While North Carolina enjoyed some draft success in the 2026 NBA draft with Caleb Wilson going No. 4 overall to the Chicago Bulls, its other prospect, Henri Veesaar, unfortunately, slid all the way to the second round.
According to multiple mock drafts, including CBS Sports and ESPN, Veesaar was a late first-round, early second-round talent, projected to be picked in the 23-31 range. However, the 22-year-old prospect eventually fell to 52nd, where he was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers and then traded to the Atlanta Hawks.
However, insider Matt Norlander revealed that Veesaar reportedly lost out on $5,000,000 in NIL money because of his decision to enter the draft early, instead of staying with UNC for another year. Veesaar instead chose the path of becoming a potential first-rounder instead.
Norlander labelled the move the ‘biggest mistake of the 2026 NBA draft,’ and also claimed that Veesaar would’ve ranked in the top-15 players of the upcoming college basketball season, had he stayed, and had a chance to further improve his draft stock as players like Labaron Philon did last year.
How Did Labaron Philon Increase His Draft Stock?
After committing to Auburn as a part of the 2024 recruiting class, Labaron Philon had a couple of changes of mind during which he signed a letter of intent with Kansas before eventually settling on Alabama as his final choice.
However, Philon did not have the freshman season he would’ve hoped for as he finished the year with 10.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game. He ended up declaring for the 2025 NBA draft but later withdrew after the feedback he received from teams.
During an interview ahead of the 2025 college basketball season, Philon spoke on the decision, saying:
“All of the feedback that I got, it was very important to me, because coming back, I knew it was going to be more of a leadership thing. That’s what most of the feedback I got in being a leader.”
Philon’s decision to return to Alabama ended up paying off as his stats saw a major jump in his sophomore season. The 20-year-old finished the year with 22.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game and was picked by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 22nd pick.
While Veesaar did eventually get drafted in the late second round, he left a lot to be desired by rushing to enter the pros instead of developing for another year with UNC.
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