NBA Draft: Obinna Ekezie Jr. Could be Louisville's Next One-and-Done

Obinna Ekezie Jr, son of former Atlanta Hawk Obinna Ekezie, is a five star recruit beginning his freshman year at Louisville.

From far left to right: Louisville forward Álvaro Folgueiras, Louisville forward Flory Bidunga, Louisville center Obinna Ekezie Jr. and Louisville center Gabe Dynes during team practice on July 23, 2026 before a two-game exhibition tour in the Bahamas. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Obinna Ekezie Jr., son of former Atlanta Hawk Obinna Ekezie, is a five-star recruit beginning his freshman year at Louisville. And he could be the school's next one-and-done prospect.

The 7-footer, who was originally in the class of 2027, enters the ranks as a top-tier prospect nationally ,and is projected to be one of the first bigs off the board in the 2027 NBA Draft. He comes from Southeastern Prep,  and brings massive size and length to the frontcourt.

Ekezie brings elite rim protection and a reliable defensive anchor on the inside. He's got all the things that you would want in an athletic big that you can bring to your front court. Plenty of his game lives at the rim, be it lobs, put backs or drop step hooks. He also doesn't cheat you with the typical big man stuff as he has a consistent rebounding presence on the offensive and defensive end.

Most of the inconsistency comes on the offensive end. He needs to sustain his motor and the assertiveness regardless of how involved he is in the offense. To maximize the ceiling that he does have, running the floor hard and being an active lob threat can make him a ton of money at the next level. He's got great mobility for a 7 footer, which could be utilized in fast paced offenses in the NBA.

Ekezie is clearly talented, but lacks ball skill, face up and post game. Most of his opportunities offensively last year were set up by standout point guard Beckham Black. He's really struggled outside of Southeastern Prep to create any offense for himself. He projects as a pure play finisher and shouldn't be encouraged to expand past that.

Ekezie should be given a long developmental runway at Louisville where he will be slotted to play a ton early on. He's already got a college level body as an incoming senior in high school, now freshman in college with NBA level physical traits to him. His long term development will hinge a lot on the consistency, the strength progression, and then the offensive growth over the next year.

Louisville is going to be in the mix for the very top of college basketball so evaluators will get to see him in high leverage competition throughout the season.  I expect the 18 year old to be highly coveted by teams in need of size in the first round.