Ron Holland has declared as an Early Entry Candidate for the 2024 NBA Draft. Holland played for G League Ignite this past season.

The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 19.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.3 steals over 29 games. Holland's season was cut short due to a right thumb injury. He's expected to be fully healed and able to participate in pre-draft activities.

Holland is projected as a lottery pick in most mock drafts.

Matas Buzelis of G League Ignite will declare as an Early Entry Candidate for the 2024 NBA Draft. Buzelis grew up in the United States, but plays for Lithuania in international competitions.

In 34 games (32 starts), the 6-foot-10 forward averaged 14.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Buzelis shot 45.5% from the field and 69.6% from the free throw line.

The NBA has announced that the NBA G League Ignite will cease operations after the current season. The league said that "the decision to end the program comes amid the changing basketball landscape, including the NCAA’s Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) policy and the advent of collectives and the transfer portal."

Nine Ignite veterans are currently in the NBA, including key contributors Dyson Daniels (New Orleans Pelicans), Jalen Green (Houston Rockets), Scoot Henderson (Portland Trail Blazers) and 2022 NBA champion Jonathan Kuminga (Golden State Warriors).

“Four years ago, we started Ignite to fill a void in the basketball landscape, and I’m proud of the contributions we were able to make to that ecosystem,” said Sharif Abdur-Rahim.  “With the changing environment across youth and collegiate basketball, now is the right time to take this step.  I want to extend my sincere gratitude to general manager Anthony McClish, head coach Jason Hart and their staff and to each player who wore an Ignite jersey.  As ever, the G League’s commitment to developing top NBA talent and helping players achieve their NBA dreams is unwavering.”

The G League Ignite have struggled this season. After going 4-12 during the Showcase portion of the season, the Ignite are 2-19 in G League regular season. Those struggles, combined with a changing landscape for young players, has the NBA reassessing the future of the Ignite.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that the NBA is now looking at the Ignite differently than when the program was created in 2020. Silver noted that the idea was to give players an additional pathway to the NBA, other than going to college or overseas. With the advent of NIL, and other financial programs, players now have pathways open to making money while playing for NCAA teams.

Silver did note that basketball is now the most participated in youth sport in the United States. He also said that it's imperative that the NBA, NCAA and youth programs work together on how they develop players for the future.

Forward Ron Holland will miss the remainder of the season for the G League Ignite. Holland is out to protect a right thumb injury ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft.

Holland finishes his season with the Ignite averaging 19.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game. The 6-foot-8 forward shot 46% from the field and 73% from the free throw line.

Holland will now turn to preparing for the draft. He's expected to make a full recovery and to be able to participate in pre-draft workouts. Holland is projected as a lottery pick.

USC guard Isaiah Collier is the new number one overall pick in ESPN's updated mock 2024 NBA Draft. Collier tops a field made up of NCAA players, overseas players and G League Ignited prospects.

Through his first seven games with the Trojans, Collier has averaged 17.7 points and 4.3 assists. The 6-foot-5 point guard is shooting an impressive 53.9% from the field, including 42.1% on three-pointers.

Behind Collier, ESPN's top-five includes Alex Sarr of the Perth Wildcats in Australia, Zaccharie Risacher of JL Bourg in France, Ja'Kobe Walter of Baylor and Ron Holland of G League Ignite.

The 2023-24 NCAA basketball season tips off on Monday. However, non-collegiate players top ESPN's 2024 NBA Draft prospect rankings.

Six of the top-10 prospects are playing for the G League Ignite or overseas teams. Ron Holland (#1 overall), Matas Buzelis (#6 overall) and Izan Almansa (#9 overall) are all playing for the Ignite this season. They are joined by Australia's Alex Sarr (#2 overall), France's Zaccharie Risacher (#5 overall) and Serbia's Nikola Topic (#10 overall) in the top-10.

The top ranked collegiate players are Isaiah Collier of USC (#3 overall), Justin Edwards of Kentucky (#4 overall) and Connecticut's Donovan Clingan (#7 overall) and Stephon Castle (#8 overall).

Spanish big man Izan Almansa has signed with G League Ignite for the upcoming season. Almansa is a potential lottery pick at the 2024 NBA Draft.

For the last two years, Almansa has played with Overtime Elite. He'll now switch to G League Ignite to get ready for the 2024 Draft.

"This is the best step to take now to improve my game, play against grown men and also work on my body," Almansa said.

The 6-foot-10 big man won MVP at the FIBA U17 World Cup and the FIBA U18 European World Championship. He came to the United States two years ago with hopes of improving his game, and he feels he's done that.

"My game has improved in a lot of ways in the U.S.; my shooting, physicality and also seeing how the people see the game here, everybody is trying to get to the same place so is super competitive," Almansa said. "I decided to continue my development in the U.S. because I want to play here for the next years so I think that being in this environment is going to help me more."

Ron Holland will play for the G League Ignite next season.

Holland is the No. 2 ranked senior in high school basketball for the graduating class of 2023. Holland had committed to Texas but decommitted in late April.

Holland is the No. 6 prospect in the 2024 NBA draft.

"This process was not easy," Holland told ESPN. "At times it was scary because at times I had no idea where I would be.

"The G League will help me reach my potential as a basketball player and prepare me for the NBA. To have a long career, I need to prepare my body and improve my skills as I continue to try to win games. They have a program to help develop my body and my game. I know I have to work on being a more consistent shooter, along with my footwork and ball handling, so I can score in space on the perimeter against a set defender."

Holland is a 6-foot-8 forward from Duncanville (Texas) High School.

Matas Buzelis, the projected first overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, has signed with G League Ignite for next season. Buzelis is a Chicago native who holds United States and Lithuanian citizenship.

This season, Buzelis played at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas, after transferring from Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. He won the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year award for 2023, after winning the same award for New Hampshire the year prior.

The 18-year-old forward has measured in at 6-foot-10. Buzelis will look to follow the same path that led Jalen Green to being a high pick after playing with the Ignite. Scoot Henderson is a projected top-three pick in the 2023 draft, after he played two season for the Ignite.