The player who was once part of the Karl Anthony-Towns trade to the New York Knicks made his college basketball debut to boos on Saturday, Jan. 3.
James Nnaji debuted for the Baylor men’s basketball in its Big 12 opener. The 7-foot center – who was a second-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft – had five points, four rebounds, two turnovers and picked up four fouls in 16 minutes a 69-63 loss to TCU.
After Nnaji entered the game, he was booed and then was booed subauenrly every time he touched the ball. His first points came on a putback dunk with about nine minutes left in the first half.
‘James did nothing wrong,’ Baylor coach Scott Drew said after the game. ‘Baylor did nothing wrong, and I know he’s human and just making sure he doesn’t feel that. If James was an NBA player today, he would be in the NBA.’
Nnaji played four seasons professionally in Europe before the Detroit Pistons drafted him No. 31 overall as an 18-year-old in the 2023 NBA Draft. Since then, Nnaji’s draft rights have been traded twice, but he has never signed an NBA contract.
Because he never attended an American college, Nnaji has four years of eligibility remaining.
‘James is a great young man,’ Drew said. ‘Grew up playing piano in the church. Mom’s most excited about his opportunity to get a degree. Brother’s a mechanical engineer. Sister’s trying to get a master’s. I thought he did a great job in a short period of time. He hadn’t played a competitive game in seven months, been recovering from an injury.’
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