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NBA Announces Initial Early Entrant List For 2024 Draft

April 30th, 2024 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially released the initial list of early entrants for the 2024 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 195 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 138 are from colleges, 43 had been playing for teams internationally, and 14 were playing non-college ball stateside (ie. the G League or Overtime Elite).

While that early entrant total obviously far exceeds the number of players who will be selected in this year’s draft (58), it’s down significantly from the figures we’ve seen in recent years. A record 353 early entrants initially declared for the draft in 2021, but that number dropped to 283 in 2022 and 242 a year ago. The NCAA’s NIL policy, which allows college athletes to be paid based on their name, image, and likeness, has presumably been a major factor in that trend.

This year’s total of 195 early entrants figures to decline significantly by May 29 and again by June 16, the two deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it’s still likely that the eventual number of early entrants will exceed 58 players. That group will join the college seniors with no remaining eligibility and other automatically eligible players in this year’s draft pool.

Our tracker of early entrants for the 2024 draft is fully up to date and can be found right here.

Here are the changes we made to our tracker today:

Newly added players

College players:

These players either didn’t publicly announce that they were entering the draft or we simply missed it when they did.

International players:

These players weren’t previously mentioned on our list of international early entrants. The country listed here indicates where they last played, not necessarily where they were born.

Other players:

  • Abdullah Ahmed, C, Westchester Knicks (born 2003)
  • Somto Cyril, C, Overtime Elite (born 2005)
  • Reynan Dos Santos, G, Overtime Elite (born 2004)
  • Djordjije Jovanovic, F, Ontario Clippers (born 2003)
  • Jalen Lewis, F/C, Overtime Elite (born 2005)
  • Malique Lewis, F, Mexico City Capitanes (born 2004)
  • Babacar Sane, F, G League Ignite (born 2003)

Players removed

Despite reports or announcements that the players below would declare for the draft, they didn’t show up on the NBA’s official list.

That could mean a number of things — they may have decided against entering the draft; they may have entered the draft, then withdrawn; they may have had no NCAA eligibility remaining, making them automatically draft-eligible; they may have incorrectly filed their paperwork; or the NBA may have accidentally omitted some names.

It seems that last possibility is a real one, as Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets that a “miscommunication or mishap’ at the league office may result in a dozen or more additional names being added to the NBA’s early entrant list.

We’ve still removed the following names from our early entrant list for the time being, but it sounds like some could be re-added soon.

Note: Some of these players may also be transferring to new schools.

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Draft Notes: Two-Day Format, Sandfort, Penda, Early Entrants

April 2nd, 2024 at 4:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA will hold a two-day draft for the first time this year, but the concept has been batted around for over a decade, according to Jeremy Woo of ESPN, who hears from a team source that a group executives first presented the idea to the league in 2011. Extending the second round to give teams more than two minutes per pick was one important reason for the change, as Woo details.

“Way more second-round picks would be traded every year, except (due to the lack of time between picks) no one knows who has them,” one Eastern Conference executive told Woo. “A team makes a trade, then another trade. I’m spending 10 minutes hunting down picks, and by the time you find out where it is, it’s too late to make a deal.”

“… The second round is not fun. Chaos. Insanity. Not how we should be running our business. This will solve that. We didn’t need a second day, we just needed a longer second round — but I understand we can’t start at 3 p.m. or finish at 3 a.m., so this is a good solution.”

The second round of the draft will get its own day this June and there will be four minutes per pick instead of two. The hope is that, in addition to giving front offices more time to consider their options – including potential deals – the second night of the draft will allow the league’s broadcast partners to better spotlight the 28 players being selected in round two.

“The second round has become more and more important,” NBA head of basketball operations Joe Dumars told ESPN. “Rosters have expanded, and you’re seeing a larger influx of talent into the league, a lot of times from the second round. (The one-day format) was not doing justice for the second-round picks and the teams.”

While it remains to be seen exactly how adding an extra day to the draft may change teams’ strategies, sources who spoke to Woo suggested they wouldn’t be surprised if there’s more action than usual during the final few picks of the first round – as teams look to land players before rivals get a chance to reset their boards – and the first few picks of the second round, after clubs have had 24 hours to consider their options.

Here’s more on the NBA draft:

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Official Early Entrants List For 2020 NBA Draft

November 10th, 2020 at 8:29am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced that 84 early entrant prospects will be eligible to be selected in the 2020 NBA draft next Wednesday. Of those early entrants, 71 are players from college or other educational institutions, while the remaining 13 are international prospects.

Although the number of early entrants is higher than the number of picks in the draft (60), the list of early entrants is still significantly smaller than it was at the NBA’s initial entry deadline in April. At that point, 205 early entrants had declared for the draft. After testing the waters, more than half of those players withdrew their names

Here’s the complete list of early entrant prospects eligible for the 2020 NBA draft:

College Players:

  1. Precious Achiuwa, F, Memphis (freshman)
  2. Milan Acquaah, G, California Baptist (junior)
  3. Ty-Shon Alexander, G, Creighton (junior)
  4. Cole Anthony, G, North Carolina (freshman)
  5. Brendan Bailey, F, Marquette (sophomore)
  6. Saddiq Bey, F, Villanova (sophomore)
  7. Tyler Bey, F, Colorado (junior)
  8. Jermaine Bishop, G, Norfolk State (junior)
  9. Dachon Burke, G, Nebraska (junior)
  10. Vernon Carey Jr., C, Duke (freshman)
  11. Nate Darling, G, Delaware (junior)
  12. Lamine Diane, F, Cal State Northridge (sophomore)
  13. Devon Dotson, G, Kansas (sophomore)
  14. Anthony Edwards, G, Georgia (freshman)
  15. CJ Elleby, F, Washington State (sophomore)
  16. Malik Fitts, F, Saint Mary’s (junior)
  17. Malachi Flynn, G, San Diego State (junior)
  18. Josh Green, G/F, Arizona (freshman)
  19. Ashton Hagans, G, Kentucky (sophomore)
  20. Tyrese Haliburton, G, Iowa State (sophomore)
  21. Josh Hall, F, Moravian Prep (N/A)
  22. Rayshaun Hammonds, F, Georgia (junior)
  23. Jalen Harris, G, Nevada (junior)
  24. Niven Hart, G, Fresno State (freshman)
  25. Nate Hinton, G/F, Houston (sophomore)
  26. Elijah Hughes, G/F, Syracuse (junior)
  27. Isaiah Joe, G, Arkansas (sophomore)
  28. Dakari Johnson, G, Cape Fear CC (freshman)
  29. C.J. Jones, G, Middle Tennessee (junior)
  30. Mason Jones, G, Arkansas (junior)
  31. Tre Jones, G, Duke (sophomore)
  32. Saben Lee, G, Vanderbilt (junior)
  33. Michael Lenoir, G, Creating Young Minds Academy (N/A)
  34. Kira Lewis, G, Alabama (sophomore)
  35. Nico Mannion, G, Arizona (freshman)
  36. Naji Marshall, F, Xavier (junior)
  37. Kenyon Martin Jr., F, IMG Academy (N/A)
  38. Tyrese Maxey, G, Kentucky (freshman)
  39. Jaden McDaniels, F, Washington (freshman)
  40. Isiaha Mike, F, SMU (junior)
  41. EJ Montgomery, F, Kentucky (sophomore)
  42. Aaron Nesmith, G, Vanderbilt (sophomore)
  43. Zeke Nnaji, F, Arizona (freshman)
  44. Jordan Nwora, F, Louisville (junior)
  45. Nikolaos Okekuoyen, C, Ridgeview Prep (N/A)
  46. Onyeka Okongwu, F/C, USC (freshman)
  47. Isaac Okoro, F, Auburn (freshman)
  48. Daniel Oturu, C, Minnesota (sophomore)
  49. Reggie Perry, F, Mississippi State (sophomore)
  50. Nate Pierre-Louis, G, Temple (junior)
  51. Immanuel Quickley, G, Kentucky (sophomore)
  52. Jahmi’us Ramsey, G, Texas Tech (freshman)
  53. Paul Reed, F, DePaul (junior)
  54. Nick Richards, F/C, Kentucky (junior)
  55. Jay Scrubb, G, John A. Logan College (sophomore)
  56. Jalen Smith, F, Maryland (sophomore)
  57. Cassius Stanley, G, Duke (freshman)
  58. Isaiah Stewart, F/C, Washington (freshman)
  59. Tyrell Terry, G, Stanford (freshman)
  60. Xavier Tillman, F/C, Michigan State (junior)
  61. Obi Toppin, F, Dayton (sophomore)
  62. Jordan Tucker, F, Butler (sophomore)
  63. Devin Vassell, G, Florida State (sophomore)
  64. Nick Weatherspoon, G, Mississippi State (junior)
  65. Kaleb Wesson, F/C, Ohio State (junior)
  66. Kahlil Whitney, F, Kentucky (freshman)
  67. Emmitt Williams, F, LSU (sophomore)
  68. Patrick Williams, F, Florida State (freshman)
  69. James Wiseman, C, Memphis (freshman)
  70. Robert Woodard II, F, Mississippi State (sophomore)
  71. Omer Yurtseven, C, Georgetown (junior)

International Players:

Note: The country indicates where the player had been playing, not necessarily where he was born.

  1. Deni Avdija, F, Israel (born 2001)
  2. Adrian Bogucki, C, Poland (born 2000)
  3. Leandro Bolmaro, F, Spain (born 2000)
  4. Imru Duke, F, Spain (born 1999)
  5. Paul Eboua, F, Italy (born 2000)
  6. Killian Hayes, G, Germany (born 2001)
  7. Vit Krejci, G, Spain (born 2000)
  8. Yam Madar, G, Israel (born 2000)
  9. Theo Maledon, G, France (born 2001)
  10. Karim Mane, G, Canada (born 2000)
  11. Aleksej Pokusevski, F, Greece (born 2001)
  12. Marko Simonovic, C, Serbia (born 1999)
  13. Mouhamed Thiam, C, France (born 2001)

The NBA’s list of early entrants includes one name that we had missed previously: Ridgeview Prep big man Nikolaos Okekuoyen. He wasn’t on the NBA’s list following the adjusted early entry deadline in August, so presumably the league determined after the fact that he got his paperwork completed on time.

Tony Goodwin II, Osas Ehigiator, Miguel Gonzalez, Sehmus Hazer, Arturs Kurucs, Caio Pacheco, Sander Raieste, Njegos Sikiras, Aboubacar Traore, and Uros Trifunovic are among the players withdrawing from the draft since our last check-in.

For details on which other prospects originally declared for the draft, then withdrew their names, be sure to check out our previous unofficial early entrant list.

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NBA Updates List Of Early Entrants For 2020 Draft

August 22nd, 2020 at 8:32am CST by Luke Adams

Following the NBA’s August 17 deadline for early entrants to declare for the 2020 NBA draft, the league has issued an updated list of the early entrants who remain in this year’s draft pool.

The list, which includes 72 college players and 36 international prospects, looks pretty similar to the one you’ll find on our running tracker.

The NBA’s update confirms that Joe Saterfield, a wing from Ranger Community College, is no longer in the draft pool, but guard Michael Lenoir, from Creating Young Minds Academy in Texas, has entered his name.

Meanwhile, in the international pool, center Berke Atar, forward Philippe Bayehe, center Vinicius Da Silva, guard Selim Fofana, center Dut Mabor, forward Yigitcan Saybir, and forward Andrii Voinalovych have removed their names from draft consideration. Croatian forward Darko Bajo, previously believed to be pulling his name out of the draft, remains on the early entrant list, and center Aboubacar Traore from Canada’s Dynasty Sports Institute has entered his name.

The college players who remain in the draft pool have foregone their remaining NCAA eligibility, since the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline for early entrants passed earlier this month. However, the NBA’s own withdrawal deadline doesn’t arrive until 10 days before the draft. Many international prospects figure to pull out by then, and some of the college players could too, if they decide to go pro without becoming immediately draft-eligible.

Currently, the 2020 draft is scheduled for October 16, though there’s still a chance it could be further delayed. If it remains on October 16, the withdrawal deadline for the early entrants listed below will be October 6.

Per the NBA, here’s the list of the 108 early entrants who remain in the 2020 draft pool for now:

College Players:

  1. Precious Achiuwa, F, Memphis (freshman)
  2. Milan Acquaah, G, California Baptist (junior)
  3. Ty-Shon Alexander, G, Creighton (junior)
  4. Cole Anthony, G, North Carolina (freshman)
  5. Brendan Bailey, F, Marquette (sophomore)
  6. Saddiq Bey, F, Villanova (sophomore)
  7. Tyler Bey, F, Colorado (junior)
  8. Jermaine Bishop, G, Norfolk State (junior)
  9. Dachon Burke, G, Nebraska (junior)
  10. Vernon Carey Jr., C, Duke (freshman)
  11. Nate Darling, G, Delaware (junior)
  12. Lamine Diane, F, Cal State Northridge (sophomore)
  13. Devon Dotson, G, Kansas (sophomore)
  14. Anthony Edwards, G, Georgia (freshman)
  15. CJ Elleby, F, Washington State (sophomore)
  16. Malik Fitts, F, Saint Mary’s (junior)
  17. Malachi Flynn, G, San Diego State (junior)
  18. Tony Goodwin II, G/F, Redemption Academy (N/A)
  19. Josh Green, G/F, Arizona (freshman)
  20. Ashton Hagans, G, Kentucky (sophomore)
  21. Tyrese Haliburton, G, Iowa State (sophomore)
  22. Josh Hall, F, Moravian Prep (N/A)
  23. Rayshaun Hammonds, F, Georgia (junior)
  24. Jalen Harris, G, Nevada (junior)
  25. Niven Hart, G, Fresno State (freshman)
  26. Nate Hinton, G/F, Houston (sophomore)
  27. Elijah Hughes, G/F, Syracuse (junior)
  28. Isaiah Joe, G, Arkansas (sophomore)
  29. Dakari Johnson, G, Cape Fear CC (freshman)
  30. C.J. Jones, G, Middle Tennessee (junior)
  31. Mason Jones, G, Arkansas (junior)
  32. Tre Jones, G, Duke (sophomore)
  33. Saben Lee, G, Vanderbilt (junior)
  34. Michael Lenoir, G, Creating Young Minds Academy (N/A)
  35. Kira Lewis, G, Alabama (sophomore)
  36. Nico Mannion, G, Arizona (freshman)
  37. Naji Marshall, F, Xavier (junior)
  38. Kenyon Martin Jr., F, IMG Academy (N/A)
  39. Tyrese Maxey, G, Kentucky (freshman)
  40. Jaden McDaniels, F, Washington (freshman)
  41. Isiaha Mike, F, SMU (junior)
  42. EJ Montgomery, F, Kentucky (sophomore)
  43. Aaron Nesmith, G, Vanderbilt (sophomore)
  44. Zeke Nnaji, F, Arizona (freshman)
  45. Jordan Nwora, F, Louisville (junior)
  46. Onyeka Okongwu, F/C, USC (freshman)
  47. Isaac Okoro, F, Auburn (freshman)
  48. Daniel Oturu, C, Minnesota (sophomore)
  49. Reggie Perry, F, Mississippi State (sophomore)
  50. Filip Petrusev, F/C, Gonzaga (sophomore)
  51. Nate Pierre-Louis, G, Temple (junior)
  52. Immanuel Quickley, G, Kentucky (sophomore)
  53. Jahmi’us Ramsey, G, Texas Tech (freshman)
  54. Paul Reed, F, DePaul (junior)
  55. Nick Richards, F/C, Kentucky (junior)
  56. Jay Scrubb, G, John A. Logan College (sophomore)
  57. Jalen Smith, F, Maryland (sophomore)
  58. Cassius Stanley, G, Duke (freshman)
  59. Isaiah Stewart, F/C, Washington (freshman)
  60. Tyrell Terry, G, Stanford (freshman)
  61. Xavier Tillman, F/C, Michigan State (junior)
  62. Obi Toppin, F, Dayton (sophomore)
  63. Jordan Tucker, F, Butler (sophomore)
  64. Devin Vassell, G, Florida State (sophomore)
  65. Nick Weatherspoon, G, Mississippi State (junior)
  66. Kaleb Wesson, F/C, Ohio State (junior)
  67. Kahlil Whitney, F, Kentucky (freshman)
  68. Emmitt Williams, F, LSU (sophomore)
  69. Patrick Williams, F, Florida State (freshman)
  70. James Wiseman, C, Memphis (freshman)
  71. Robert Woodard II, F, Mississippi State (sophomore)
  72. Omer Yurtseven, C, Georgetown (junior)

International Players:

Note: The country indicates where the player had been playing, not necessarily where he was born.

  1. Deni Avdija, F, Israel (born 2001)
  2. Brancou Badio, F, Spain (born 1999)
  3. Darko Bajo, F, Croatia (born 1999)
  4. Marek Blazevic, C, Lithuania (born 2001)
  5. Adrian Bogucki, C, Poland (born 2000)
  6. Leandro Bolmaro, F, Spain (born 2000)
  7. Henri Drell, G/F, Italy (born 2000)
  8. Imru Duke, F, Spain (born 1999)
  9. Michele Ebeling, F, Italy (born 1999)
  10. Paul Eboua, F, Italy (born 2000)
  11. Osas Ehigiator, C, Spain (born 1999)
  12. Joel Ekamba, G, France (born 2001)
  13. Miguel Gonzalez, G/F, Spain (born 1999)
  14. Killian Hayes, G, Germany (born 2001)
  15. Sehmus Hazer, G, Turkey (born 1999)
  16. Rokas Jokubaitis, G, Lithuania (born 2000)
  17. Georgios Kalaitzakis, G, Lithuania (born 1999)
  18. Vit Krejci, G, Spain (born 2000)
  19. Arturs Kurucs, G, Latvia (born 2000)
  20. Yam Madar, G, Israel (born 2000)
  21. Theo Maledon, G, France (born 2001)
  22. Karim Mane, G, Canada (born 2000)
  23. Sergi Martinez, F, Spain (born 1999)
  24. Nikola Miskovic, F, Serbia (born 1999)
  25. Aristide Mouaha, G, Italy (born 2000)
  26. Caio Pacheco, G, Argentina (born 1999)
  27. Joel Parra, F, Spain (born 2000)
  28. Aleksej Pokusevski, F, Greece (born 2001)
  29. Sander Raieste, F, Estonia (born 1999)
  30. Nikos Rogkavopoulos, F, Greece (born 2001)
  31. Njegos Sikiras, F, Spain (born 1999)
  32. Marko Simonovic, C, Serbia (born 1999)
  33. Mouhamed Thiam, C, France (born 2001)
  34. Aboubacar Traore, G, Canada (born 2001)
  35. Uros Trifunovic, G, Serbia (born 2000)
  36. Arnas Velicka, G, Lithuania (born 1999)
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