Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis declares for 2023 NBA Draft
Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis has declared for the 2023 NBA Draft according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. He is not expected to return to college. Tubelis just completed his third season with the Wildcats, which was by far his most productive of his career.
From the first day he played for Arizona, Tubelis has been making an impact on the floor. Tubelis averaged double figures as a true freshman at 12.2 points per game, going along with 7.1 rebounds per game. He followed that up with 13.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game during his sophomore campaign. Those two years led to this senior season which was a strong one.
Tubelis was the leading scorer for the Wildcats, averaging 19.8 points per game. That went along with 9.1 rebounds per game for an Arizona team that earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats looked primed for a run in March, but were upset by Princeton in the first round. Tubelis had 22 point on 9-of-20 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in that upset loss to the Tigers.
More on the 2023 NBA Draft
The 2023 NBA Draft is set to take place on Thursday, June 22, 2023, in Brooklyn at Barclays Center. Round 1 of the draft will be announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, while Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum is expected to handle the second round of picks.
To be eligible for the NBA Draft, players must be at least 19 years in age during the calendar year that the draft is held and at least one NBA season from their high school graduation date, or the date that would have been if they are not graduated. It is not required that player spend that one year playing college basketball, though. Players can play in either college, abroad, or the G League Ignite if they choose so.
While this is a significant change from what the rules once were, players are eligible to enter their names into the NBA Draft pool and explore their options by hiring an agent to go through the process, while still keeping their college eligibility. The deadline to make that move is on April 23 beginning at 11:59 p.m. ET. Players have until June 12 at 5 p.m. ET to withdraw their name from the pool and return to college.
The NBA Draft Lottery will be held on May 16, which is also the start of the NBA Conference Finals.