UCLA guard Jaylen Clark declares for 2023 NBA Draft

UCLA guard Jaylen Clark has declared for the 2023 NBA Draft, he announced on his Instagram on Wednesday. Clark spent the past three seasons with the Bruins, moving into a starting role in 2022-23.

Clark suffered a season-ending Achilles injury right before the start of the postseason. But before that, he averaged career highs across the board this past season with 13 points, six rebounds and 2.6 steals per game.

“I’d like to thank everyone that helped me get this far,” Clark wrote in his announcement. “In particular, I’m especially grateful for my (coaches) Tony, Billy, Craig, Mitchell, Kleck and Tope for helping me get this far. I hope to be a light for the kids coming behind me. Thank you to UCLA and coach (Mick) Cronin for believing in me.”

Jaylen Clark is a projected second-round pick according to ESPN’s latest NBA mock draft. He can still decide to withdraw his name and return to school before the June 12 deadline. But with the draft still months away, there’s still plenty of time to improve his stock.

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.