Last season, most understood that backup big man Flory Bidunga had the tools necessary to become an elite player. He just needed time on the court to refine his skill, and with the imminent departure of Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson, the 2025/26 season could provide the launchpad for Bidunga’s career.
An electric season that took the nation by storm
There was no grace period for Bidunga, as by the first game against Green Bay had ended, the 6-foot-9 Bidunga had already notched 23 points, six rebounds, and three blocks in Kansas’ 94-51 blowout over the Phoenix.
Bidunga would finish the season with five total games, accumulating at least 20 points, with a 76-57 win over Princeton marking a high of 25 points.
But it was never his offensive production that was going to push him up potential draft boards; it was his excellent defensive ability that played a large part in Kansas allowing a stifling 38.6 percent field goal rate. It wasn’t just his ability to cover his own man, but the paint as a whole, oftentimes allowing him to float up and down the interior to provide crucial blocks.
Bidunga finished the season with an astounding 2.6 blocks per game, the sixth-highest in Division I.
The sophomore would go on to average 13.3 points per game, nine rebounds, and 1.5 assists, all on a stellar 64 percent field goal rate, which currently ranks as the 7th-best in the nation.
Bidunga finished the season with several personal accolades, which included a Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award, an All-Big 12 First Team selection, and a unanimous selection for the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.
To reaffirm his dominance down low, Bidunga was just elected as a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Finalist. Bidunga was nominated alongside Zuby Ejiofor (St. John's), Joseph Tugler (Houston), and Rueben Chinyelu from the University of Florida.
DPOY FINALIST 👀@FBidunga has been named a 2026 Naismith Men's College Defensive Player of the Year Finalist 🔥
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) March 27, 2026
🔗→ https://t.co/Hrs4gaz5O2 pic.twitter.com/N8TmCDAxjO
The award was launched in 2018, and former KU stalwart Marcus Garrett won the honor in 2020.
Bidunga projected in first round of NBA mock
Earlier today, Adam Finkelstein of CBS Sports released a mock draft in which Bidunga was selected by the New York Knicks with the 26th pick.
“With Mitchell Robinson entering free agency following the year, he could step right into that role and provide immediate minutes as a back-up center or even alongside Karl-Anthony Towns in double-big line-ups.”
This goes to show Bidunga’s season-long trajectory as his name was tilted towards the bottom of the second round, if even named at all, through most of the season. Now, if he decides to leave KU, he could step into an immediate role in the NBA.
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