Injury put KJ Adams’ NBA dreams on hold. The KU forward is chasing them again
A lot has changed for KJ Adams in the past year.
As the former Kansas Jayhawks player recovered from an Achilles injury, he spent the past season as assistant video coordinator on coach Bill Self’s staff.
The experience taught him a lot, and he says it even made him view basketball differently.
“It was a big difference,” Adams told The Star. “It was a weird experience seeing it from the other side, but it was a good perspective. Seeing what Coach does and see what they see on the outside that we really don’t see.”
While it was a valuable experience, Adams said his playing days aren’t over.
He suffered an Achilles injury late in KU’s first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Arkansas in 2025. The forward played in 137 games, including 97 starts, over his four seasons at Kansas, which concluded in 2024-25. He averaged 9.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in his senior year.
Since the injury, he’s spent much of his time rehabbing.
“I’m just trying to get back to myself,” Adams said. “It’s been good. I’ve just been in Austin, just training, weightlifting and just trying to get my jump back. It feels good to be playing again.”
Adams continued: “It’s been over a year and a half, probably, about now. It happened at the end of March and just trying to get back, just myself and how I play is probably the most important thing.”
Adams told The Star he hopes to play for an NBA Summer League team. His goal is to get a G League contract or an Exhibit 10 deal — essentially a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum-salary contract.
“I’ve been in contact with probably around five NBA teams,” Adams said. “Two-way, Exhibit 10, whatever, to be honest with you. I just want to play.”
Adams isn’t the only Jayhawk hoping to play in the NBA. The NBA Draft is set for June 23-24 in Brooklyn, New York, and former KU star Darryn Peterson is in contention for the No. 1-overall pick.
Adams witnessed Peterson play firsthand this past season.
“It was great,” Adams said. ”Darryn is a great kid. He’s an incredible athlete and a great player. It was just good to be around someone like him, just so grown before he even stepped into college. So it was cool.”
