College Players Face May 27 NBA Draft Withdrawal Deadline With 10 Major Decisions Still Pending
Updated
Updated · SB Nation · May 26
College Players Face May 27 NBA Draft Withdrawal Deadline With 10 Major Decisions Still Pending
7 articles · Updated · SB Nation · May 26
Midnight on May 27 marks the final point for college players to withdraw from the 2026 NBA Draft, with 10 unresolved decisions still poised to reshape the 2026-27 men’s season.
Matt Able already chose Tuesday to delay his NBA plans and return to college, joining recent withdrawals by Flory Bidunga, John Blackwell and Malachi Moreno over Memorial Day weekend.
Koa Peat, Christian Anderson, Tounde Yessoufou and Allen Graves are projected to stay in the draft, while Milan Momcilovic, Tyler Tanner, Andrej Stojakovic and Jeremy Fears Jr. are forecast to return.
Transfer-portal stakes are especially high for Yessoufou, Momcilovic and Graves, whose withdrawals could trigger major NIL bidding wars involving programs such as Kentucky, Duke, LSU, UCLA and Arizona.
Several calls could swing national contenders: Peat would boost Arizona’s Final Four hopes, Tanner could determine whether Vanderbilt opens in the top 15, and Arkansas still awaits decisions from Meleek Thomas and Billy Richmond.
With college NIL deals now worth millions, is the NBA Draft losing its financial appeal for top prospects?
Can mid-major programs survive in an era where powerhouse schools build multi-million dollar rosters through NIL?