Young star will return to Alabama for his last collegiate season and not join the 2024 NBA draft.
Grant Nelson, Alabama’s top frontcourt player from last season’s Final Four, will return.
Grant Nelson, an Alabama forward, will not join the 2024 NBA draft and will return to the university for his last season of NCAA eligibility.
Nelson announced his return on Monday with an Instagram video.
Nelson had until this past Saturday to enter the draft for the second consecutive offseason, but he chose not to do so while he heals from a late-season injury that would have limited his ability to perform in the NBA draft combine (May 12-19). Nelson was the 84th-ranked player on ESPN for the 58-pick selection in June as of Friday.
Nelson took part in the 2023 NBA draft combine but withdrew and went to school to strengthen his draft prospects. He subsequently moved from North Dakota State to Alabama and will play his second season in Tuscaloosa this winter. It will be his fifth and last season of eligibility before the 2025 NBA draft.
Nelson had until May 1 to enter the NCAA transfer portal, but chose not to do so. Since the Tide’s April 6 loss to UConn, six more players of the Final Four squad have joined the portal, including both centers Nick Pringle and Mohamed Wague.
Alabama men’s basketball 2024 transfer portal and NBA draft tracker
Retaining Nelson, who led Alabama in rebounds per game (5.9) and finished third in points per game (11.9), is a significant development for coach Nate Oats’ front court, after bolstering the backcourt with three transfer-portal acquisitions this offseason. Nelson and Jarin Stevenson are likely to return to a frontcourt that will include 6-foot-10 top-30 freshman Aiden Sherrell and might add another player through the transfer portal.
Nelson, who is 6-foot-11, started all 37 games for Alabama this season and led the team in rebounding with 5.9 per game. His three-point shooting, which dropped to 26.9% in his third and final season at North Dakota State, was a worry for NBA evaluators before transferring to Nate Oats’ shooter-friendly system at Alabama last season. Nelson’s percentage increased marginally to 27.3% this season.
After an up-and-down regular season, Nelson struggled early in the NCAA tournament in March before scoring 24 points in an upset win over No. 1 seed North Carolina. Nelson went 2-for-2 on three-pointers and ended with 12 rebounds and five blocks. He scored 15 points in the game’s final seven minutes and blocked three shots in the last two. Nelson had 19 points and 15 rebounds versus UConn in the Final Four.
“You see his talent level,” UConn coach Dan Hurley explained. “He is an NBA player. “Modern, mismatched, positionless guy.”
