Nebraska basketball’s draft silence turns into two NBA opportunities

While no Nebraska basketball players were selected in the just-completed 2026 NBA Draft, a pair of Huskers have another shot at showing the National Basketball Association that they offer something every team should want. Both Sam Hoiberg and Rienk Mast signed free agent contracts after the draft concluded.

Neither former Husker is guaranteed a roster spot on their respective teams, though both have a chance to show they belong. It appears that of the two, Hoiberg has convinced the Phoenix Suns that he definitely has something to offer. The kind of free-agent contract the guard signed isn’t known, but it’s thought to be a two-way deal, giving him a real chance beyond training camp to make the Suns' roster during the regular season.

Sam Hoiberg, the son of Nebraska basketball coach Fred Hoiberg, is expected to sign a two-way deal with Phoenix. Two-way players can spend up to 50 regular-season games on the active NBA roster and can spend the rest of the season on a G League squad. They can also be shuttled between the NBA and the team’s G League squad without having to go through waivers. The big catch is that in order for Hoiberg to play more than 50 games in 2026 for the Suns and/or appear in the playoffs, the team would need to convert his contract to a regular deal (assuming it’s not already).

Mast, on the other hand, is on less stable footing with the Indiana Pacers. The former Husker center might have hurt his prospects for the league during the 2025-26 season thanks to a period of time when he was slumping badly. Still, the big man was one of the more multi-talented centers in college basketball last year as he could hurt teams from around the hoop and from beyond the three-point arc. It’s a safe bet that’s the big reason why the Pacers are giving him a chance.

Sam Hoiberg and Rienk Mast land NBA chances after Nebraska basketball careers

Mast’s contract with Indiana is an Exhibit 10 deal, meaning that he doesn’t have much guarantee beyond a spot in the Pacers’ training camp. If Mast is waived in training camp as the team gets down to its roster limits, but then joins the team’s G League affiliate and stays for a set period (typically 60 days), he can earn a bonus of up to $75,000 after earning a prorated league minimum while at the training camp.

Hoiberg took on a starting role as a senior in 2025-26 and put up the best numbers of his career. He averaged 9.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists while also recording 2.0 steals per game. That was an increase from an average of 1.4 steals as a junior in 2024-25, when he appeared in all 35 games, mostly off the bench, while starting 15 games. His 3.75-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio this past season is also the best in a single season for a Nebraska player.

Even with some cold periods, Mast ranked second on the team in scoring with 13.3 points per game while grabbing a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game. Mast drained 44 percent of his field-goal attempts and 31 percent of his three-pointers, draining 50 three-pointers for Nebraska this past season.

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