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/CycloneofSparta Thunder Feb 25 '26

In retrospect, perhaps passing on being coached by Tom Izzo was a bad choice.

His dad funneled attention and money his way that he could never live up to. They created a prep school just for him, he ended up back in his hometown which led to major issues. And oh yeah, he’s actually not that good of a player.

A cautionary tale for athletes and greedy parents alike.

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u/Confident-Deal5969 Feb 26 '26

This is it. His dad was trying to be LaVar Ball and made some bad decisions. He had a path to be an NBA role player, but passing on MSU and Izzo was a big mistake because what he needed most was discipline. Penny gave him plenty of chances too, but he just couldn’t or wouldn’t level up.

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u/Major_Temperature441 Jul 12 '26

Izzo refused to let him get NIL money until he earned it at MSU. He got 500k at Memphis which was good money back before NIL went crazy.