Arizona State’s Jayden Quaintance, a projected top-10 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, is considering entering the transfer portal, according to multiple reports Wednesday.
ESPN was first to report the news.
Quaintance, who hadn’t played since a 66-54 win against Kansas State on Feb. 23, also reportedly had successful surgery to repair a torn ACL and is expected to be cleared for full contact by September.
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The 6-foot-9 forward was the youngest player in college basketball this past season at 17. Because of his age, he is not eligible for this year’s NBA Draft.
Quaintance averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game as a freshman at Arizona State. He was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman and All-Defensive teams.
Why is Quaintance important?
Quaintance reclassified into the 2024 recruiting class to attend college a year early. He originally committed to Kentucky but decided to attend Arizona State after John Calipari left the Wildcats to go to Arkansas. He got to college so early, in fact, that he is not actually eligible for the 2025 NBA Draft by virtue of not turning 19 during the calendar year of 2025. Still only 17 years old until July, he will first be eligible to declare for the NBA Draft in 2026.
He’s a massive, 6-foot-9 forward with something in the ballpark of a 7-foot-4 wingspan. He only averaged about nine points and eight rebounds this year, but where he truly excels is on the defensive end. He made the Big 12’s All-Defense team as a freshman (in addition to the league’s All-Freshman team), averaging 1.1 steals and 2.6 blocks per game. Again, he was only 17 years old while doing this, which is important when discussing his future.
He’s an absolute menace around the court, rotating and making his presence felt everywhere. He has as much long-term defensive upside as any player who featured in college basketball this season. There are offensive areas in which he has to grow, and NBA scouts have concerns about him essentially being a power forward with a center’s game. It would behoove him to become a genuine shooter from the perimeter. Having said that, since he only shot 18 percent from 3 and 48 percent from the line, it’s unclear at this stage how much room there is for growth there.
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Evaluating Quaintance’s stock as an NBA prospect
Quaintance immediately becomes the best NBA Draft prospect to enter the transfer portal in recent memory, largely due to his circumstances. He’s projected by most within NBA circles as a top-10 pick in what is shaping up to be a loaded 2026 NBA Draft class, led by Darryn Peterson, A.J. Dybantsa and Cam Boozer.
I reached out to three NBA scouts just to get a quick gauge on where Quaintance would be selected if he were eligible for the 2025 NBA Draft. The consensus was that he’d be selected somewhere in the No. 3 to No. 10 range due to his high-level defensive upside. Next year’s class is seen as being a bit deeper overall through the top-10, which is why there is a slightly more conservative evaluation on him. Additionally, it remains to be seen how this knee injury will impact his game moving forward. However, there’s plenty of excitement for Quaintance in NBA circles.
Where will Quaintance fall among players in the portal if he officially enters?
Quaintance will immediately become one of the 15 most valuable transfers available within the portal. It’s worth remembering, again, that he will play all of next season at 18 years old, which means that some of the older players in the class will likely have more value to college teams looking to set up their roster to make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. But Quaintance will be a serious difference-maker for any team that he commits to as long as that team has a plan for how to best utilize his offensive game.
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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