Team context: Atlanta Hawks · Research cutoff: July 18, 2026.
Role and college baseline
Atlanta selected Ejiofor 23rd after he averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.1 blocks in 30.0 minutes across 37 St. John's games. His Sweet 16 run included 16.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 blocks. Hawks draft release · St. John's bio
A 19-point, 15-rebound Summer League game showed the motor and glass work but does not establish an NBA rotation rate. Jock Landale is still the supported backup-center favorite. NBA Summer League recap
2026-27 projection
| GP | Min | FG% | FT% | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 8 | .515 | .700 | 0.2 | 3.7 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
Base rotation allocation: zero; first conditional big behind the 11-man base group.
Market and fantasy fit
- A public dynasty rookie draft selected him 3.02. Treat that as one league's market signal, not consensus ADP. Reddit draft result
- Redraft: undrafted outside deep leagues; blocks streamer if he reaches 16 minutes.
- Dynasty: second-to-third-round rookie target and priority Atlanta big stash.
- Floor: G League development behind Okongwu/Landale/Newell.
- Ceiling: the first reserve center by February, producing six rebounds, one block, and useful FG% in 18 minutes.
- Best builds: blocks/rebounds teams that can absorb uncertain FT% and rookie turnovers.
Career record
Pre-NBA: Four college seasons — one at Kansas (2022-23) as a buried freshman, three at St. John's after transferring. The jump came in 2024-25 when he moved into the starting lineup, and 2025-26 was the full breakout: 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.1 blocks in 30.0 minutes over 37 games on .536/.305/.718. The assist rate more than doubled year over year, which is the least common part of the profile for a college five. He swept the 2025-26 Big East awards — Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year — plus Big East Tournament MVP, the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the nation's top center, the Haggerty Award, and AP honorable mention All-American. Draft: 2026, first round, 23rd pick, Atlanta.
| Season | Team | GP | GS | MPG | PTS | REB | AST | BLK | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | Kansas | 25 | 0 | 5.1 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 0.6 | .650 | — | .500 |
| 2023-24 | St. John's | 33 | 1 | 11.2 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 1.1 | .489 | .375 | .712 |
| 2024-25 | St. John's | 36 | 35 | 31.8 | 14.7 | 8.1 | 1.6 | 1.4 | .577 | .222 | .708 |
| 2025-26 | St. John's | 37 | 37 | 30.0 | 16.3 | 7.3 | 3.5 | 2.1 | .536 | .305 | .718 |
He has not appeared in an NBA regular-season game. Steal and turnover rates by season are not verified here.
Durability: No missed-time pattern of note. He played 25, 33, 36 and 37 games across four college seasons, starting every game the last two years.
Trajectory: A four-year college big whose value case is breadth rather than any one elite tool — he blocks shots, rebounds, and passes out of the post at a rate most college centers do not. The 2025-26 leap in assists and blocks is what separates him from a standard energy backup. In 2026-27 he is competing with Jock Landale for the reserve center minutes behind Onyeka Okongwu, and the reporting favors Landale to open. He becomes fantasy-relevant if Okongwu misses time — that pushes Landale into the starting five and hands Ejiofor real minutes — or if Landale's hold on the backup job breaks down by midseason. Absent that, he is a blocks-and-boards stash whose 30% college three-point mark does not yet stretch the floor next to Okongwu.
Career sources: Wikipedia — Zuby Ejiofor · ESPN player page · NBA draft prospect profile
Open questions
- Can he defend NBA centers without fouling?
- Does Snyder use his passing in second-unit handoff actions?
- Is the shooting range real enough to share the floor with Okongwu?