The deadline for underclassmen to formally declare for the 2021 NBA Draft passed Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. ET with very little drama. After months of build-up, the class by and large had already taken shape, with more than 100 early entries in the mix testing the waters, many of whom have already signed with agents and announced plans to forgo remaining college eligibility.
Baylor guard Jared Butler was the rare exception to this trend. Butler, the Final Four MOP for the title-winning Bears, was expected to declare for the draft and skip out on a chance to return to college. But he waited until Sunday to formalize those plans, thus becoming the final player in our first-round projections to enter the mix just before the final buzzer.
The deadline Sunday for underclassmen marked the final obstacle of the draft process before the combine and lottery set to take place in late-June. That will then make way for the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline July 7 for underclassmen to retain eligibility. The NBA‘s deadline to withdraw and be eligible for a future draft is July 19 at 11:59 p.m.
We’ve been tracking all the latest announcements. A full list will be provided by the NBA this week, but all the big names are included in our tracker below.