C.J. Holmes: College basketball is keeping more stars, and the NBA is feeling it
NEW YORK — Only 71 players filed as early-entry candidates for the 2026 NBA draft. According to the NBA, that’s down from 106 in 2025, 283 in 2022 and 353 in 2021. ESPN noted that this year’s number is the smallest early-entry group in more than two decades.
Now, that number doesn’t suggest players suddenly care less about reaching the NBA. That’s still the dream for many. But it suggests college basketball finally has enough pull to make staying feel like the smarter choice for a certain class of player.
For a long time, the sport pushed those players in one direction. If you were hovering around the back half of the first round, or somewhere in that uncertain space between late first and early second, the pressure was obvious. Go.
Take the shot. Start the clock. Even if your stock was fragile, even if your game still needed polish, college basketball usually couldn’t offer enough financially to make waiting make sense.
That’s changed. Thomas Haugh is one of the best examples. ESPN reported that he returned to Florida despite being viewed in lottery-to-first-round territory, and head coach Todd Golden didn’t pretend money was irrelevant.
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