Eastern Michigan's Emoni Bates is one of the most interesting prospects in the 2023 NBA Draft.
With a slender 6-foot-10 frame, Bates possesses the skills of a guard and has the ability to fill it up with ease. Need an example? Look no further than when he rattled off 29 straight points against Toledo on Jan. 24. And that was days before his 19th birthday.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Bates is his journey to get here. Just four years ago, he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated and, naturally, was compared to Kevin Durant, who, in 2020, cosigned Bates as being "up next."
Just years removed from being the top recruit in his high school class, Bates heard his name called late in the second round of this year's draft. The Sporting News takes you back through his road to the NBA.
Emoni Bates timeline
July 15, 2016 — Dubbed "Kevin Durant Jr.," Bates bursts onto the scene as a 6-foot-5 rising seventh grader thanks to a short mixtape uploaded to YouTube from CityLeagueHoopsTV. The video has since amassed over two million views.
Sept. 14, 2017 — Bates, now a 13-year-old eighth grader, makes national headlines after receiving a scholarship offer from DePaul University. He is the consensus pick as the No. 1 player in the class of 2022.
Nov. 26, 2018 — Bates makes his varsity debut as a freshman at Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti, Mich. In his first-ever high school game, he finishes with 32 points and 15 rebounds.
March 19, 2019 — After leading Lincoln to its first-ever state title, Bates is named Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year and MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year, finishing the season with averages of 28.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and countless clutch plays.
July 12, 2019 — Michigan State becomes the latest school to offer Bates a scholarship. It is reported that many major college programs are hesitant to offer Bates for fear that he would make a jump straight to the NBA in 2022:
With the NBA one-and-done rule set to possibly end in 2022 if it’s collectively bargained, the expectation by many is that Bates won’t ever spend a single day on a college campus and will head straight to the NBA that year.
Oct. 29, 2019 — Bates appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated, where he is compared to Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James. Within the feature story, a college assistant coach is quoted saying, "he is the best player I’ve ever seen. You have to see it to believe it"
Feb. 18, 2020 — Bates sets a new career-high with 63 points and 21 rebounds in a double overtime win for Lincoln. He would add two more games of 40-plus points in the next two weeks.
April 14, 2020 — The COVID-19 pandemic prevents Bates and Lincoln from defending their state title, but Bates becomes the first-ever sophomore to be named Gatorade National Player of the Year.
Congrts @BatesEmoni on winning the 2019-2020 @Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award. Biggest award in high school sports 💪🏾 #GatoradePOY #GatoradePartner
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) April 14, 2020
ESPN's Jeff Borzello calls Bates "the best high school prospect in the country regardless of class," adding he is considered one of the best high school prospects since LeBron.
June 29, 2020 — During an appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter, Bates announces his commitment to Michigan State, with plans to enroll in 2022.
Bates and his family also announces that he will be transferring from Lincoln to Ypsi Prep, a new school in Ypsilanti, Mich. that was founded by his father, Elgin.
April 30, 2021 — Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and various other reasons, Bates and Ypsi Prep play just 10 games. They finish with a 7-3 record on the season.
Now considered by many as the second-best recruit in his class, Bates announces that he has decommited from Michigan State, sharing that he will explore college and professional options.
Aug. 4, 2021 — Bates, who has already completed the necessary requirements to enroll in college, announces he has reclassified to the class of 2021 and will choose between Michigan State, Oregon, Memphis and G League Ignite for the upcoming season.
Aug. 24, 2021 — Bates commits to play for Penny Hardaway at the University of Memphis, where, at 17, he would be the youngest player in college basketball.
Because Bates was born in 2004, he will not be eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft as NBA rules state that, in order to be draft-eligible, a player must turn 19 during the calendar year that they are drafted in.
Nov. 15, 2021 — Bates is named American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week after scoring 17 points in his college debut. It would be one of the highest points of his freshman season.
April 16, 2022 — After a season of ups and downs, Bates announces that he has entered the transfer portal and will move on from Memphis. Over 18 games as a freshman, Bates averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
June 29, 2022 — Bates commits to Eastern Michigan, which is located in his hometown of Ypsilanti, Mich. Familiarity led to Bates choosing the Eagles over other schools like Lousiville, Michigan and Seton Hall.
Sept. 18, 2022 — After failing to stop at an intersection in Ypsilanti, Mich., Bates is pulled over and arrested after police discovered a handgun in the car he was driving. Bates faced felony charges of carrying a concealed weapon and altering the ID of a firearm.
In response, Bates' legal representation maintained that the car Bates was driving was borrowed and the gun did not belong to his client. Bates was suspended indefinitely from the team.
Oct. 13, 2022 — After pleading down to a misdemeanor charge of attempted illegal transportation of a weapon, Bates is reinstated to "all athletic and campus activities" at Eastern Michigan, crearing a path for him to take the floor for the team's season opener.
As part of the plea deal, Bates is sentenced to 18 months of probation. The conviction will be removed from his record upon successful completion of his probation.
Nov. 11, 2022 — After not playing during the team's season opener due to a "coaches' decision", Bates makes his Eastern Michigan debut against the University of Michigan. In a five-point loss to the Wolverines, Bates finishes with 30 points (on 12-for-19 shooting) and five rebounds in 34 minutes of action.
Dec. 30, 2022 — Bates and the Eagles travel to Columbia, S.C. where they take on the South Carolina Gamecocks and highly-touted draft prospect GG Jackson.
Bates again rises to the occasion, scoring 36 points (on 13-for-25 shooting) but Eastern Michigan suffers a 10-point loss.
Jan. 24, 2023 — In a conference game against Toledo, Bates goes off for a college career-high 43 points, including 29 straight for his team in the first half.
Emoni Bates when should you at 6’10 from a scoring standpoint why he should be in lottery mention..
— Frankie Vision (@Frankie_Vision) January 25, 2023
vs Toledo tonight he had 29 straight points in the first half…
43 PTS (15-23 FG, 9-14 3PT)
7 REBS
In a tough loss..
How we feeling? pic.twitter.com/v1Uc7Yyynx
April 24, 2023 — Seven weeks after Eastern Michigan failed to qualify for its conference tournament with an 8-23 record, Bates officially declares for the 2023 NBA Draft.
In his lone season at EMU, Bates earned Third Team All-MAC honors with averages of 19.2 points and 5.8 rebounds over 30 games.
May 21, 2023 — After earning an invite to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, Bates makes his mark by standing out in drills and competitive scrimmages, in which he averages 10.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
His combine performance comes amid a bevy of pre-draft workouts with NBA teams.
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) May 5, 2023
June 13, 2023 — Bates, a projected second-round pick, says this of his journey to Yahoo's Krysten Peek:
I was ranked No. 1 in the country starting in sixth grade all the way up to my senior year in high school. It was a lot at times, but for me, it was just all about getting better each and every year and obviously the opinions and narratives changed from that time…
…I’m just trying to get through the door and get a chance at this point. I just want to go into my rookie year and show that I belong. I feel like I’ve been waiting for this my whole life, so for me, I’m just going to continue to stay in the gym and work and not worry about any noise or expectations people have for me anymore.
June 22, 2023 — Bates is selected by the Cavaliers with the 49th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
