Knicks' former 31st overall pick just committed to a mid-major college basketball program

Knicks’ former 31st overall pick just committed to a mid-major college basketball program originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

There were surely other weird eras of college basketball.

This one, though, is quite confounding.

The player the New York Knicks chose with the No. 31 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft is transferring in college basketball from Baylor to George Mason.

Yep, that sentence isn’t supposed to make any sense.

MORE: Bronny James’ best future doesn’t involve a trade from Lakers

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported Thursday that Nnaji committed to the former NCAA Tournament darling:

NEWS: Baylor transfer James Nnaji has committed to George Mason, his agency Gersh tells DraftExpress.

The 7-foot, 21-year-old Nigerian center has three years of NCAA eligibility remaining after arriving stateside mid-season. pic.twitter.com/xz0r51Vq8D

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) July 2, 2026

The 7-footer Nnaji didn’t do much for Baylor, playing 8.2 minutes per game across 18 games and averaging just 1.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest.

Now, he keeps his college basketball career going just three years after he was drafted into the NBA.

When the Knicks drafted Nnaji, he wasn’t coming from college basketball, but rather from Europe. He has had multiple stints in NBA Summer League, but he has yet to appear in an NBA game.

MORE: Why the Warriors are a terrible fit for LeBron James

He spent the three seasons prior to this college basketball pursuit playing for powerhouse Barcelona in the EuroLeague.

He was the first player who had actually been an NBA Draft pick to return to college basketball in a season that also saw former G League players coming back to the NCAA ranks.

There are definitely plenty of fans of college sports who don’t like this.

And no matter where you fall, it’s definitely weird.

More NBA news: