No one on last season’s roster is heading to the 2025 NBA Draft, but a recent Cowboy is in a good position to hear his name called later this month.
Over the past few years, the Cowboys have had several players make the leap to the NBA. In the past five seasons, Cade Cunningham, Lindy Waters III and Cameron McGriff made their NBA debuts.
With Cunningham and Waters still going strong at the next level, the question has been who will be the next player to join them and Marcus Smart on the list of Oklahoma State players in the NBA. Well, that question might be answered sooner rather than later, with one of OSU’s most recent stars expected to make it to the league in the near future.
Although he will be listed as a West Virginia guard officially, former Cowboy Javon Small will still add to the list of Oklahoma State’s NBA players. After establishing himself as a high-volume scorer at East Carolina, Small decided to move to Stillwater ahead of the 2023-24 season and take on some Big 12 competition.
Small had no issues adapting to the level of competition in the Big 12 and was soon among the top players in the conference. In his lone season with the Cowboys, he averaged 15.1 points and 4.1 assists while shooting 44.1% from the floor and 37.4% from deep.
While his efficiency dropped at West Virginia last season, he increased his scoring average to 18.6 points. That uptick immediately put him firmly on NBA radars, and he is projected to be a potential impact player as a rookie next season.
In a recent Bleacher Report article predicting each team’s potential draft strategy, Greg Swartz wrote that the Golden State Warriors need a backup point guard, and they could use the services of Small. Currently holding the No. 41 pick in the second round, the Warriors have a chance to get some talent if Small is still on the board.
While he might not have ended his college career in Stillwater, Small’s time as a Cowboy certainly played a key role in him getting to the NBA.
