Last month, Louisville basketball fans were keeping a close eye on their 5-star addition, Flory Bidunga. The Kansas transfer attended the NBA Draft Combine, and in an interview, he made it clear his dream is the NBA if he were given the right promise.
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Not many thought Bidunga would stay in the draft, as he was projected as a late second-rounder, but the 5-star transfer clearly wants to play in the NBA someday. Well, in a recent Way-too-early 2027 NBA mock Draft, the Athletic's Sam Vecenie just proved Bidunga made the right choice by not entering the draft this year, but also gave Bidunga extra motivation for this upcoming season.
Louisville's Flory Bidunga gets extra motivation from NBA mock draft
Bidunga is one of the top defenders in college basketball, and he has extremely high potential that could one day lead to the NBA. However, his offensive bag limits his draft stock a bit, as Vecenie made clear when he left Bidunga out of the 2027 NBA mock draft.
"Bidunga is an elite college defender who plays with an exceptional motor," stated Vecenie. "But he’s undersized for the NBA and doesn’t have enough offensive skill yet to counteract it."
Bidunga earned a honorable mention in the 2027 NBA mock draft. Bidunga has heard a lot of criticism this offseason about his offensive game, and while there is work to be done, the 5-star transfer is getting a whole lot of motivation to make a statement this season with Louisville. At 6-foot-10, 235 pounds, Bidunga is a little undersized for the NBA, but he has a 7-foot-3 wingspan and is an elite lob threat and rim protector.
Leaving him off the early mock draft isn't too surprising, but it is more motivation for Bidunga to have an eye-popping season and to emerge as a first-round pick in the 2027 draft. Bidunga wanted to enter the draft this year if he was going to be a first-round pick, and now Cardinals fans can only imagine Bidunga wants to be that first-round pick in the 2027 NBA Draft.
So, with Vecenie leaving him off in the first mock draft, Louisville fans can hope their star center is extra motivated. The 5-star transfer ranked No. 1 overall in the Transfer Portal and was recruited by Duke and Michigan for a reason. He has NBA talent, and now he has to build his offensive bag and prove all the critics wrong.
Bidunga averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game with Kansas this past season. He earned First-Team All-Big 12 and won the Defensive Player of the Year award after logging 91 blocks on the season.
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