When Izaiyah Nelson got the phone call that he was about to be taken with the 51st overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the celebration inside his draft party didn’t come immediately.
Instead, Nelson sat quietly.
His phone volume was turned down so no one else in the room could hear the call from his agents informing him that although the Washington Wizards had selected him, he was headed to the Orlando Magic.
“I was just sitting there, just trying to take it in and not get too emotional,” Nelson said. “Once I heard the name called, I just started crying. I just put my hands on my face and shedded a lot of tears that night.”
Nelson became the first Bull to be drafted since Dominique Jones in 2010 and just the 10th player in USF history to be drafted to the NBA.
Related: Orlando Magic selects USF men’s basketball Izaiyah Nelson in the NBA draft
Nelson inked a two-year, two-way contract with the Magic on July 1.
The two-way deal includes $91,000 guaranteed at signing and allows him to split time between Orlando and its G League affiliate, the Osceola Magic, and can earn a salary of $678,882 if he remains with the team, according to Spotrac.
His professional career hit an early setback, however, when he fractured his ankle during the Magic’s Summer League game against the Portland Trailblazers on July 12.
The injury is expected to sideline Nelson for three to four months as he begins his recovery, which leaves a timeframe right when the season starts between October and November.
“Thank you for all the positivity!” Nelson said in a post on X “Don’t worry I’m going to be back better and stronger than ever!”
For Nelson, though, the professional contract was only the latest part in a journey that began hundreds of miles away in Marietta, Georgia.
Related: USF baseball sees three drafted in 2026 MLB Draft
Before becoming an NBA draft pick, Nelson wasn’t ranked by 247Sports coming out of high school, but received a Division I scholarship offer from Arkansas State.
He pounced on the opportunity and spent three seasons with the Red Wolves, developing into one of the Sun Belt Conference’s top forwards before transferring to USF for his senior season.
In his lone year with the Bulls, Nelson earned American Conference Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors while helping lead USF to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012.
Looking back on that path moments after hearing his name called, Nelson said it was difficult to process how far he had come.
“It hit hard just going into college from Marietta, Georgia and having a full-ride scholarship,” he said “It didn’t feel real. It was very, very emotional for me because it was just so unreal.”
Reaching the NBA as a player who spent his entire collegiate career at mid-major programs made the moment even more meaningful.
He was the only second round pick in the 2026 draft that played only at mid-majors their entire collegiate career.
“It shows that hard work and grinding and keeping your head down and trusting the process really plays a big part,” Nelson said. “There’s going to be ups and downs through this process, but you’ve just got to keep going and keep pounding the stone every single day.”
That ups and downs mindset was tested during draft night.
Different sports sites such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, NBADraft.Net and Sports Illustrated had Nelson being picked earlier in the second round ranging from picks 39 to 45.
He had to wait as pick after pick came and went before finally hearing his name called at No. 51 which Nelson said got the nerves going a little bit.
“It was very nerve-racking,” he said. “I’m just sitting there like, ‘Dang, what if I don’t get my name called?”
The uncertainty became even more difficult knowing the room was filled with family, friends and former high school teammates who had gathered to celebrate the biggest night of his basketball career.
As the draft wore on, he worried they might leave without the celebration they came for.
“I don’t like to invite a lot of people into something thinking that I’m gonna get my name called, and then if I didn’t, I was gonna be like, Y’all could have just stayed at home watching on TV,’” Nelson said.
Rather than letting him get in his own head, the people around him kept reassuring him that his opportunity was coming.
Nelson said their confidence helped him stay optimistic as the second round entered its final stretch of ten picks.
“My homies were like, ‘It’s coming bro. I feel it, bro. I feel it,’” he said. “And then next thing you know, it happened. It was insane.”
The destination made the moment even sweeter.
Nelson said he grew up making trips to Orlando to visit family, and now his professional career will begin just over an hour from where he spent his lone season at USF.
His great-grandmother still lives about 10 minutes from the Magic’s facility, giving him the chance to remain close to family as he transitions into life in the NBA.
“I’m just like, ‘Dang, I’m an Orlando Magic now,” Nelson said “I’m done with college. I’m really in the NBA now.’ It’s like all that hard work and that dedication really paid off.”
