Nearly two years to the day he announced a historic commitment to an HBCU basketball program, Makur Maker is set to play professional basketball games in the NBA.
The former five-star Howard recruit was one of 13 players named to the Chicago Bulls 2022 NBA Summer League roster.
Maker, who committed to Howard in July 2020, was Maker is the highest-rated recruit to sign with an HBCU during the “modern era” of college basketball which began in 1986-87.
Prior to committing to Howard, Maker, the cousin of NBA forward Thon Maker, was No. 75 in ESPN’s NBA draft rankings.
Also read: ‘Inspire others to take HBCUs seriously’: Makur Maker explains in ESPN interview why he chose Howard
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However, he only played two games for the Bison in the 2021 season before a groin injury sidelined him.
In those two games, Maker averaged 11.5 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists per game.
Following the end of the regular season, Maker declared for the NBA draft. After not being selected in the June draft, Maker signed with the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League on a Next Stars contract.
The Kings won the 2021-22 NBL championship and Maker was a contributor off the bench, averaging 7.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in 16 games.
He has previously worked out for the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards.
“It definitely is a different route that I took — going to an HBCU and then going back to Australia,” Maker told Deseret News. “I think it’s going to help me in the long run because you never know in professional sports … you’ve got to learn how to adapt to situations.”
