NorCal recruit becomes youngest pro hoops player in U.S. history
SAN JOSE — Jalen Lewis, a rising star at Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd and one of the premier prep basketball prospects in the Class of 2023, will forgo his final two years of high school and become one of the first players to sign with a new league that promises lofty sums of money for the top youth talent in the nation.
Lewis, a 6-8, 215-pound post player rated five stars by 247Sports, announced the news on social media shortly after it was first reported Friday morning by The Athletic. His contract with Atlanta-based Overtime Elite, which says it will begin play in September, was reported to be worth more than $1 million over multiple years. At 16 years old, Lewis will become the youngest professional basketball player in American history.
“This was an opportunity for Jalen to pursue a dream and take a nontraditional route. To be the first of his kind as the youngest. It’s an incredible opportunity,” Bishop O’Dowd coach Lou Richie said Friday afternoon in a phone interview. “Myself and the O’Dowd community, as well as the greater Oakland community stand behind him and are here to support him however we can as he makes this journey.”
Lewis starred for two seasons under Richie at Bishop O’Dowd alongside Cal-bound Marsalis Roberson. As a freshman, Lewis helped lead the Dragons to the NorCal Open Division finals before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He was named to the Bay Area News Group Fab 25 following his sophomore season this spring.
Overtime Elite has been pursuing Lewis since at least early this spring.
On Friday, Lewis made it official. After signing the professional deal, he is no longer eligible in the California Interscholastic Federation, the state’s governing body for high school sports.
Richie said he did not consult Lewis on the decision.
“As he went up the charts freshman year ... you could tell the kid was just different,” Richie said. “Size 17 shoe. A-student. Elite work ethic. Everything started to fall into place...
“With Overtime, clearly Jalen is one of the top players in his class. It’s an opportunity. It’s a possibility. Overtime is smart. They reached out and see his value . ...
“He’s playing basketball right now and everybody’s making money off of him. Whether it’s high school, college or an AAU team. He’s going to make money for himself . ... Baseball players have gone pro for the last hundred years. Now when a basketball player does it, people look at it differently.”
Lewis is the third player the league has signed in the Class of 2023, alongside Matt and Ryan Bewley, a pair of five-star-rated twins from Florida, whose deals were reportedly worth $500,000 per year.
Kevin Ollie, the former men’s coach at Connecticut, is the head coach and director of player development.