Milan Momcilovic's NBA Draft Decision Will Have Biggest College Basketball Ramifications

The Iowa State product will have the entire country after him if he opts to return to the NCAA

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) celebrates after a play during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

There is no bigger NBA Draft decision than Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic.

The 6-foot-8 forward shocked a lot of people when he not only put his name in the draft but also entered the transfer portal. However, reports currently say that the Cyclone superstar is fully focused on the draft at the moment.

Momcilovic was one of the best players in college basketball this season, shooting an overwhelming 48.7-percent from 3-point range and averaging 16.9 points per game. Despite his college numbers, many NBA evaluators see him as a mid-to-late second round pick this June.

Should that come to fruition, a return to college would be a better financial situation for Milan Momcilovic as he would gather upwards of $3 million in NIL while try to boost his draft stock with another productive season in what assumes to be a weaker 2027 NBA Draft.

If he withdraws from the draft and returns to college, his portal entry makes sense. Iowa State has done a good job at landing five transfers already but the biggest issue with the Cyclones is how it will replace its graduating talent of Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson.

Northern Iowa’s Leon Bond III, Bradley’s Jaquan Johnson, Kansas State’s Taj Manning, Robert Morris’ Ryan Prather Jr., and Northwestern’s Tre Singleton all announced their commitments to the program within the last week.

Center Blake Buchanan announced his return to the program but is it enticing enough for Momcilovic to withdraw from the portal and return to Iowa State if he no longer wishes to remain in the draft?

Milan Momcilovic entered the transfer portal with a ‘Do Not Contact’ tag but it’s clear if he does return to college basketball that he will have his choice of where he wants to play next season while getting paid handsomely to do so.