

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer answers a question during media day at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo\/Eric Gay, file)<\/p>\n

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\"Detroit<\/p>\n

\n Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon addresses the media before introducing J.B. Bickerstaff as the new head coach of the NBA basketball team, Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo\/Carlos Osorio, file)\n <\/p>\n

Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon addresses the media before introducing J.B. Bickerstaff as the new head coach of the NBA basketball team, Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo\/Carlos Osorio, file)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

More college players weighing options<\/p>\n

Duke coach Jon Scheyer understands draft dynamics, both for no-doubt headliners and prospects facing less clarity. He sees college athlete compensation as a \u201clegitimate gamechanger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully it allows players to decide what\u2019s truly best for their game,\u201d Scheyer told the AP. \u201cIt allows them to analyze: \u2018Am I actually ready for this or not?\u2019 Where money doesn\u2019t have to be the deciding factor. Because if money\u2019s the deciding factor, that\u2019s why you see kids not stick. The NBA\u2019s cutthroat. It just is.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blue Devils are expected to have three players selected in the first-round Wednesday, including presumptive No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg<\/a> alongside top-10 prospects Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach. They also had players sorting through draft decisions.<\/p>\n

Freshman Isaiah Evans \u2014 a slender wing with explosive scoring potential \u2014 withdrew instead of chasing first-round status through the draft process. Incoming transfer Cedric Coward from Washington State rapidly rose draft boards after the combine and remained in the draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no substituting the money you\u2019re going to make if you\u2019re a top-15, top-20 pick,\u201d said Scheyer, entering Year 4 as successor to retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski<\/a>. \u201cBut if you\u2019re not solidified as a first-round pick, why risk it when you can have a solid year and a chance to go up or be in the same position the following season?\u201d<\/p>\n

College compensation is re-shaping the draft pool<\/p>\n

Langdon, himself a former Duke first-rounder, sees that evolution, too. <\/p>\n

His Pistons had their first playoff appearance since 2019, but lack a first-round selection and own a single pick in Thursday\u2019s second round. Fewer candidates could make the already imperfect science of drafting even trickier in this new reality.<\/p>\n

According to the NBA\u2019s 2024-25 rookie scale, a player going midway through the first round would make roughly $3.5 million in first-year salary. That figure would drop to about $2.8 million at pick No. 20, $2.3 million at No. 25 and $2.1 million with the 30th and final first-round draftee.<\/p>\n

A minimum first-year NBA salary? Roughly $1.2 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese NIL packages are starting to get up to $3 to $4 to $5 to $6 million dollars,\u201d Langdon said. \u201cThese guys are not going to put their name in to be the 25th pick, or even the 18th pick. They are going to go back to school in hopes of being a lottery pick next year. With that pool of players decreasing, it kind of decreases the odds of the level of player we get at No. 37, just the pure mathematics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Current NBA players offer insight<\/p>\n

Indiana Pacers big man Thomas Bryant and Oklahoma City Thunder counterpart Isaiah Hartenstein, who both played in the seven-game NBA Finals that ended Sunday<\/a>, illustrate Langdon\u2019s point.<\/p>\n

They were back-to-back second-rounders in 2017 (Bryant at 42, Hartenstein at 43), pushed down a draft board featuring early-entry college players in 33 of the 41 picks before them.<\/p>\n

Bryant played two college seasons at Indiana before stints with five NBA teams, including Denver\u2019s 2023 championship squad. Would the ability to make college money have changed his journey?<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, I see it from both sides,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cIf you\u2019re not going to get drafted, you understand that a kid needs money to live in college and everything. So, I understand where they\u2019re coming from on that end.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for me, I took the chance. I bet on myself, and I believed in myself, and I worked to the very end. And the thing about me is that if I went down, I was going down swinging. I hang my hat on that. For some, it might not be the same case.\u201d<\/p>\n

The American-born Hartenstein moved to Germany at 11 and played in Lithuania before being drafted. As he put it: \u201cI think everyone\u2019s journey is different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you should have the right people around you to kind of guide you,\u201d said Hartenstein, a newly minted NBA champion. \u201cI mean, I was lucky that my dad, who was a professional before, kind of guided me. Depending on your circumstances, it\u2019s hard to turn down guaranteed money. If there\u2019s an opportunity to get in a good situation in the NBA, you do that. But it\u2019s a hard decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"McNeese<\/p>\n

McNeese State head coach Will Wade calls to his players during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo\/Charles Krupa, file)<\/p>\n

McNeese State head coach Will Wade calls to his players during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo\/Charles Krupa, file)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

College now can be more of an allure<\/p>\n

At N.C. State, Wade\u2019s pitch to Williams included a leading role and a shot at boosting his draft stock.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-6 junior averaged 15.1 points with multiple big NCAA Tournament performances<\/a> as the Red Raiders reached the Elite Eight, nearly beating eventual champion Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was most likely going to be a second-round draft pick, and his package here is better than probably he would\u2019ve gotten as a second-round pick,\u201d Wade said, adding: \u201cWe certainly talked about that. We went over that. We went over the math of everything. We went over the plan on how to accomplish that.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say it\u2019s easy at the college level in this new landscape. Roster management<\/a> is tricky, including a balancing act of maintaining financial resources to potentially land one player while risking missing out on others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the way life works, it\u2019s the way it should work,\u201d Wade said. \u201cIf there\u2019s no risk, there\u2019s no reward. The riskiest players, in terms of waiting on the money and waiting them out, are the best players. That\u2019s why they\u2019re in the draft process. We\u2019re not going to be scared of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nor should he, not with the allure of campus life these days.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds and AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/nba<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Will Wade\u2019s work building N.C. State into an immediate winner included the pursuit of an entrant in the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11194,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1340,12111,2494,12113,3129,6323,2862,1267,12112,12110,2496,7801,214,12115,1260,6326,2629,521,519,6324,5847,1268,62,358,6953,5028,67,132,68,12114],"class_list":{"0":"post-11193","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-cedric-coward","9":"tag-compensation-in-sports","10":"tag-cooper-flagg","11":"tag-darrion-williams","12":"tag-detroit-pistons","13":"tag-in-state-wire","14":"tag-indiana","15":"tag-indiana-pacers","16":"tag-isaiah-evans","17":"tag-isaiah-hartenstein","18":"tag-jon-scheyer","19":"tag-mi-state-wire","20":"tag-michigan","21":"tag-mike-krzyzewski","22":"tag-nba","23":"tag-nba-basketball","24":"tag-nba-draft","25":"tag-nc-state-wire","26":"tag-north-carolina","27":"tag-ok-state-wire","28":"tag-oklahoma","29":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","30":"tag-sports","31":"tag-texas","32":"tag-thomas-bryant","33":"tag-tx-state-wire","34":"tag-united-states","35":"tag-unitedstates","36":"tag-us","37":"tag-will-wade"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}