"NIL pays better than 2nd round pick": College hoops fans react after Oregon hooper Nate Bittle withdraws from 2025 NBA draft

Fans reacted as Oregon Ducks center Nate Bittle is no longer pushing for a roster spot in the NBA this year. On Wednesday, Recruitsnews announced that Bittle withdrew from the 2025 NBA Draft after he had participated in the draft combine and pledged his declaration for the draft on March 30.

It means Nate Bittle will opt into his college basketball elgibility and a fifth year with coach Dana Altman's program. His return to collegiate hoops will mark the final year in his tenure, having spent the last four seasons at Oregon as a steady big man.

In the 2024-25 season, Oregon reached the second round of March Madness but were eliminated, 87-83, by the Arizona Wildcats.

College basketball fans reacted by speculating about why Bittle withdrew from the 2025 NBA Draft.

"Another example of NIL pays better than second round pick, I'd like to think that at some point in the future, the entire the second round pick of the draft would be filled entirely by superseniors," one said.

Fan reactions (image credits: @recruitsnews on Instagram)

"Yes!!!! Such a good choice. One more year will be really good for him to be ready for the NBA," another commented.

Fan comment (image credits: @recruitsnews on Instagram)

"You mean returning for his eighth season? He's far from a senior, he's an alumni," a user claimed.

Others are just happy with the return of Bittle to Oregon.

"Yes! Go Ducks," one fan said with a duck emoji.

"Oh shit that's huge! He's got Naismith written all over him," another wrote.

"NATTY SZNNNNNNNNNN," a fan wrote.

In his four years of collegiate hoops with the Ducks, Bittle has averaged 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.4 steals per contest. The Central Point, Oregon, native helped the Ducks finish with an overall 25-10 record, including 12-8 during 2025 Big Ten conference play.

What was Nate Bittle's projection before he withdrew from 2025 NBA Draft?

Per Bleacher Report, Nate Bittle was projected to be selected with the final pick of the 2025 NBA Draft at 59th overall in the second round (29th).

It means he would've been picked by the Houston Rockets, a pick they had acquired through the Oklahoma City Thunder achieving the best regular season record in the 2024-25 campaign (68-14).

There are only 59 picks in the NBA Draft this year, as opposed to the traditional 60, due to a tampering issue by the New York Knicks, which meant the league voided their second round selection. Had Nate Bittle stayed on in the drafy, he would have joined a Rockets team, coached by Ime Udoka, that finished with an overall 52-30 record, good for second seed in the West.

About the author

Koby del Rosario is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda who took up BS in Advertising Management at De La Salle University, one of the big "four" universities in the Philippines. Koby has over four years of experience with Complex PH, M2.0 Communications, The LaSallian, Daily Tribune, and Time Attack Manila.

Koby's favorite college team would have to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. Apart from being MJ's alma mater, Koby has always been fond of the Jordan silhouettes that release in the school's colors (being a sneakerhead himself).

His past favorite college players would have to be Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and Markelle Fultz (Washington). With Russ, his 1-2 punch with Kevin Love during their UCLA days was something Koby marveled at as Russ became his favorite player to watch post-Kobe.

Besides playing basketball, Koby enjoys nightlife, collecting sneakers, and playing video games. Apart from hosting parties and taking pictures for parties/bars/clubs, Koby is learning to DJ as a hobby with all sorts of house and hip-hop as the main genres.

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Edited by Bhargav