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Why would he? His sophomore season at Arizona in 2023-24 might offer a clue.

After suffering a serious elbow injury when a golf cart landed on him during some horseplay before that season, Veesaar was forced to reflect. It could have been even worse, threatening the game he realized he loved.

“I think it really changed my career and it changed my life,� Veesaar said at the NBA Combine last week. “It gave me a perspective to basketball, like being grateful to be able to practice, be able to walk into a gym.

“Even if it's early in the morning, realizing that it's something I want to do, and I don't have to work at nine to five. I get to play basketball. I'm having a great time.�

Leaving for the NBA means Veesaar will get to play basketball on the highest level — and that he'll only have to play basketball — even though he’ll likely be doing so for a discount.

Having left the Wildcats a year ago as a promising part-time starter for a reported $1.5 million deal at North Carolina, then supersizing his role and statistics last season with the Tar Heels, the Estonian big man could have lined up for much more as a redshirt senior in 2026-27.

In a 2026 transfer portal market in which top big men have been commanding dizzying premiums, Veesaar could have picked up an offer in the portal worth about $6 million, according to CBS’s Matt Norlander — or $4.5 million if he stayed at North Carolina under new coach Mike Malone, who is replacing the fired Hubert Davis.

Instead, Veesaar says he’s 100% committed to staying in the NBA Draft, where he is projected as a late first-round pick who will earn around $2.5-3 million next season under the rookie salary scale.

He appeared OK with that during his NBA Combine interview last week.

“I had a very quick like consideration for it," Veesaar said. “I felt like going to the NBA was the right move for me, basketball-wise. I definitely thought about (returning) because obviously, there's a lot of money thrown around in college and going back to UNC would have been a great experience.

“Just having another year and playing under another coach would have given me a lot to learn. But I just felt like it was the right time to go to NBA.�

Already, Veesaar has been in college for four years and, despite his 2023 elbow injury, has improved dramatically over the past two.

Veesaar said the accident also wound up giving him a “double offseason� before 2024-25, since he was able to return to practice late in the 2023-24 season and again over the summer of 2024, paving the way for a productive third season with the Wildcats.

Veesaar started five of 37 games for UA in 2024-25, averaging 9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds, mostly playing with Tobe Awaka and Trey Townsend inside while center Motiejus Krivas sat out most of the season with a foot/ankle injury.

While Veesaar had shown flashes of his ability as a freshman in 2022-23, he played only spot minutes that season before the injury shelved him in 2023-24, making his impact in 2024-25 appear something of a surprise.

But all along, he said, there was growth. Veesaar credited UA assistant coach Ken Nakagawa for his individual workouts, conditioning coach Chris Rounds for getting stronger and UA coach Tommy Lloyd for helping him adapt to a different experience than he had previously while playing for Real Madrid’s top junior club.

“The coaches there had a great impact in my life and overall my career,� Veesaar said. Lloyd “gave me a lot of opportunity to play and showcase what I can do, and he taught me a different style of basketball.

“I think Madrid was a lot more flowy of a basketball style. There was a lot more structure in Arizona, and it was a paint-heavy game, compared to being able to kind of shoot and shoot floaters. I think that was really the biggest difference. There was a lot to learn from them.�

Still, Veesaar averaged only 20.8 minutes for the Wildcats in 2024-25, and his role was secondary most of the time.

It wasn’t at North Carolina. Veesaar averaged 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and shot 42.6% from 3-point range while starting all 32 games he played in, showcasing himself as a modern stretch big.

“He’d be a pretty excellent fit as a floor-spacing complement for the Lakers with all of their perimeter talent,� wrote The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie, projecting Veesaar to go No. 25 to Los Angeles. “At 7-foot, Veesaar moves very well for his size and also has a high-end skill set that involves both passing and shooting from distance.�

Veesaar said he’s working on his ball skills, trying to stay lower and more secure with the ball and said his rebounding ability is underrated. He ranked 91st nationally with a defensive rebounding percentage of 22.0 and 433rd in offensive rebounding percentage at 8.1.

“I have a very unique skillset that most bigs don't have,� Veesaar said. “I think I have a very good flow to the game. I can read the game whenever I catch it, just kind of see where the where the advantages are. I'm not selfish to the point where I feel like I need to make the play every time. I'm happy to get anybody else the ball if they have a mismatch.�

Veesaar said he also improved in decision-making at North Carolina, not only getting the ball more, but also learning to improvise in pick-and-rolls, while also popping more often outside to shoot the 3.

Veesaar took just 49 3-pointers at UA in 2024-25, hitting them at a 32.7% rate, but nearly doubled his attempts at North Carolina and surpassed the 40% mark.

“I had a great season in North Carolina,� Veesaar said. “I had a good time there. We had a really good start to a season, obviously not the best ending, but I think I got a lot of opportunity from Coach Davis, and I'm grateful for what he did for me.

Now, “it’s just being able to capitalize on it.�