UCLA forward Adem Bona announces decision to return to Bruins for 2023-24

UCLA forward Adem Bona announced his decision to return to UCLA for the 2023-24 season, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

Bona burst onto the scene as a true freshman this past season, winning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and earning a spot on the Pac-12 All-Defense and All-Freshman teams. He led UCLA with 1.7 blocks per game to help the Bruins become the top defense in the conference.

On the offensive side of things, Bona (over 33 games), finished with 7.7 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game, 0.7 assists per game and shot 67.5% from the floor.

Bona’s biggest game came at a good time when he scored 11 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked three shots in the Pac-12 quarterfinal against Colorado for his first career double-double. However, he missed most of the NCAA Tournament due to a shoulder injury.

As a member of the Class of 2022, Bona was a five-star recruit out of Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 2 overall prospect in the state, the No. 3 center in the class and the No. 20 overall prospect in the class.

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.