Amari Bailey isn’t trying to rewind time — he’s trying to finish what he started.
According to ESPN, the former UCLA Bruins men's basketball guard is pushing for an unprecedented comeback to college hoops after already logging minutes in the pros, filing legal action to regain NCAA eligibility.
If successful, Amari Bailey would become the first basketball player to suit up in the NBA and then return to the NCAA for another season.
Bailey, 21, says the idea has been lingering since draft night in 2023.
“Right now I’d be a senior in college,” Bailey said in an interview. “I went out early, learned a lot, went through a lot. So why not come back and finish it the right way?”
After one season at UCLA, Bailey declared for the draft and was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the second round. He signed a two-way deal, appeared in 10 NBA games, and spent most of the past two years developing in the G League before being waived this summer.
Now, he’s hired both an agent and attorney, Elliot Abrams, to challenge the NCAA’s long-standing rule that bars athletes who’ve signed NBA contracts from competing at the college level.
Abrams argues the policy doesn’t make sense in the modern NIL era.
“You’ve got a college-aged kid who wants to go to college,” Abrams said. “I don’t see any real justification to shut the door because he played a handful of pro minutes.”
Bailey’s camp points to other recent eligibility fights, including Charles Bediako, who secured a court injunction that allowed him to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball after time in the G League.
Meanwhile, international prospects such as James Nnaji have also found pathways back to school with the Baylor Bears men's basketball.
Bailey believes his situation isn’t much different.
His rookie contract, he said, paid about $565,000 — numbers that aren’t far off what some top college players now earn through NIL deals.
He’s been training twice daily in Southern California while quietly exploring programs that might take a chance on him for the 2026–27 season. Under NCAA rules, he still has one year left in his five-year eligibility window.
“This isn’t a stunt,” Bailey said. “I just want to improve my game, change the perception, and show that I can win.”