The Baylor Bears’ first game in Big 12 play carried a little more intrigue. On Saturday, the Bears paraded controversial center James Nnaji on the court for the first time, drawing extra attention to their meeting with conference rivals TCU Horned Frogs at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Nnaji announced the start of his Baylor career with an emphatic two-handed throwdown in the first half. After senior guard Michael Rataj missed out on passing the ball to a wide-open Nnaji near the rim and bricking a turnaround jumper, Nnaji grabbed the rebound and rose for an uncontested dunk for his first two points in the NCAA.
Here’s the video of Nnaji’s first bucket in Baylor uniform.
NNAJI PUTBACK 😤#SicEm | #CultureofJOY pic.twitter.com/dfK4zMxRNf
— Baylor Men’s Basketball (@BaylorMBB) January 3, 2026
Given the controversial nature of Nnaji’s college basketball eligibility, fans are having quite a time making negative comments about him and the Bears online following his basket.
Cheaters
— Suffering Padres Fan (@pleasewinpads) January 3, 2026
are you proud?
— big lil jo💷 (@joshfromdisney) January 3, 2026
the face of evil
— JU1CE (@Juic3_is_loose) January 3, 2026
Booooo this man
— DallasTX (@DallasTX15023) January 3, 2026
The cheater scores
— Randy White (@razocrat) January 3, 2026
The 21-year-old Nnaji is playing college basketball despite having already competed professionally in Europe and being drafted in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Although he hasn’t suited up for an official NBA regular-season or playoff contest, he appeared in NBA Summer League games.
He was even among the players packaged in the massive three-team trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the New York Knicks in 2024.
As for the Bears, they ended up suffering a 69-63 loss to TCU, with Nnaji finishing with only 5 points on 2-for-3 shooting, 4 rebounds, an assist and 2 turnovers in 16 minutes of action off the bench.
