It was reported Friday night that Kansas sophomore forward Flory Bidunga would be entering the Transfer Portal and declaring for the 2026 NBA Draft. Bidunga immediately shot to the top of On3’s top available transfers rankings.
This season, Bidunga emerged as one of the most dominant defensive players in all of college basketball. The Congo native averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks in 35 games. He was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, along with being tabbed First Team All-Big 12 and Big 12 All-Defense.
There’s no doubt that Bidunga will be highly sought after by many programs, which led to rumors floating around that his asking price is around $5 million. Kansas sports radio insider Soren Petro, however, refuted this claim on Friday.
“I ran the $5M number by some people close to the situation and they laughed,” Petro wrote. “Said that’s not accurate. However the ask is said to be around $2.5M.”
Flory Bidunga’s stay-or-go decision will be one of most important in college basketball
The decision for Bidunga to either return to college basketball or stay in the NBA Draft will be a massive one. Just before the NCAA Tournament tipped off, ESPN released its latest mock draft. Bidunga did find himself included. However, he was projected to fall deep into the second round. The Sacramento Kings were tabbed to select the Kansas big man with the No. 44 overall pick. Based on that, Bidunga would need to impress during the NBA Draft process in order to sneak into the first 30 picks.
“I’m certainly fired up that Flory received what I thought should be his,” Self said of Budinga winning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. “Because to me, he’s the most versatile and best defender in our league. And there’s some other good ones too… The biggest steps I would say [Flory has made are] staying disciplined and understanding to play to his length rather than play to gamble. I think he’s done a much better job with that.”
If he returns to college basketball, however, Bidunga will surely remain one of the top available transfers in the entire sport. With the news that Bill Self is in fact returning to Kansas next season, you can’t even rule out another potential return to Lawrence for Bidunga. He entered the Portal as well last offseason, but ultimately returned the program. He was tabbed as the No. 18 ranked player in the Class of 2024 by Rivals, and more than played up to that distinction this season.
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