Former Chapin standout KJ Lewis testing NBA Draft after freshman season at Arizona

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Arizona guard KJ Lewis will test the NBA Draft waters after completing his freshman season as a Wildcat.

On Tuesday, Lewis made the announcement on social media that he’d be going through the NBA Draft process while still maintaining his college eligibility at Arizona.

Going through the NBA Draft process while maintaining college eligibility is the ideal situation for Lewis at this point of his basketball journey.

“I’m going in there [NBA Draft process] for feedback,” Lewis said in an interview with KTSM 9 News. “It’s a win-win just because I can, you know, get drafted or I also can come back to Arizona with a bunch of knowledge and bunch of growth that will help me improve my game.”

The former Chapin High School basketball standout says he has several workouts with NBA teams lined up in the coming months.

Lewis’ decision to test the NBA Draft waters comes after he wrapped up his freshman season at Arizona.

In the 2023-24s season, Lewis appeared in all 36 games off the bench, playing an average of 18.3 minutes per game. He averaged 6.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals.

Lewis scored in a double figures seven times, led by a season-high 18 points at UCLA in a game that Arizona won and clinched the outright Pac-12 regular season championship.

Lewis and the Wildcats also played in the NCAA Tournament. Playing in the Big Dance was Lewis’ favorite memory of his freshman year.

“Playing in the NCAA Tournament is probably at the top of the list. You know not too many freshmen can say they made it to a Sweet 16 in their first year.” Lewis said.

Lewis and Arizona played its way all the Sweet 16 before being eliminated from the tournament by Clemson.

“Last season was definitely an experience. It’s a lot. I think there’s a bunch of growth, a bunch of knowledge I took it in. It was a great year for sure, a bunch of the lessons learned.” Lewis said.

This is a great situation for Lewis to be in at this point of his career. We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out for Lewis.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.