Estonian basketball center Henri Veesaar is entering the 2026 NBA Draft in the United States.
Veesaar, 22, plays for the North Carolina Tar Heels, and local publication the Fayetteville Observer quoted him as saying he was “proud to say I’m taking the next step and declaring for the NBA Draft. Thank you to everyone who’s been part of the journey.”
“To my family – thank you for every sacrifice, every late night, every moment you believed in me before anyone else did,” Veesaar added, thanking friends, teammates and coaches in his announcement too.
At 7 foot (213 cm), the Fayetteville Observer called Veesaar “a modern post player” and noted he is projected to be a late first-round pick or early second-round pick.
After transferring from the Arizona Wildcats, Veesaar averaged a career-high 17 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, finishing second in the ACC conference, and 17th nationally, with 15 double-doubles across 31 games.
The Estonian also posted 58 dunks and 40 3-pointers, knocking down 60.8 percent of his shots, including 42.6 percent of his attempts from 3-point range.
The 2026 NBA Draft is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23, to Wednesday, June 24.
Veesaar’s absence will leave a massive void for the Tar Heels and head coach Michael Malone ahead of the 2026-27 season, the paper noted, particularly as teammate and freshman star Caleb Wilson is also headed to the draft.
Veesaar was 26th in a mock draft held by sports channel ESPN early on in the year.
If he gets picked by an NBA team for real, Veesaar will not be the first Estonian to play in the pinnacle of the sport in the U.S. That honor went to Martin Müürsepp (Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks) back in the ’90s. Veesaar’s teammate in the Estonian national side, Henri Drell, got court time for the Chicago Bulls in 2024, going on to play for its G-League affiliate and that of the Portland Trail Blazers, before returning to Europe.
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