NBA Draft Entry Numbers Tank as Players Opt for College Cash

The NBA Draft lottery is taking place on Monday night in Chicago, and many professional basketball hopefuls are gearing up for the upcoming draft.

However, not as many as in prior years.

Via an article on NBA.com, The Athletic reported that this year’s total number of NBA Draft early entrants was just 106 players.

“The early entry list is much less substantial than what we’ve seen in the past,” the article stated. “Mainly because of the proliferation of the name, image and likeness (NIL) marketplace in college basketball, there are only 106 early entrants to the NBA Draft, a drastically lower number than the 195 who entered last year and the 242 who entered the year before. This peaked in 2021, when 353 early entrants declared for the draft.”

Pitt saw just one player enter the NBA draft this offseason: Jaland Lowe. Zack Austin, Damian Dunn, and Ishmael Leggett are also pursuing professional basketball opportunities as well.

Lowe will compete in the G League Elite Camp as part of his draft process. However, earlier this offseason, he entered the transfer portal as well, and eventually committed to Kentucky for a reported $3 million NIL paycheck.

The NBA states that players from this camp may receive invitations to the NBA Combine, the more prestigious of the two events, based on their performance at the G League Elite Camp.

“A select number of players from the draft-eligible group will be invited to participate in the 2025 NBA Draft Combine later in the week based on their performance in the NBA G League Elite Camp,” said the press release by the NBA.

NBA players appearing in past NBA G League Elite Camp include Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, Dallas Mavericks forward Caleb Martin, Atlanta Hawks guard Terance Mann, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus, Memphis Grizzlies forward Vince Williams Jr., and three-time AT&T Slam Dunk champion and 2023-24 Kia NBA G League MVP Mac McClung.