Hey, remember Yam Madar?
Madar, the 47th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and former Boston Celtics Summer League star/draft and stash prospect, is finally heading over to the United States after spending five additional years in Europe.
The Israel native has agreed to join the LSU Tigers ahead of the 2026-27 college basketball season on an NIL deal that is believed to be worth roughly $5 million, according to Mozzart Sport and EuroHoops.net.
Madar, now 25 years old, will need direct approval from the NCAA to officially become eligible to play college basketball. Of course, anytime a guy is drafted and then tries to go back to college, or in general in Madar’s case, it’s going to be met with pushback.
Yam Madar's potential move to LSU won't come without pushback
A move to LSU doesn’t come without controversy.
Former lottery pick Frank Kaminsky voiced his displeasure with the reported move in a post to X.
“Once upon a time, if you took a dollar you weren’t supposed to and got caught, you couldn’t ever play college sports again,” he wrote. “NOW you can get drafted, make millions playing in Europe, take two-way contracts in the NBA, play in the G-League, and if all that doesn’t work out -- you can just decide to go play college basketball.”
Once upon a time if you took a dollar you weren’t supposed and got caught you couldn’t ever play college sports again. NOW you can get drafted, make millions playing in Europe, take two-way contracts in the NBA, play in the G League, and if all that doesn’t work out - you can… https://t.co/oG1hfLsKDp
— Frank Kaminsky III (@FSKPart3) May 18, 2026
Though Madar was drafted, he never stepped foot on an NBA court, beyond a brief Summer League stint in 2021.
He appeared in three games for the summer Celtics, where he averaged 4.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 15.7 minutes per outing.
Since then, he’s bounced around the Euroleague with stints at Hapoel Tel Aviv, KK Partizan, Fenerbahce Beko, and Bayern Munich. Madar hasn’t quite had the success he’d hoped for over in Europe. This past season with Hapoel Tel Aviv, he started 15 of 34 games and averaged 7.1 points, 2.7 assists, and 2.1 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game. Madar shot just 40.7% from the field and 28.9% from beyond the arc.
For years, Madar was a player that many Celtics fans thought about as a “hey, what does he have?” kind of player. There was always some hope throughout the community that he’d eventually make his way over to the Auerbach Center and the Celtics would have the chance to see what they had in him.
Well, as far as the EuroLeague stats and now this decision to head to LSU indicate, they didn’t even need to do that to find out. If Madar were equipped with the skills needed to succeed in the NBA, he wouldn’t be headed back to college, now would he?
Add us as a preferred source on Google