It has been a tumultuous offseason for the Big East Player of the Year, RJ Luis Jr. First, there was the highly publicized feud with head coach Rick Pitino at the NCAA Tournament. Pitino benched his star for not giving the needed effort. Luis wasn’t playing well, but according to Pitino, he wasn’t playing the right way either. The benching of the Red Storm star led to them losing the game and making an early exit in the NCAA Tournament.
The benching and the feud with coach Pitino led to the wing entering the transfer portal, but declaring for the NBA Draft. Luis never had any intention of finding a new team to play for and was determined to play in the NBA. After receiving mixed feedback about where he would get drafted, all of which were mid to late second-round projections. The wing decided to risk it and stay in the draft and forego the rest of his college eligibility.
St. John's star RJ Luis Jr. has agreed to a two-way NBA contract with the Utah Jazz, sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 27, 2025
As the 59th and final pick of the NBA Draft, the Big East Player of the Year went undrafted. It was heartbreaking for a kid who gave his all to St. John’s and had a huge breakout year. Luis did what he wanted to do, but early reports suggest that had he stayed in college, he could have earned upwards of $2 million in NIL money next year. $2 million may have been the floor, given that revenue sharing has now become a standard feature of major college sports.
Luis isn’t the first player to win a major conference player of the year and not get drafted, and he won’t be the last. Last year was a huge breakout year for the wing, and he won the player of the year unconventionally. He isn’t a shooter and scored almost all of his points in the paint. He did get to the line a bit, but not nearly as much as you would expect for a player who got the paint as often as the former Johnnie did. Even with the unconventional play style, he still averaged over 18 points and seven rebounds per game in one of the best conferences in the game.
Luis can play in the NBA for the right team, but he needs another year in college playing at the highest level to show that this last season wasn’t a fluke. So, what is next for the star guard in his NBA journey?
At the time of this writing, he has not yet received a deal with any NBA team. That will come in time. The wing will likely receive a deal with an NBA team for a summer league deal. There have been numerous undrafted players who have worked their way into an NBA deal through the summer league and free agent deals with an NBA team.
*Luis has signed a deal with the Utah Jazz
Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, Austin Reaves, and Julian Champagnie. All of those players were undrafted and have worked their way onto NBA rosters. Caruso, Dort, and Reaves are all NBA Champions. Luis needs to focus on the summer league and prove his worth, which could lead to a two-way NBA deal.