In December 2025, Baylor basketball was gearing up to head into the most difficult conference slate the program had ever seen. Sitting at an 8-2 record heading into the Christmasbreak,the Bearsknew if they were to keep their winning ways up, some holes needed to be filled.
Rumors had been circling the team concerning themid-seasonaddition of alob-threat and defensive anchor that could fill the hole ofJuslinBodoBodo, who suffered a season ending injury.Mid-season additions that are eligible to playimmediatelyas well asvaluable enough to make a true impact are rare.
Advertisement
Then Baylorsigned2023NBA draft second round pickJames Nnaji.
Nnaji, a 7’1″ center labeled as a defensive monster and rim runner, checked off one of thecrucial boxes needed for a mid-season addition. Nnaji wasimmediatelyeligible to join the Bears ahead of conference play. Unfortunately, he was not categorized asadirectlyvaluableon-court presencefor the Bears.
Nnaji donned a Baylor jersey for the first time on January 3rdagainst TCU. The center’s Big 12 debut was welcomed with boos and jeers aplenty fromthe Fort Worth crowd asNnaji’s untraditional route to the sport quickly made him a villainon the court.
Mar 7, 2026; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears center James Nnaji scores a basket against the Utah Utes during the second half at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Baylor fans welcomed the controversyofsigning an NBA draft pickout of belief that a player who had heldVictor Wembanyama to 2-13from the floorinan NBAsummer leaguewould be a starat the college level.
Advertisement
Nnaji’s struggles in a green and gold
The Nigerian’stime in Waco did not alas reward the blind faith of Baylor fans.
In his first game in a Baylor uniform, Nnaji had 5 points and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes in a69-63 loss. That was his best stat line of the season.
Throughout the first half of conference play, head coach Scott Drew repeatedly tried to give Nnaji opportunities to add production to the Bears, but as the team continued to fall short of expectations, so did Nnaji.
In a January 16thtrip to Kansas, the Allen Fieldhouse crowd repeatedly erupted out of their seats asKansascenter FloryBidungapunched homedunk after dunk over Nnaji in the 80-62 loss for the Bears.
Following the game,Bidungawas asked abouthis matchup and poster show he put on against a former NBA draft pick.
Advertisement
“Wait…which dunk are you asking about,”Bidungasaid. “I hadso manyIhonestly forgotwhich was which.”
By the end of the season, Nnaji had completely vanished from the Bears’ regularrotationand became a permanent figure at the end of the bench.
Why the Nnaji experiment didn’t work for Baylor
The James Nnaji experiment failed at Baylor for a multitude of reasons.
For one, the FC Barcelona alum came to the Bears with a lingering lower back injury that he had not properly recovered from. This injury hindered not just his vertical movement but also hison-courtspeed andseverely affected Nnaji’s conditioning.
Advertisement
Furthermore, Drew and his staff made a risky playwiththe pursuit of a midseason addition. Built on the back of a shortened scouting window, any additionahead of conference playwould havebeen a gamble.
Nnaji isnot a bad basketball player. Anybody who is 7’1″ with a 7’7″ wingspan and weighing in at 250 pounds has the potential todominate abasketball court.Which is what Nnaji did inEurope.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
His biggest flaw in Waco wasa pure unfamiliarity with the nature and pace of the college game combined with Baylor’s desperation to “win-now.”
Baylor needed an immediate impact, while it was clear that Nnaji was a project to take on from the moment he touched the hardwood.
Advertisement
The relationship between Nnaji and Baylor almost seemed doomed from the start. The expectations of the program did not meet what the player needed to thrive at the time.
A bad date does not take someone outof the game but rather encourages them to look for a better fitting partner. Baylor and James Nnaji spent the second half of the season experiencing their own bad firstdate,resulting in both partiesrealizingthey needed tofind something different.
Now committed to George Mason, I believe that Nnaji will pan out to be a competent starting center in college basketball. With time and experience, the Nigerian centerwho has dominated European basketball for the past three years will take over the Atlantic 10 conferencein due time.
TheJames Nnajiexperiment at Baylor failed,yetthat does not mean that James Nnaji is a failure.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/baylor as How a Former NBA Player Made Baylor Basketball Worse .
