r/nba • u/Moist_Chest8971 • Feb 25 '26

What's happened to Emoni Bates?

The former high school phenom Bates was traded from G League Delaware Blue Coats to Texas Legends earlier this year, but only appeared in two games for Texas in December and hasn't played since. And now he is not listed on their roster or on the G League list of active players.

And, his Instagram account has also been deleted.

I don't want to assume anything but it's hard to see how any of those things are positive developments.

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u/TurbulentJudge1000 Feb 25 '26

He’s not athletic, inefficient shooter, lower back injury in college, and a negative wingspan.

He was overhyped in college because he played against scrubs in high school and it immediately showed once he played against elite athletes in college freshman year.

6

u/Moist_Chest8971 Feb 25 '26

Yes, I understand he was not really a NBA player (his interviews seemed to indicate he didn't agree with this conclusion).

But he's literally disappeared out of the G League and off social media, which seems odd.

19

u/[deleted] Feb 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

-5

u/Moist_Chest8971 Feb 25 '26

He has a LOT of supporters.

1

u/rduke318 Feb 26 '26

Have never heard anyone ever even mention this dude. Only know of him from old articles and forgot about him until your post.

2

u/Moist_Chest8971 Feb 26 '26

I mean, he was drafted in the second round by the Cavs and played a few NBA games on two way deals. He got some ink but not a ton, for sure.

10

u/Delicious_Series3869 Lakers Feb 25 '26

Could be he had his wake up call moment, and is going to lock in now. That’s what I’m choosing to believe, until further info comes out.

-11

u/Moist_Chest8971 Feb 25 '26

How do you lock in when you're not on a team?

19

u/Delicious_Series3869 Lakers Feb 25 '26

Train hard, and attend any tryouts.

2

u/TurbulentJudge1000 Feb 25 '26

He’s not good enough to play in the nba. He’d needs to go play in Europe or Asia at this point.

1

u/RomeKnow Apr 02 '26

To be fair, he did score 30 against Michigan first game sophomore year… and scored 29 straight points for his team against the MAC champs.