UNC's Veesaar Receives Heavy Criticism Over NBA Draft Decision

Henri Veesaar’s steep slide in this week’s NBA Draft was one of the bigger talking points from the event, and many have now criticized his decision to stay in the draft.

Veesaar upped his draft stock tremendously last season as a member of the Tar Heels. After spending a few seasons as a backup at Arizona, Veesaar broke out into full-fledged stardom with North Carolina. He and Caleb Wilson combined to create one of the best frontcourts in the entire country, and Veesaar had officially gotten his name on the NBA’s radar.

North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) dunks the ball Thursday, March 19, 2026, during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament first round game against the VCU Rams at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After that strong season, Veesaar was faced with a major decision: come back to UNC and play for new head coach Michael Malone, or stay in the draft and take the risk. Veesaar chose to take the risk instead of returning to college, where he could’ve earned himself a lucrative NIL deal in the process while also improving his draft stock.

Veesaar Takes Shocking Slide

Prior to the draft, many expected Veesaar to be a late first-round pick. On the day of the first round, Veesaar kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting to hear his name called.

North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) celebrates after scoring Thursday, March 19, 2026, during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament first round game against the VCU Rams at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. VCU Rams won 82-78 in OT. | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Pick 26...still waiting, pick 27…still waiting, and so on, and so on. Eventually, the first round ended, and Veesaar had yet to be selected. Surely, he’d be picked very early the next day for the second round, right?

Pick 45…still waiting, pick 46...still waiting. Then, finally, he was selected with the 52nd overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks, a tremendous dropoff from his pre-draft projections. It took a while, but Veesaar was finally seeing his NBA dreams come true despite the disappointing circumstances.

Mar 19, 2026; Greenville, SC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) celebrates after a play against the VCU Rams in the first half of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Many have been critical of Veesaar’s choice to stay in the draft, especially in light of what took place at the event itself. CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander was extremely critical of the decision in the draft’s aftermath, calling it one of the biggest whiffs in recent memory, and honestly, he might be right.

Mar 19, 2026; Greenville, SC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) shoots the ball against the VCU Rams in the second half of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Norlander’s Thoughts

“This is one of the all-time fumbles in draft history,” Norlander said. “He could’ve returned to UNC, gotten 5 million dollars, been the centerpiece of a blue blood program, on a preseason top-15 team, for a coach — I don’t know how good Michael Malone’s going to be, but we saw what he did with Jokic — and had a great chance of turning himself into a top 20 pick in a much weaker draft in 2027."

"Instead, he now is drastically overshadowing the weeks, months-long Koa Peat conversation we had, doesn’t even compare at this point.”

Add us as a preferred source on Google