The 2026 NBA draft had massive implications for the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday night. In every way, shape, or form, it was a game-changing night for the program moving forward, knowing what everyone now knows about eligibility. The rules for how the NBA and college basketball have fundamentally changed forever, and the second round of the draft proved that.
Elsewhere, two former Tigers signed on with the Miami Heat just days after Pat Riley pulled off the Giannis Antetokounmpo blockbuster. Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis were swapped from the Milwaukee Bucks with Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, a pick swap, and a second-round pick on Monday night.
Here were the NBA draft-related nuggets of news about the orange and blue from yesterday:
Narcisse Ngoy is a Clippers stash in Auburn for the 2026-27 season
We now live in a world where college basketball players could also have their NBA rights owned by a franchise at the same time as their collegiate careers. That's the position Narcisse Ngoy, a former professional player in France who played for Chorale Roanne Basket, Rouen Metropole Basket, and Poitiers Basket 86, finds himself in during the 2026-27 season. Ngoy will be an Auburn Tiger and a Los Angeles Clippers draft stash.
"Narcisse Ngoy represents a new wave: The college basketball draft-and-stash," Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney wrote. "Enormous big man who put up monster numbers in French Pro B this season. Auto-eligible for the draft as a 2004-born player. Will almost assuredly play this season at Auburn with the Clippers holding his rights.
"The NCAA's new rules, published in April, state a player can't go through an opt-in professional draft and then be eligible to play in college. Ngoy and a good handful of others are excluded from this since they were automatically entered into the draft."
What are the rules? They're seemigly rewritten everyday in college sports. Today, a player could simultaneously be part of an NBA franchise and a college program. Could someone say Auburn to Inglewood pipeline?
Ngoy hasn't arrived to the Plains yet. That should change soon, based on Sweeney's tone.
Miami Heat sign Keyshawn Hall and Tre Donaldson as UDFAs
Two ex-Tigers, one from the Bruce Pearl era and one from the Steven Pearl era, became members of the Heat organization on Wednesday night after the draft. Keyshawn Hall and Tre Donaldson both signed with Miami as undrafted free agents.
Hall was a one-and-done at AU, having played previously for the UNLV Rebels, George Mason Patriots, and UCF Knights for one-and-done seasons. Donaldson started with the Tigers but later transferred to the Michigan Wolverines, then the Miami Hurricanes.
Both players join an organization that's strapped for cash after taking on Antetokounmpo, and has $18 million on four players to fill out the roster. The Heat are not looking to tow the first apron tax line. Given Erik Spoelstra's abilities to turn under-the-radar prospects into rotational players, Hall and Donaldson both have a chance to stick with Miami. It'll be an uphill climb, but both have hope to play as soon as this season on a top-heavy team seeking depth for cheap if the planets align.
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