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Report: Henri Veesaar leaving UNC, will remain in 2026 NBA Draft

Danby: Daniel Hager04/24/26DanielHagerOn3

North Carolina center Henri Veesaar is departing the program and intends to stay in the NBA Draft. CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander reported the news on Friday.

Following the firing of Hubert Davis and the shocking hire of former Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone, it remained unclear in the immediate aftermath what Veesaar planned on doing. If he returned to Carolina, there’s no doubt he’d be the Preseason ACC Player of the Year. If he entered the Portal, he likely would have been the No. 1 player available.

However, he is heading to the NBA and will surpass a massive NIL payday from a National Championship contender. Veesaar is projected to be the No. 29 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft (Cleveland), in Yahoo Sports‘ Kevin O’Connor‘s latest Mock Draft.

In his lone season at North Carolina, Veesaar emerged as one of the most dominant players in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tallinn, Estonia native averaged 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 31 games for the Tar Heels.

His career began at Arizona, where he averaged 6.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in 66 games. Veesaar’s best game at North Carolina came in an 80-79 loss to Clemson on March 12, in which he scored a career-high 28 points. He also grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in the game.

Veesaar heads to NBA following North Carolina’s firing of Hubert Davis

The prized center heads to the NBA as North Carolina basketball heads into a new era. After five seasons at the helm, head coach Hubert Davis and the program parted ways after the Tar Heels fell in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.

Across five seasons, Davis led the program to a 125-54 (68-30) record with a National Championship Game appearance in 2022 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2023. The loss to No. 11 seed VCU this season almost seemed like a last straw for North Carolina fans and administration. The Tar Heels led by as many as 19 points in the game, but fell in overtime 82-78.

“I apologize, I’m just not there right now,” Davis said following the loss. “Just really sad that we’re not continuing to play and to move forward because I have loved and enjoyed this team. I enjoy and love all of them, but I’ve just really enjoyed coaching this team.

“I really wanted this group and these kids to experience more. But other than that, it’s I’m just thinking about these guys and the rest of the guys that are in the locker room.”

In the loss, Veesaar scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. That marked his 15th double-double of the season for North Carolina. His departure comes as a massive loss to a program that is currently trying to build its new roster under new head coach Mike Malone.