UCLA guard Jaylen Clark remains in 2023 NBA Draft

UCLA guard and national defensive player of the year Jaylen Clark has decided to remain in the 2023 NBA Draft. He made his decision Wednesday.

Clark entered the NBA Draft following a breakout junior season that ended in disappointing fashion when he injured his Achilles in the regular season finale. He missed the Pac-12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament due to the injury and the timetable to return was expected to be 8-10 months at minimum.

The 6-foot-5 guard had always been a defensive stalwart for Mick Cronin and the Bruins but his offense took a major leap forward in his junior year. He averaged 13.0 points per game — more than double what he averaged as a sophomore — on 48.1% shooting along with 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

In addition to winning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Clark earned the national defensive player of the year award as well.

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 was on held on May 16, which was also the start of the NBA Conference Finals. The San Antonio Spurs won the lottery.