Holmgren Could Be Gonzaga’s 1st No. 1 Pick, Earn $9M-Plus

Coming out of high school, Chet Holmgren was college basketball’s most sought-after player — and remains one the top NBA prospects after his stellar season at Gonzaga.

On Thursday, Holmgren officially declared for the NBA Draft, where he’s projected by many to go in the top three. He’d be the second Gonzaga player ever to go that high (Adam Morrison, 3rd).

At +140, Holmgren trails only Auburn’s Jabari Smith (+100) for the best odds to go first overall, which would make Gonzaga history. Regardless, he’ll be in line for a nice payday to add to his off-court income.

• The NBA’s rookie scale carries a $9.1M first-year salary for the No. 1 pick, $8.1M for No. 2, and $7.3M for No. 3.
• First-rounders can sign for as much as 120% of the scale, or as little as 80%.
• Holmgren has NIL deals with Bose, Yahoo, and Topps — the latter being the company’s largest NIL partnership yet.

The 7-foot, 195-lb center’s NBA fate is now subject to the bounce of the ping-pong balls, but there will be no shortage of suitors.

As the worst three teams in the league, the Rockets, Magic, and Pistons all have a 14% chance of landing the No. 1 pick — and a 52.1% for a top-four slot.

The Draft Lottery is scheduled for May 17.