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BDA Sports Is Off To A Strong Start With Its 2011 NBA Draft Class

A little over a week ago, I noted that recruiting for the 2011 NBA Draft is heating up.  As teams have been getting knocked out of the post-season tournaments, the players who perform for those teams have either declared their intention to enter the NBA Draft or commit to staying at least one more year at their respective institutions.  In the post linked above, I suggested that BDA Sports has been putting great emphasis on recruiting Nikola Vucevic of Southern California and JaJuan Johnson of Purdue.  Both teams are out of the NCAA Tournament, thus each player has the right to select an agent.

The LA Times has reported that Nikola Vucevic is leaving USC early and has already signed with BDA Sports “to show he was making a firm commitment to the draft rather than just ‘testing the waters.'”  And while no large publication has announced it yet, I have heard from a credible source that JaJuan Johnson has also selected BDA Sports as his representatives for the NBA Draft.  Whereas Vucevic is leaving USC early, Johnson just finished his senior year at Purdue.  Thus, the decision to sign with an agent at this point in time is not as bold of a move.

Neither player is guaranteed to be a first round selection in the 2011 NBA Draft, but if more top prospects follow the lead of Jared Sullinger, who recently announced that he will be returning to Ohio State, and commit to staying at least one more year with their college basketball teams, guys like JaJuan Johnson and Nikola Vucevic can easily jump into the first round, giving BDA Sports a draft class reminiscent of 2009, when the company represented 6 first rounders.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.

One reply on “BDA Sports Is Off To A Strong Start With Its 2011 NBA Draft Class”

I think they also signed Mark Payne from UC Davis. Players like this usually get left in the cold by big agencies when they don’t make the NBA.

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