USC men’s basketball sees three players join the NBA ranks

Three more USC Trojans are on their way to the NBA.

Freshman guard Isaiah Collier was selected in the first round by the Utah Jazz, freshman guard Bronny James was picked by the Los Angeles Lakers, and following the conclusion of the NBA Draft, fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with the Sacramento Kings.

Collier was the first Trojan taken in the draft, as the Jazz decided to select the former No. 1 recruit with the 29th pick. This comes after Collier at one point saw himself projected as a lottery pick. Since those projections in mid-May, the highly touted freshman has seen his draft projections plummet all the way until Wednesday when the draft began.

Collier joins the Jazz after averaging 16.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game in his lone season at USC. He started 26 of the 27 games he appeared in, and also sat out injured for a month with a fractured hand in January. At times, Collier struggled with turnovers, free throws and consistent shooting. Despite this, the Jazz are getting one of the best guards in this year’s draft class, especially as the Deseret News reported that NBA executives noted “his work ethos and his desire to prove others wrong.”

Bronny James was the next Trojan off the board, as the Lakers selected him with the No. 55 overall pick on Thursday. James’ selection by the Lakers comes as a surprise to almost nobody, as his father, LeBron, has for years publicly expressed his desire to be teammates with his son. The conversations around this intensified during the younger James’ time at USC this past year, when LeBron clarified that he still had that desire.

After suffering cardiac arrest during a July 2023 practice, James made his debut in cardinal and gold on Dec. 10 in an 84-79 overtime loss to Long Beach State. James appeared in 25 games, starting six of them, where he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

Despite being known for his aggressive defense as a Trojan, James struggled offensively for most of the season. He will now look to overcome the appearance of nepotism that his selection has caused, as he and his father look to make history as the first father-son duo to play for the same team in the NBA.

The final member of USC to join an NBA team was Boogie Ellis, who agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with the Sacramento Kings once the NBA Draft concluded on Thursday. Under the terms of the deal, Ellis will sign a one-year, minimum salary (~$1.16 million) non-guaranteed deal with no bonuses. The Kings can also convert it to a two-way deal before the season begins. Ellis can also be waived without taking cap space, and would get a $5,000 to $50,000 bonus should he remain with Sacramento’s G-League affiliate for 60 days.

After starting his collegiate career with Memphis, Ellis transferred to USC for his final three years of college and started in all 91 of the games he appeared in as a Trojan. During his final year, he averaged 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Ellis ultimately saw a bit of regression in his game during his fifth year of college compared to his fourth season, and he will now look to find his way onto the Kings’ full time roster after going undrafted.

Collier, James and Ellis will all enter the next stage of their basketball careers at the next level when the 2024 NBA Summer League tips off in early July.