Oregon Basketball’s N’Faly Dante goes undrafted, signs with Houston Rockets

The NBA dream is still alive for Oregon Basketball’s N’Faly Dante.

Dante was not selected in the 2024 NBA draft this week. However, he landed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets within hours of the draft.

The Ducks center was a two-time first-team All-Pac-12 selection, earning Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors as a senior. In his final season in Eugene, Dante averaged 17 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

But after Oregon lost in the NCAA Tournament, Dante hoped to return to Eugene. Those expectations were dashed when the NCAA denied his request for an extra year of eligibility because of an ACL injury during the 2020-21 season. An appeal was also denied.

“I think it’s time for me to go be great,” Dante told Olivia Cleary of Oregon SI at the time.

Now, Dante will see what he can in the NBA Summer League. NBA teams primarily use younger players on their rosters and players affiliated with the G League for games. The NBA Summer League takes place July 12-22 in Las Vegas.

Once the season is over, Dante will play for Houston’s G League team, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The Vipers finished sixth in the Western Conference last season, led by former Texas Tech Red Raider Jarrett Culver who averaged 20.9 points per game. As for rebounding, the Vipers had two players averaging more than seven rebounds per game: Jermaine Samuels Jr. (Villanova) and Nate Hinton (Houston).

Elsewhere in the NBA draft, Dante’s Rockets selected Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard at No. 3 overall. It was the only pick for the Rockets, who traded the 44th pick to the Atlanta Hawks for AJ Griffin.