Dream on: Five NBA names who should shock the world by returning to college basketball

We are in a Wild West era of college basketball. James Nnaji, the 31st pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, recently enrolled at Baylor and may debut this week. Trentyn Flowers, who has scored in NBA games, is reportedly drawing interest from college programs. Kenny Lofton Jr., who had a 42-point, 14-rebound NBA game in 2023, recently posted on Instagram that he's enrolling at Louisiana Tech.  

So as absurd as it sounds, any player who has not exhausted his college eligibility — Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and others — could play college basketball.

If you want someone to blame for this mess, look no further than former NCAA president Mark Emmert. During his tenure from 2010 to 2023, Emmert refused to embrace the changing landscape of college athletics. Instead of figuring a fair way to share some of the billions of dollars of yearly revenue with college athletes, Emmert fought and lost lawsuit after lawsuit for years until it was too late. By the time he left office, college sports were simply a collection of chaotic professional sports leagues. 

Instead of complaining about the insanity, let's embrace the chaos by opening the floodgates and sending these big-name players back to college.

Rob Dillingham, Minnesota Timberwolves

Dillingham, the eighth overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, is in a quagmire. He's an undersized (6-foot-3), raw scoring guard who will need lots of reps to develop into a lead guard. However, the Timberwolves are contenders and cannot afford to let him play through his mistakes in the unforgiving Western Conference. After playing only 10.5 minutes in just 49 games last season, Dillingham is playing 10.6 minutes per game through 26 games this season.

Dillingham, who will turn 21 on Jan. 4, may not make it to his second contract at this rate. He should go back to college, get more point guard reps and come back to the NBA when he's ready to run an offense. Dillingham is making roughly $6.5M this season — he should be able to get a sizable chunk of that in NIL money, especially if he re-enrolls at Kentucky, where he played one season.

Former NBA player Cam Reddish

Reddish was an elite prospect — Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards once called him the toughest player he ever guarded — who failed to fulfill his potential. Though he averaged 10.5 points during his first four seasons in the NBA, he never developed into the elite wing his potential suggested he should be and failed to carve out a consistent role thereafter.

Reddish should go back to college and get buckets in a lower-stakes environment. He grew up near Philadelphia, so he should enroll at Villanova and help revive the one-time powerhouse that has fallen into obscurity since Jay Wright retired as coach.

Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans

Williamson was probably the most exciting college basketball player this century during his one season at Duke in 2018-19, but his NBA career through seven seasons is a major disappointment. He's good when he plays, but he has only played 30-plus games in a season twice. He also has struggled to stay in great shape and has dealt with off-the-court issues.

Williamson is such an injury risk that the Pelicans wrote language into his max contract making it partially guaranteed or voidable if he doesn't play enough games or satisfy certain weight/body fat markers. 

If his contract gets voided, why not head back to Duke and recreate the magic he once had in college? His NIL package would presumably be record-setting. Absurd? Of course, but we are living in wild times. 

Former NBA player Malik Beasley

Beasley was in line for a three-year, $42M contract this past summer until it was reported that he was being investigated for gambling on NBA games. However, unlike other players accused of similar behavior (Jontay Porter, Terry Rozier), Beasley has not been charged with any crime and no longer is a target of the FBI probe according to his attorneys. But NBA teams won't touch him. 

So, why not go back to college? Beasley turned pro after one season at Florida State and grew up in Georgia — he'd have plenty of college options in the Southeast. He also excelled in cold-weather cities during his NBA career (Minnesota and Detroit), so the Big Ten could be a possibility. 

Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

Lillard's already posed the question on X: "So because I have a year of eligibility left… does that mean I can go back and play my last season at Weber State before I retire from basketball?" 

Yes, Dame, yes! 

Lillard, who hasn't played this season while rehabbing an Achilles injury, is already the general manager of his alma mater, Weber State. He should go back for one last hurrah once he has recovered from the injury to be their point guard, too. Lillard's legacy as an NBA star is cemented. He has nothing left to prove and certainly won't be competing for a championship with the rebuilding Blazers.

Lillard should go back to Weber State for the poetic bookend to an awesome career and help settle the recent debate: Can a former NBA All-Star go back to college and win the NCAA Tournament?