21-year-old sophomore center James Nnaji committed to George MasonThursday morning, bringing three years of college eligibility with him to the Atlantic 10.
Nnaji entered the transfer portal on the opening day back in April and struggled to find a team to take him until settling on the Patriots.
The 7'1" big man has had an unconventional path to his underwhelming college basketball career and has attracted his own share of controversy along the way.
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Nnaji's professional career began atjust 15 when he left his home country of Nigeria for the first time to go play basketball in Hungary. His journey to Europe was the first time that Nnajiplayed organized competitive basketball.
Over his year in Hungary the young Nnaji began to dominate the competition around him as he continued to grow leading to an offer in Spain from FC Barcelona. The promising young center played in theSpanishleague for the next three years beforeputting his name in the 2023 NBA draft.
Nnaji was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the second round and then traded on draft night to the Charlotte Hornets . Nnaji has yet to see actualNBA minutes having only gained playing time in the summer league. TheNigerian center saw summer minutes for both the Hornets and the New York Knicks , whogained his draft rights in thetrade for NBA champion Karl-Anthony Towns .
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Nnajidrew national attention when he signed with Bayloron New Year's Eve of 2025 . The mid-season addition for the Bears was a desperate move by head coach Scott Drew to remain competitive after centerJuslinBodo Bodo's seasonending injury.
College basketball fans across the nation were outraged that the former NBA draftee was able to join the ranks of NCAA athletes, let alone as a21-year-oldfreshman.
"I was getting a lot of insults and cuss words from people -- like really, really, really rude things coming towards me," Nnaji said in a January ESPN interview. "I was like, 'But what did I do, man?' I'm as young aseverybody inhere."
Nnaji had a less than subpar season for the Bears, averaging just 1.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in just 18 games. By the end of theseason,the controversial center had more than vanished from Baylor's regular rotation.
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At the close of the 2025-26 season, the Bears had tomake a decisionabout who they would invest in for their big men of the future. When it came down to redshirt freshman Mayo Soyoye or Nnaji to backup BodoBodonext season, Drew's staff chose to put their faith in the younger more promisingSoyoye.
Now that Nnaji has found his nextdestination, George Mason becomes thenewest name ona long listof thecenter'sstops throughout his short professional career.
The 21-year-old has now suited up for or been on the roster of the Detroit Pistons, the Charlotte Hornets, the New York Knicks, FC Barcelona, Girona (another Spanish team Nnaji played for),Merkezefendi(Nnaji's first professional team in theTurkiyeleague), Baylor, and now George Mason.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/baylor as Former Baylor and New York Knicks player commits to George Mason .
