The $2 million deal that rocked basketball: NBA Draft Combine abuzz over Great Osobor's NIL payday

Numerous stay-or-go decisions could be impacted by the largest NIL deal on record, while players staying in the 2024 NBA Draft may be a teensy bit jealous

By Isaac Trotter May 15, 2024 at 9:18 am ET• 10 min read

CHICAGO -- The biggest job interview of your life is stressful, and Dalton Knecht needed just a little splash of home to break the tension. Some prescient Big Sky news offered the levity Knecht didn't know he needed. Somehow, some way, one of the smallest conferences in the country has finagled its way into the NBA Draft Combine.

Knecht is a former Big Sky star who is hurtling toward being a first-round pick. His rise from paying his way at Northeast Junior College to SEC Player of the Year was already quite a story. But Great Osobor, a former Big Sky bench mob member, has created quite a ruckus throughout college basketball after inking a $2 million, NIL-laced payday this week to transfer to Washington.

The NBA Draft has felt the ripple. Numerous stay-or-go decisions could be impacted by the largest NIL deal on record.

"That's what he got?" Knecht asked with a wide grin. "My guy! Big Sky, represent. That's so good for him. I'm excited for him and Coach (Danny) Sprinkle in Washington. He's a great coach. Wow, that's big-time."