BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Gonzaga signee Jack Kayil opted to stay in this year’s NBA Draft instead of lacing them up for Mark Few and the Zags after he tested the draft waters and received “first-round feedback.” The German guard didn’t hear his name called on Day 1 of the draft and fell to the second round.
Kayil was selected No. 39 overall by the Houston Rockets, a pick that was traded to the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks on Wednesday at the NBA Draft in Brooklyn. However, all the details of the trade have yet to be finalized.
This comes two months after Kayil declared for the 2026 NBA Draft and then announced in mid-May that he would forgo playing for the Zags.
Kayil officially signed with Few and Gonzaga on Nov. 19, 2025, and opted to test the NBA draft waters on April 24. Less than a month later, his agent announced Kayil would stay in the draft and forgo his NCAA eligibility.
After his decision was announced, many mock drafts projected him as a late first-round pick or early second-round selection.
The 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard most recently played for ALBA Berlin of Germany’s BBL, the highest level of professional club basketball in Germany, where he helped guide his squad to a second-place regular-season finish.
The 20-year-old ended the 2025-26 season averaging 12.2 points, 3.6 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 38.4% from the field, 29.9% from 3-point range and 77.7% from the free-throw line.
Kayil was once thought to be a true difference-maker for the 2026-27 Bulldogs and that he could have been a lottery pick if he came and developed under Few and his staff. However, he now joins the Knicks, who went 16-3 in the 2026 NBA Playoffs and beat the Spurs four games to one to claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Most pre-draft analysis of Kayil suggests he will need time to develop, most likely in the G League, before earning NBA minutes.