As of Thursday, June 26, Villanova forward Eric Dixon will sign a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers as an undrafted free agent.
The news was first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Dixon, 24, led the country this past 2024-25 season in scoring, averaging 23.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Entering the draft, Dixon was projected to be a late second-round pick due to his age and some defensive concerns. He ended up slipping out of the draft and into the undrafted market.
The last Wildcat to be drafted to the NBA was Cam Whitmore (Rockets) in 2023.
In 2019, Dixon joined the Wildcats, committing locally out of Abington High School in Pennsylvania. At Abington, Dixon became the school’s only 2000-point scorer (2,454 points). During his senior year, he was named the USA Today Pennsylvania State Player of the Year.
In five seasons at Villanova, Dixon made a Sweet 16 appearance as a redshirt freshman and a Final Four run as a redshirt sophomore.
The 2025 AP All-American became the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,286 points. Aside from leading the country in scoring, he shot 40.7% from beyond the arc.
He is only one of three Wildcats to score 2,000 career points and 800 career rebounds.
Dixon previously declared for the 2024 NBA Draft and went through the draft process. However, he opted to return to Villanova for his final season of collegiate eligibility.
In May, Dixon was invited to the 2025 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. He measured in at 6-8 and 258 pounds.
Dixon’s two-way contract allows him to play up to 50 games in the NBA. An NBA team is only allowed to roster 15 players at a time, but two-way contracts can make up to three extra roster spots. This allows teams to call up players from the G-League. Eventually, players can get their two-way contracts turned into NBA contracts.
Dixon will join a roster that includes NBA superstars LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Since Dixon will be spending time with the Lakers’ G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, he will play alongside Quincy Olivari, who is also represented by Dixon’s agent, Darrell Comer.
The 2025 NBA Summer League, which allows all 30 NBA teams to experiment with their rosters, kicks off on July 10 and ends on July 20 in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center and Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The NBA announced a doubleheader that will kick off this year’s Summer League. The Lakers, with Bronny James, will take on the Dallas Mavericks and the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, Cooper Flag.
It is not yet known if Dixon will take part in the Summer League.
