Keonta Johnson is now officially cleared and eligible for the NBA Draft.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Johnson was medically cleared by the NBA’s Fitness for Game panel on Friday. This marked the final step Johnson needed to take in order to be eligible for next month’s NBA draft.
Johnson will now begin traveling and working out for NBA teams.
Considering Johnson played for Kansas State last season and was a key contributor in a deep NCAA Tournament run, the news may not come as much of a surprise, but it marks a controversial end for the 23-year-old.
In the year In 2020, Johnson was taken to the hospital after collapsing during a game against Florida State as a junior at Florida. He was in a coma for three days.
“The first thing I remember when I woke up in the hospital was seeing my mom and her holding my hand,” Johnson told Yahoo Sports earlier this year. “I heard her talking and my vision was still blurry and the first thing I saw was her and my dad walked in and the look on both of their faces, I knew something had happened.”
Johnson missed the rest of that season, and appeared briefly in one game in the 2021-22 campaign. He transferred to Kansas State last year after being checked by several doctors and diagnosed with an “athlete’s heart.”
Johnson averaged 17 points, 4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season with the Wildcats, who lost to Florida Atlantic and reached the Elite Eight.
It’s unclear where Johnson will end up in the NBA right now. Yahoo Sports’ Krysten Peek has the Charlotte Hornets going first overall in the latest mock draft.
Either way, Johnson is now officially eligible to be drafted.
“It’s the best story in basketball,” one NBA scout told Yahoo Sports earlier this year. “To see him get back on the court and not only get back and log minutes, but actually improve is unbelievable. His shooting creativity and how versatile he is as a defender, being able to guard multiple positions, is valuable at the NBA level.”
After the last several years, that’s a big milestone.
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