Report: Flory Bidunga Withdraws From 2026 NBA Draft

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Flory Bidunga will indeed play for the Louisville men’s basketball program.

The former Kansas forward/center and Cardinals transfer commit is officially withdrawing from the 2026 NBA Draft and will play the upcoming 2026-27 season at UofL, according to On3’s Joe Tipton.

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When Bidunga declared his intent to enter the portal back on Apr. 2, he also simultaneously declared for the draft while leaving open the possibility to return to college. He committed to Louisville on Apr. 12, and had until May 27th to decide if he wanted to remain in the draft process or not. He reportedly signed with Louisville back on May 19, per 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz.

The decision to bypass the draft, at least this year, doesn’t come as a complete surprise. Bidunga has been routinely projected outside of the first round of this year’s draft, especially after he was measured at 6-foot-7.75 without shoes at the NBA Draft Combine – noticeably shorter than his listed 6-foot-10 at Kansas.

That being said, Bidunga still had a good week overall at the combine. His 7-foot-3.25 wingspan and 40.5 maximum vertical stood out, and he put up 18 points and and 15 rebounds in two scrimmages.

Regardless, getting the former Kansas big man to withdraw from the draft process and come back to school is a massive development for Louisville. While his potential at the next level is undetermined, there’s no question that he is one of the best players in college basketball.

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Bidunga was a First-Team All-Big 12 selection this past season with the Jayhawks, averaging 13.3 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds across 35 games, while shooting a Big 12-best 64.0 percent from the field. He also took home Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors after totaling 2.6 blocks per game – which led the conference and was fourth in all of Division I.

Bidunga is the cornerstone of Louisville’s six-man transfer class, ranking as the No. 1 player to enter the portal this cycle by 247Sports. The Cardinals…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/report-flory-bidunga-withdraws-2026-003234231.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-26 00:32:00

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