Big news is shaking up the college basketball landscape as Baylor Bears forward James Nnaji has reportedly entered the transfer portal. According to a report from Joe Tipton of On3, the 7-foot, 250-pound center is seeking a new program and still has three years of eligibility remaining.

Nnaji's situation is one of the more unique and debated cases in recent memory. Despite being selected 31st overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2023 NBA Draft—with his rights later traded to the Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks—he had never played a professional NBA game. This technicality, along with never having enrolled in a U.S. college and being within five years of his high school graduation, allowed him to join the Baylor Bears in December 2025.

His freshman season in Waco was a quiet one, with the big man averaging just 1.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game. Before his brief college stint, Nnaji developed his game overseas, playing for clubs like FC Barcelona and bouncing between European leagues from 2020 to 2025.

While Nnaji is not alone as an international professional who returned to the NCAA—joining players like Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder and North Carolina’s Luka Bogavac—he stands apart as the only one among them to have already been drafted by an NBA team. This move to the portal opens up a fascinating new chapter for a player whose career path has already defied convention, and it will be intriguing to see which program bets on his significant physical tools and potential.