'What did I do, man?' How James Nnaji set off a college hoops controversy

WACO, TEXAS — THE MOST polarizing pickup in men’s college basketball history started with a wild idea.

On an October networking trip to Baylor, Deirunas Visockas — a former Boston College reserve turned agent — learned the Bears were struggling with injuries and needed a big man. He happened to represent a player who fit the bill and was in search of an opportunity to reboot his career.

“I said, ‘What about James Nnaji, if we could explore that route? Would you guys be interested?'” Visockas told ESPN. “And here we are now.”

That chance encounter started a domino effect that made Nnaji — the No. 31 pick in the 2023 NBA draft and the first drafted men’s basketball player to be cleared by the NCAA — the face of the season’s biggest controversy. Baylor’s Christmas Eve announcement of his signing sparked immediate criticism from legendary coaches such as Tom Izzo and John Calipari. Opposing fans booed his debut at TCU. And the condemnation rippled through social media, where he opened his recently reactivated Instagram account to a wave of digital hate mail.

“I was getting a lot of insults and cuss words from people — like really, really, really rude things coming towards me,” Nnaji said. “I was like, ‘But what did I do, man?’ I’m as young as everybody in here.”

Nnaji didn’t anticipate his decision would spark a nationwide debate about who should be allowed to play college basketball. Before landing in Texas, the 7-footer from Nigeria played professionally in Europe. After he was drafted, he had a short stints with the NBA during summer league but never signed an actual NBA contract. Still within the five-year window of what would have been his high school graduation, that all meant Nnaji met the NCAA’s eligibility requirements.

As the college sports landscape continues to evolve, teams are seeking every advantage they can find — including within the gray area of what constitutes a professional and an amateur basketball player. Months before Nnaji joined Baylor, two G League players were signed by Division I teams, and former European pros can be found throughout the college ranks. Though some coaches blasted the midseason timing of Nnaji’s addition to Baylor’s roster, the Bears believed they were just ahead of the pack.

“You have two choices: one, partake, or two, you’ll be left behind,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. “And when it came out that you could recruit G League players, I was against it at first. I didn’t want to do it, but we don’t make the rules. If they say you can drive 80, you’re going to drive 80. If you drive 70, you’re going to get passed.”

Nnaji became a lightning rod because of an idea he represents — that physically dominant, elite talents with NBA experience could be cleared to play college basketball, creating a competitive imbalance in the sport. But the reality is Nnaji is 21 years old and still recovering from back surgery, looking for a second chance with a Baylor team that started Big 12 play 0-3.

“OK, I got drafted, but I know many people that we played against in Europe and they’re all here living the same life. So why am I getting so much hate from the people?” said Nnaji, who is averaging 2.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. “I didn’t do anything illegal. I didn’t try to break any rule.”

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NNAJI DIDN’T start playing basketball until he was 12.

Already 6-7 and wearing size 13 sneakers, Nnaji towered over a crowd outside his mother’s shop in Makurdi, Nigeria, when a former professional soccer player suggested she introduce her son to basketball. Nnaji went to the gym that day and fell in love with the sport. He developed quickly with his newfound combination of size and explosiveness, and posted a mixtape to Facebook in 2018 that caught the eye of a professional league in Hungary. Months later — only two years after touching a basketball for the first time — Nnaji left for Europe on the first flight of his life.

“We didn’t even know the road to get to the airport,” he said.

In Hungary, he was surrounded by players with more experience. He even asked his coach, “Why are we running plays?” The structured system was unfamiliar to him, as was a community that spoke a language he did not understand. When he fell off a bed that was too small during his first week abroad, he thought about going home.

“I was like, ‘This is the only opportunity for you to bring your family up from what they’re going through,'” he said. “So I just had to be strong.”

His decision to stay in Hungary changed his life. He grew more comfortable with teammates who would become lifelong friends and embraced the transition. He also began to dominate his peers, an improvement that compelled FC Barcelona — one of the top EuroLeague teams — to sign him at 16 years old. Three years later, he entered the 2023 NBA draft, two months shy of his 19th birthday. That June night in Brooklyn, he was picked by the Detroit Pistons then traded to the Charlotte Hornets, a team that had five players who were 6-9 or taller — and had no opening for him on its roster.

International prospects such as Nnaji, whose rights were traded to the New York Knicks in the following year’s Karl-Anthony Towns trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, are often called “draft and stash players.” The teams that pick them don’t necessarily have any grand plans for them, so they let them go back to Europe. And if they develop down the line, teams can choose to sign them.

That future never happened for Nnaji. He returned to FC Barcelona after the draft, and the closest he got to the NBA was two stints in summer league in 2023 and 2025. A lingering back injury eventually sidelined him and required surgery in June 2024. Following a lengthy rehab process, he reaggravated the injury during summer league in 2025 and needed another six months to recover. Then in August, he and FC Barcelona mutually agreed to part ways.

By the time Nnaji landed on Baylor’s radar in the fall, he was living in Spain. He had lived in four countries in pursuit of his basketball dreams and hadn’t been home to Nigeria since he was 12. He also wasn’t even healthy enough to play 5-on-5 yet.

He yearned for the clean slate that Baylor could offer.

“I was just coming back from my rehabilitation in the afternoon and I got a call from my agent and he told me, ‘Would you like to go to college?'” he said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, I just want to play basketball and grow because I’ve been in hell for the past two years. I want something new, something like a fresh start for myself — just to get back on track.'”

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WHEN NNAJI’S SIGNING was announced by Baylor in late December, Izzo led the chorus of criticism: “Shame on the NCAA,” he told reporters. Calipari suggested that “guys that are 28 years old, guys from Europe” were sneaking into the college basketball landscape. And Dan Hurley tweeted, “Santa Claus is delivering mid season acquisitions…this s*** is crazy!!”

Of course, months before Nnaji’s signing, Louisville (London Johnson) and Santa Clara (Thierry Darlan) had already signed players with G League experience — more additions Izzo spoke out against at the time.

“I’m not real excited about the NCAA or whoever is making these decisions, without talking to us, just letting it go,” Izzo said in October. “They’re afraid they’re going to get sued.”

Izzo’s comments underscore the fear he shares with some of his peers — that the NCAA might not have the power to stop a young NBA or two-way player who wants to cash in on an NIL deal and return to college basketball.

Division I rules state that any professional player who has received more than “actual and necessary expenses” — a category that includes health insurance, meals, lodging and transportation — cannot play college basketball. But there is plenty of debate over what number crosses that threshold, especially with the NCAA recently welcoming European pros who made six figures or more overseas.

For years, players seeking the highest compensation option had to look outside of college basketball. But the dawn of the NIL and revenue sharing era has changed that. Now, college basketball programs can sometimes offer more cash than any league outside of the NBA. A G League player’s average salary is just north of $40,000 while the average EuroLeague player reportedly earns a salary between $500,000 and $800,000. There are Division I players making more than all of those salaries combined this season.

With convoluted rules and a large pot of cash available to top talents, more professional players could be incentivized to challenge current NCAA rules.

“I think an NBA player [or a player on a two-way contract] would have a good legal argument that he should be granted eligibility,” said Mit Winter, an NIL attorney and former Division I basketball player. “How can you differentiate between European pros playing in the top European leagues and players who are playing in the NBA — other than the NBA guys might be better basketball players?”

In the wake of Nnaji’s signing, NCAA president Charlie Baker clarified that NBA and two-way players would not be cleared to play college basketball. But it wasn’t that long ago that players weren’t allowed to be paid, then the courts ruled against the NCAA. They could theoretically do it again if a case is brought to their doorstep.

The fire and fury spurred by fear of this potential all landed on Nnaji’s head. Yes, the Knicks — who still hold his NBA rights — could theoretically call him up at any point. But for Nnaji, signing with Baylor was simply a path back to basketball. He had no idea his goal of getting back on the court would make him a target of resentment.

“We expected the outrage because it’s a big deal for a former NBA draft pick to go to college,” said Visockas, Nnaji’s agent. “But we didn’t expect it to be to this extent.”

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STILL GRAPPLING with life on an American college campus, Nnaji doesn’t have any furniture in his apartment yet. He touched down in Waco in late December but is still afraid to walk the streets for fear he’ll accidentally end up on a highway. His first mission was just to find a good place to eat.

“I like all the rice and the beans and the meat and all of this stuff. I really like it,” Nnaji said as he rubbed his fingers together to highlight the new delicacy he’d recently discovered. “I’ve forgotten the name of the place. Oh yeah. Chipotle.”

Fast-casual loyalty established, Nnaji turned his attention to the court.

Just 72 hours after he arrived, Nnaji played in his first college game, scoring five points in 17 minutes at TCU. Every time he touched the ball, fans booed him. One opposing player apparently told him, “You don’t belong here.”

In Europe, he played games in Belgrade, Serbia, where fans lit fires and police officers held shields over opposing players so they wouldn’t get hit with objects thrown from the stands. Nnaji said those experiences prepared him for hostility — but he said he’d never endured the level of anger he faced at TCU.

“The only problem was that this time it was coming directly at me,” he said in comparison to hostile games in Europe.

Nnaji, who was cleared to resume workouts in early December, is still doing what he can to get back into shape. At a recent practice, whenever he wasn’t in drills and walkthroughs, he was on a stationary bike, sweating until he was called back to the court. Baylor coaches were constantly in his ear teaching him the abbreviated version of the offense.

He’s determined to learn. After his team’s loss to Iowa State last week, he walked into the weight room and told Baylor strength coach Charlie Melton: “I need to get stronger.” They immediately commenced a late-night squat workout.

Along with the learning curve on the court, he’s also doing his best to fit in with his teammates. He leans forward and mimics their pregame shoulder-bumps now. The team sushi nights also help with camaraderie. They’ve welcomed him, not judged him. On the day he arrived, he played a game called “hot seat,” in which he had to sit in a chair and answer lighthearted questions in front of the team.

“One of the questions was, ‘What would you want your teammates to do for you to make you more comfortable with the team?'” senior guard Dan Skillings Jr. said. “And he said, ‘Just talk to me.’ And that’s really super real and super simple because … I feel like everybody that comes in the middle of the season and they’re about to play a game, I would want my teammates to talk to me as well.”

Nnaji has been scrutinized more for what he represents than who he actually is. He’s not a contender for any national awards or a threat to tip the scales in Baylor’s favor. He’s just a young player with big dreams in a new city.

“Let’s be human first before the sport,” he said. “Let’s be human. But at the end of the day, the controversy doesn’t bother me because I’m here to do my job, to help the team as much as I can, and to get better.”