MISSOULA — Former Montana men’s basketball star Josh Bannan will have a shot this summer to prove he belongs in the NBA.
Bannan, 23, has signed a contract to play in the NBA Summer League later this month. The 6-foot-10, 220-pound forward will suit up for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Bannan spent this past season playing for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League in his home country of Australia. He averaged 11.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 19 games in his first professional season. He was named the Bullets’ youth player of the year.
Bannan also starred for the Australian basketball team this past winter in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. He had 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists in a win over Indonesia. He had 11 points and 11 boards in a win against Korea.
Bannan reportedy worked out with about 10 teams prior to the NBA Draft last week but went undrafted by any of the league’s 30 organizations. He had pre-draft workouts with the Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, per ESPN’s Olgun Uluc. He had a pre-draft workout with the Indiana Pacers last summer but didn’t get an NBA shot.
People are also reading…
Bannan had left the Griz after the 2022-23 season as he decided to forego his final two seasons of college eligibility and sign a three-year deal with the Bullets. He was an All-Big Sky first-team selection in 2023 as he averaged 15 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 40.4% on 3-pointers.
Bannan spent three seasons with the Griz and was an All-Big Sky second-team pick as a sophomore in the 2021-22 season. He became the 35th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points as he finished with 1,191 points, 694 rebounds and 194 assists across 91 games and 86 starts.
The NBA Summer League consists of 30 teams and runs from July 12-22 in Las Vegas with the 76 games shown on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or NBA TV. Bannan and the Clippers will play the Denver Nuggets at 8 p.m. MT on July 12 on NBA TV, the Brooklyn Nets at 2 p.m. MT on July 14, the Milwaukee Bucks at 8 p.m. MT on July 16 on ESPN2 and the Utah Jazz at 8 p.m. MT on July 18 on ESPN.
The Clippers are coming off a fourth-place finish in the NBA’s Western Conference with a 51-31 regular-season record. They were knocked off by the Dallas Mavericks, the eventual NBA runner-up, in the first round of the playoffs.
Bannan joins two former Montana State Bobcats who signed with NBA teams within the past week. RaeQuan Battle signed with the Charlotte Hornets for the Summer League while Darius Brown II inked an Exhibit 10 contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Two other former Big Sky Conference basketball players were selected in the NBA Draft last week. Ex-Northern Colorado standout Dalton Knecht was taken 17th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers and Dillon Jones of Weber State was drafted 26th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Frank Gogola is the Senior Sports Reporter at the Missoulian and 406 MT Sports. Follow him on X @FrankGogola or email him at frank.gogola@406mtsports.com.
