It didn't come as much of a surprise when North Carolina center Henri Veesaar declared for the NBA Draft, but it didn't make his departure hurt any less. However, with a recent update on his draft profile, Tar Heel fans might be able to understand the decision with a little less contempt.
According to Andrew Jones, the North Carolina Tar Heels insider for 247Sports, Veesaar was told by an NBA franchise that they would absolutely consider taking him in the first round if he was still available by the time their pick arrived. On top of that, Carolina had been expecting this update, which has led to them recruiting other centers for about a week. Jones made that news public on the Heel Report Podcast.
Henri Veesaar's decision to head to NBA Draft just makes sense
At the end of the day, a college basketball player's dream is to play in the NBA, much less to become a first-round draft pick. Not to mention, if Veesaar does go in the first round, he could expect a rookie contract worth upwards of $10 million if he's one of the lottery picks, or upwards of $3 million if he goes later in the round.
It was simply the logical and obvious choice for the Tar Heels' center to declare, leaving the Tar Heels and taking advantage of the massive wave of momentum he has heading into the NBA Combine and the Draft.
During his one season at UNC, transferring to play for the Tar Heels after spending two years at Arizona, he averaged a whopping 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game. Also, beyond his impressive stats on paper, he stands at a towering 7-foot-0 and 225 pounds, and can control the ball extremely well for someone of his stature.
With Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar now off to the NBA, new UNC Coach Michael Malone has a major task in rebuilding the Tar Heels' front court. And as part of our TarHeel247 livestream on Friday, we discussed this task.https://t.co/lbsUsPytdl
— Andrew Jones (@AJTarHeel247) April 26, 2026
Of course, there is going to be a big hole in the lineup with Veesaar in the NBA, alongside star freshman Caleb Wilson, who is expected to be one of the top lottery picks in the Draft. However, fans have to understand that it was the right move for the center's basketball career.
Also read: UNC’s projected lineup without Henri Veesaar shouldn’t have people panicking
The first round of the 2026 NBA Draft is set to take place on June 23 at 8 p.m. ET, and it will be televised on ABC and ESPN.
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