Jaxson Robinson somehow remains a free agent after going undrafted
Jaxson Robinson was hoping to join Koby Brea and Amari Williams as Kentucky’s third pick of the 2025 NBA Draft. After Brea went 41st to the Suns and Williams 46th to the Celtics, there was hope that Robinson might sneak his way into the back-end of the draft. But the remaining picks came and went, Robinson’s name not called inside the Barclays Center as one of the 59 picks.
Nearly a full day after the draft wrapped up, Robinson remains an undrafted free agent. While a handful of his fellow undrafted teammates from Kentucky found new homes in the immediate aftermath of the draft — Lamont Butler signing with the Hawks, Andrew Carr with the Trail Blazers — Robinson has yet to land a deal.
But why not? And how soon could that change?
Had it not been for Robinson’s late-season wrist injury, which ultimately required surgery in early March and knocked him out of the remainder of the 2024-25 season, he likely would have heard his name called on Thursday night. The terribly-timed injury forced him to miss nearly all of the pre-draft process, including the NBA Draft Combine. It wasn’t until about two weeks before the actual draft that he was cleared for contact by doctors. Now with a small window of time to flex his skills in front of NBA personnel, he scheduled six workouts in one week with the Warriors, Kings, Suns, Lakers, Cavaliers, and Celtics.
“I started late,” Robinson said during a pre-draft workout with the Warriors on June 18. “I’m kind of playing catch-up as far as just workouts. A lot of guys have already had a lot of workouts. Just trying to make the most of this opportunity and hopefully see some success.”
Prior to the draft, ESPN’s Jay Bilas pointed to Robinson’s shooting abilities as his reasoning for believing he would end up getting picked. In his top 100 Big Board update from Saturday, ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony slotted Robinson at 65th overall — right at the edge of the 59-pick draft. It’s not like Robinson wasn’t on the radar for NBA teams going into the draft. Givony said earlier this week that the former Wildcat was likely to land a two-way contract in the event he doesn’t get drafted.
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“People know what he brings, starting last year at BYU and then this year at Kentucky,” Givony told KSR. “6-(foot)-6 with that kind of length and frame and shot-making prowess, that’s interesting. I would imagine that he’s going to end up getting a two-way, even if he doesn’t hear his name called.“
And yet, for whatever reason, Robinson is still on the market. But by going undrafted, he’s in a situation where he can be more strategic with the team he signs with. Clemson big man Viktor Lakhin is another player in the same range as Robinson yet to sign with a team. This isn’t an entirely unique situation, but it does feel a bit odd that he remains available.
It (hopefully) shouldn’t be too much longer before Robinson officially begins his professional career.
