NIL money appears to be flowing to Provo.
2026 NBA Draft No. 1 prospect AJ Divanza will be joining college basketball powerhouses thanks to a name, image, and likeness (NIL) offer in the range of $5 million to $7 million in a program change moment on Tuesday. He reportedly chose BYU over Kansas State and North Carolina. I will report it.
According to CBS, the “huge” NIL package is believed to be a record.
It’s not every day that BYU wins a rookie battle in the race for ESPN’s No. 1 recruit against two of the sport’s blue blood schools and an emerging powerhouse like Alabama, but the NIL changed everything.
As long as schools have the funds, they can compete for top names. That’s exactly what BYU acquired DiVanza for his only season before turning pro.
Divantha, a 6-foot-9 wing who plays for Utah Prep, calls his game a combination of former Rockets and Magic star Tracy McGrady and current Thunder superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. I explained that it was a thing.
The Massachusetts native won the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year award last year before transferring to Utah Prep and averaged 22.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists at this year’s Peach Jam.
While signing with the NIL certainly played a big role in his decision, the phenom also touted BYU’s first-year coach Kevin Young and his NBA history as attractive factors. .
Young was an assistant coach with the 76ers from 2016 to 2020, joining the Suns in 2020 and coaching Divanza’s favorite players, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
“I visited with everyone from the NBA staff, from the head coaches to the analysts, from the analysts to the nutritionists, including the strength coaches,” DiVanza told ESPN on Tuesday. “First Take,” he said. decision.
“So if everything is NBA, I’m going to get the NBA. I think that would be the best development for me.”
