Amari Bailey, with 10 games in NBA, seeks college eligibility

East UCLA stand out amari bailey He said he is attempting to become the first basketball player to return to college after playing an NBA game.

Bailey, 21, has hired an agent and a lawyer to prepare to fight for NCAA eligibility with the hopes of joining a college team and playing one more season.

He said he started exploring the possibility of returning to college in 2025, but since the day he got drafted in 2023, he’s been wondering if there was a way to return to the NCAA. He said that as an 18-year-old freshman he made some mistakes and left UCLA with “a lot left on the table to prove.”

“I’ll be a senior in college right now,” Bailey told ESPN. “I’m not going to be 27 years old and try to play college athletics. There’s no problem with people doing that; it’s their journey. But I went on to play professionally and learned a lot, went through a lot. So, like, why not me?”

The 6-foot-3 guard played one season at UCLA in 2022-23 before entering the 2023 NBA Draft, where he was selected. charlotte hornets In the second round. He played 10 games for the Hornets on a two-way contract during his rookie season and spent two years in the G League before being cut over the summer.

Their effort will be another important legal test of the NCAA’s ability to enforce the rules that decide who can play college sports during an era when waivers and lawsuits have consistently overturned restrictions on professional players joining NCAA rosters.

NCAA president Charlie Baker said in December that the association would not grant eligibility to any player who signs an NBA contract. However, alabama Ahead Charles Bediako — who also played in the G League on a two-way NBA contract — challenged the NCAA’s rules in state court and won an injunction that has allowed him to play for the Crimson Tide in recent games.

NCAA Senior Vice President of External Affairs Tim Buckley said when asked about Bailey’s plans to return, “The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any player who signs an NBA contract.” “Congress could strengthen NCAA rules so that professional athletes can’t sue college students for competing against them.”

Bediako argued in court documents that the NCAA has been “selective and inconsistent” in enforcing its eligibility rules. His lawyers cited a recent NCAA decision to allow James NanajiA 2023 NBA draft pick who played professionally in Europe rather than signing with an NBA team to be eligible for it boiler.

Bailey was selected 10 picks after Nnaji in the same draft and signed the same contract as Bediako. Bailey told ESPN that playing a few minutes in NBA games at the end of his rookie season is not a good reason to treat him differently from other players.

Bailey’s attorney Elliott Abrams said, “You have a college-aged kid who wants to go to college, and you have a system that says, ‘Too bad, you’ve moved to a different league so you’re out forever.’ “I don’t see any real justification for it.”

Abrams helped former North Carolina football player fast walker Restore his NCAA eligibility in a significant decision for 2023 and said he has since worked with several other college athletes to help navigate the waiver process. NCAA rules allow athletes to play four full seasons during a five-year period that begins when they first enroll in college. Bailey will have one year remaining in that five-year window for the 2026–27 season.

The NCAA, which is fighting to overturn the Bediako court decision, prohibits anyone who signs a professional contract from playing college sports unless the money they are making from their pro team only covers “actual and necessary expenses”, such as food, rent, health care and training costs associated with playing their sport.

“This isn’t a stunt. I’m really serious about coming back. I just want to improve my game, change the perception of me and show that I can win.”

amari bailey

NCAA members adopted the “actual and necessary expenses” exception in 2010 as schools began recruiting players from overseas. The new rule requires the NCAA to handle players on a case-by-case basis, and schools have steadily increased the waiver threshold, from teenage European league players to older, higher-paid players in those leagues and then on to the G League. This issue has become more pronounced over the years as schools have begun paying players directly and the money athletes can make in the NCAA has begun to exceed what they can make in professional leagues.

The association initially changed the rules to accommodate a European system, which places youth players in the same club with highly paid professionals who earn only enough to cover their living expenses.

Baker said in a statement earlier this month that these lawsuits ultimately take away opportunities from high school players, and veteran coaches have vehemently protested the lack of a clear standard out of fear that it would create an uncontrolled two-way street between the NBA and college.

Shortly after Bediako was offered a chance to play for Alabama, Baker said, “A judge has ordered the NCAA to allow a former NBA player to take the court on Saturday against actual college student-athletes, which is why Congress must step in to enforce our eligibility rules and empower college sports.”

Bailey said he believes most college basketball prospects want to compete for a spot with the best players in their age group, regardless of where they have played in the past. He also said that he believes the five-year limit is reasonable but that perhaps it would be more realistic to restrict players to signing full NBA contracts or being first-round draft selections.

Bailey’s only professional contract was worth $565,000, he said. He argues that many starting players for top-tier college teams are making the same amount of money, if not more.

He said he is training twice per day at home in Southern California and plans to start talking to schools in the near future about joining their roster for next season. He said he doesn’t have a specific team in mind but is looking for a place where he can prove he can be a leader, play attacking point guard and lead a team to the Final Four.

“This is not a stunt,” Bailey said. “I’m really serious about coming back. I just want to improve my game, change the perception of me and show that I can win.”

His new team would have to petition the NCAA for an exemption to allow him to play. If the NCAA denies the waiver request, Bailey and his attorneys can file a lawsuit in state or federal court to challenge the decision.

Bailey, who appeared on a reality television show about basketball moms as a teen before moving to Los Angeles to play on the same high school team. bronnie james And other future NBA players said they’re not worried about the criticism they’ll receive if they push to go back to school.

“I feel like I’ve dealt with a lot and this won’t be any different,” he said.