As former college stars continue pushing boundaries to try to return to the NCAA, Amari Bailey is taking his case one step further. The 21-year-old wants to go back to school and play college basketball despite having already seen the NBA court, ESPN reported Friday. He told the outlet he’s hired an agent and a lawyer to gain college eligibility.

“Right now I’d be a senior in college,” Bailey said. “I’m not trying to be 27 years old playing college athletics. No shade to the guys that do; that’s their journey. But I went to go play professionally and learned a lot, went through a lot. So, like, why not me?”

However, it’s highly unlikely this will be allowed to happen. Tim Buckley, the Senior Vice President of External Affairs for the NCAA, commented on X following the report, saying the NCAA “has not and will not grant eligibility to any players who have signed an NBA contract.”

Bailey played at UCLA during the 2022-23 season before being selected with the No. 41 overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2023 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-3 guard signed a two-way contract with Charlotte, which allowed him to move back and forth between the NBA and the Greensboro Swarm of the G League.

A two-way deal offers players a limited number of days in the NBA before a team must decide whether to convert them to a standard contract or waive them altogether. Bailey appeared in 10 games with the Hornets that season, logging 65 total minutes and averaging 2.3 points. Despite this, he was never converted to a standard NBA contract and remained on a two-way deal. Nonetheless, he did play NBA basketball.

In contrast, James Nnaji, the No. 31 overall pick in the 2023 draft by the Detroit Pistons and later moved to Charlotte, was able to join Baylor’s basketball program earlier this season and is currently playing college games.

Nnaji was an overseas prospect who remained with Spanish club FC Barcelona before and after being selected. He later joined Girona, also in Spain, and Merkezefendi in Turkey. His rights were traded to the New York Knicks in 2024 as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. Nnaji played for New York in the 2025 summer league, as he did with the Hornets in 2023, but he has never technically played an NBA or G League game.

Since joining Baylor, Nnaji is averaging 1.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game across seven appearances.

Another notable example is Charles Bediako, who played for Alabama during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. Bediako is back with the team for the 2025-26 campaign after previously leaving early to pursue the NBA.

He joined the San Antonio Spurs for the 2023 summer league and signed a two-way contract with the team but was waived that December following a meniscus tear. From 2023 through the 2025-26 season, Bediako played in 46 G League games before being allowed to return to Alabama, where he has played two games so far.

Bailey, a former UCLA and Sierra Canyon star, played alongside other notable high school athletes such as Bronny James (son of LeBron James), Zaire Wade (son of Dwyane Wade), and current Nets forward Ziaire Williams.

At UCLA, Bailey averaged 11.2 points per game in his lone season with the team (2022-23). He later played in the G League for 34 games across the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.

As Bailey pursues his goal to return to college basketball, his situation highlights the evolving landscape of NCAA eligibility and the complex intersection between professional play and amateur status.
https://nypost.com/2026/01/30/sports/former-charlotte-hornet-amari-bailey-wants-ncaa-eligibility-despite-playing-10-nba-games/