A judge in East Baton Rouge Parish has granted RJ Luis Jr. a temporary injunction allowing him to play for LSU, despite his having signed professional basketball contracts, ESPN reports. Judge Ronald R. Johnson issued the ruling on Monday.

Luis, a 6-foot-7 wing, was the Big East player of the year at St. John's in 2025 and a second-team All-American, averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in the 2024-25 season.

What he actually did as a professional

After going undrafted in the 2025 NBA draft, Luis signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz. He was traded to Boston, waived, and then signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics' G League affiliate.

He played in preseason games. He never appeared in an NBA regular-season game, and an injury kept him from playing for the G League team at all.

That sequence is the whole case. Judge Johnson's reasoning was that "In the court's mind, [Luis] did not actually play professional basketball," and he questioned whether Luis had received proper guidance when he left college. The bracketed name is the source's clarification.

The two positions

The NCAA's attorney, Taylor Askew, put its argument in general terms: "Actions have consequences. Decisions have outcomes and they're not always the right ones or the ones that you want."

The rule the association is defending treats signing a professional contract as the moment amateur eligibility ends, and its virtue is that it is clear. A player knows where the line is before he signs.

The judge's view is that a line drawn at signature rather than at playing produces an outcome that does not match reality: a player who never took the floor professionally has spent his eligibility on paperwork. Both are defensible readings, and which one is correct in law is what the full case will decide.

Why this one is different

Recent eligibility disputes have mostly concerned fifth-year players and junior college time. This case asks whether signing a professional contract can be undone, which is a separate question, and a ruling in Luis's favour would set a precedent well beyond one player.

An injunction is also temporary by definition. It permits him to play now; it does not settle the matter.

What we could not establish

We could not establish when the full hearing will be held, whether the NCAA will appeal, how many other players might be affected, or what Luis or LSU have said. We verified this account from a single publication.