Chad Baker-Mazara’s Road Back to the NBA Dream: “I Had to Overcome More Than Basketball”

The past few months haven’t gone quite as expected for former USC top scorer Chad Baker-Mazara.

The Julius Erving Award Finalist entered the spring expecting the conversation to center around his game. What he could bring to an NBA roster, but much of the attention shifted to the circumstances surrounding his departure from USC.

The road to success has not been easy for Baker-Mazara, but he has not let that change his dedication to accomplishing his dreams. The 26-year-old guard and small forward keeps working towards the goal of playing in the NBA.

“It has definitely been hard and a learning opportunity,” he said. “All I can do is train hard so that I’m prepared when an opportunity arises.”

Before leaving USC in March, Baker-Mazara had become one of the Trojans’ most valuable players. He started in 22 games during the 2025-26 season, and averaged 18.5 points per game, ultimately finishing as the team’s leading scorer. What made him a standout player was his experience, toughness, and ability to create offense. He quickly became a key piece of USC’s lineup throughout the season. His success wasn’t limited to USC, though. Over the course of his college career, Baker-Mazara built a reputation for stepping up in big moments.

He helped capture a Maui Invitational championship and made tournament history by becoming the first player ever to earn Maui Invitational MVP honors in consecutive years. Despite having those accolades, none of that made the last few months easy.

Baker-Mazara acknowledges that the way his time at USC ended created obstacles during one of the most important periods of his basketball career.

“There have definitely been moments where I felt like I had to overcome more than basketball,” he said. “The way things ended created challenges during one of the most important periods of my career, and opportunities didn’t materialize.”

He explained that there were times when he felt that he had to work harder to earn the same consideration as other prospects, but he turned that frustration into motivation. Rather than dwelling on the situation, he has spent the past several months investing in himself through training, workouts, counseling, mentorship, and prayer.

“Everything that happened forced me to reevaluate myself as a player and person and ultimately has led to growth,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot about myself through this process.”

The NBA prospect has been training 5 days a week with NBA skills trainer Stanley Remy.

Among the opportunities he’s received was a workout with the Houston Rockets, an experience Baker-Mazara says he deeply appreciated.