Dink Pate Picks G-League over Alabama, Arkansas; Youngest US-Born Pro Ever

Class of 2024 4-star prospect Dink Pate has reclassified to the 2023 class and will sign a contract with the G League Ignite, per The Athletic's Tobias Bass.

At 17 years old, Pate is now the youngest American professional basketball player ever, and he won't be eligible to enter the NBA draft until 2025.

"My entire life I've always loved the NBA game. By the time I got to middle school, I knew for sure I wanted to be a pro," Pate said. "I never really thought of an opportunity like this back then, but whenever the opportunity presented itself, and the talks started to happen from the G League, it was a no-brainer. I felt this was the best decision overall for my basketball future."

Pate was ranked as the nation's No. 13 shooting guard in the 2024 class by 247Sports' composite. He had received offers from over 30 Division I programs before making his decision.

"My top schools coming down to the end were Alabama, Arkansas, Memphis, Auburn, TCU and Georgetown before coach [Patrick] Ewing left," he said. "The top two were most definitely Alabama and Arkansas, so it for sure would've been out of those two schools, just based on my relationship with coach Nate Oats and coach Eric Musselman. So basically, I was either going to be Roll Tide or Woo Pig."

The 6'8" point guard reportedly will sign a two-year deal with the Ignite, and he is expected to make his debut during NBA Summer League later this year.