Auburn forward Jaylin Williams declares for 2023 NBA Draft, will maintain college eligibility

Auburn forward Jaylin Williams has declared for 2023 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility, according to a report from college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.

Williams has spent the past four seasons with the Tigers and has a fifth season of eligibility remaining due to the COVID waiver.

He started 33 games this past season for Auburn and averaged 11.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in 27.8 minutes per game.

Williams was a bench player as a junior for the Tigers after being a starter as a sophomore. During that 2020-21 season, Williams averaged 10.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks on 51.8% shooting.

Before coming to Auburn, Jaylin Williams was a four-star prospect coming out of Nahunta (Ga.) Brantley County. He was the No. 113 overall recruit and No. 20 power forward in the 2019 On3 Industry Ranking. The On3 Industry is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four major recruiting media services. The On3 Industry Ranking is the most advanced, complete and unbiased rating and ranking measurement in the industry. 

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.