James Nnaji may stay at Barcelona despite Charlotte Hornets draft day selection

James Nnaji, a famous Nigerian professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA, could stay back at Barcelona, a city on the coast of northeastern Spain, and may have his NBA dream detained for another season.

Charlotte Hornets, a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, traded two draft picks, No. 34 and 39, to move up to No. 31 in the draft, selecting the Nigerian basketball player.

Gerard Solé, a play-by-play commentator for DAZN in Spain, revealed that 18 year old Nigerian player James Nnaji has a contract with FC Barcelona, a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, until 2027. 

Reportedly, if the Charlotte Hornets and James Nnaji agree to come to the NBA (National Basketball Association), a professional basketball league in North America, then the player and the team will have to pay his release clause. 

Gerard Solé reportedly said, “It’s not guaranteed that James Nnaji will play in the Summer League, but he wants to play and Barcelona will probably allow him to play. What I was told is that he’s not thinking right now to leave Barcelona. He’s evaluating his situation with his agent.”

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Reportedly, the Nigerian basketball player may not join the Hornets roster this year because he could stay in Spain to continue developing in one of the best leagues in Europe.

James Nnaji previously played for FC Barcelona of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He was born on 14 August 2004 in Makurdi, Nigeria. He started playing basketball in Nigeria. In 2018, he moved to Ratgeber Basketball Academy in Hungary, a landlocked country in Central Europe. He started his career with Pecsi VSK, a men’s basketball club based in Pécs, Hungary. He joined FC Barcelona B in 2020. In 2021, he moved up to the A team of FC Barcelona.