Former Hornet James Nnaji Transfers to Another College After Brief Stint at Baylor

The former Hornets player has changed teams again.

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Remember when the Charlotte Hornets traded for the draft rights to James Nnaji? When a lot of people were cautiously optimistic about a prospect who had played pro basketball in Spain and was still only 18 years old?

That was just about three years ago. Today, Nnaji still hasn't played an NBA game and is on his second college team in two years. What happened?

Stuck overseas

Following a solid summer league outing with the Hornets, Nnaji stayed with Barcelona to refine his skill set in the EuroLeague and hopefully make the jump to the NBA in 2024.

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Instead, he took a step back. His playing time declined behind the new addition Willy Hernangomez, and when he did play, he seemed more apprehensive than anything.

Following the conclusion of his club season, Nnaji had surgery to address lumbar spine problems, preventing him from competing in the upcoming Summer League.

Traded to New York

As part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, which the Hornets helped facilitate in October of 2024, James Nnaji's rights were sent to the Knicks. Evidently, the lack of progress had discouraged Charlotte's top brass from hanging onto him.

The Knicks thought similarly, so Nnaji stayed overseas. But Barcelona also had no use for him at the moment. So he was loaned out to another Spanish club, where he found little success, was called back in the middle of the season, and was loaned out to a Turkish club.

At least the Nigerian big man was able to compete in the 2025 Summer League, but again, he failed to impress. Shortly after, Nnaji and Barcelona mutually terminated their contract.

And here's where it gets really interesting.

On to College

In an absolutely unprecedented move, James Nnaji committed to the Baylor Bears, a college basketball team in need of a rotational big man. As Nnaji had never actually signed an NBA contract, he was allowed to join a college team despite being drafted.

But even the college level wasn't kind to Nnaji. Baylor had won nine of their eleven non-conference games before the big man arrived, but went on to win only five of their eighteen conference outings.

Nnaji only scored in seven of eighteen appearances, never reaching double digits in points or rebounds. But his college career doesn't end here.

Last week, Nnaji committed to George Mason, making the change from the Big 12 to the Atlantic 10 conference. He will play weaker competition than last year, and it's probably his final chance to majorly turn the tide in his career.

He is only 21 years old, but having been passed on by so many organizations in different leagues and contexts is, of course, a bad sign. The stats also back up the lack of development Nnaji has made since the Hornets acquired his draft rights.

Career Stats

Season	Team	MPG	PPG	RPG	BPG	FG%
2022-23	Barcelona	9.0	3.5	2.1	0.6	71.7
2023	Hornets (SL)	17.5	3.8	6.3	2.0	66.7
2023-24	Barcelona	7.2	2.5	2.0	0.4	68.7
2024-25	Girona / Merkezefendi	16.3	6.1	4.0	1.0	70.3
2025	Knicks (SL)	12.9	3.2	3.6	0.2	100
2025-26	Baylor	8.2	1.4	2.1	0.3	69.2

Nnaji is, of course, not on this year's Hornets' summer league roster. If you want to find out who is and what their chances of making the NBA roster are, you can listen to the corresponding episode of the official Hornets on SI podcast HERE.

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