CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — After a decorated college basketball career that covered five seasons and 175 games, while accumulating a collection of distinguished achievements, North Carolina standout guard **[RJ Davis](https://247sports.com/Player/RJ-Davis-45573406)** has agreed to an Exhibit 10 free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, per reports late Thursday night.
He went undrafted through the two rounds and 59 selections that comprised the 2025 NBA Draft across the last two nights. One-and-done freshman Drake Powell, Davis's former teammate with the Tar Heels, [**was drafted by the Brooklyn Nets in the first round**](https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina/article/nba-draft-2025-brooklyn-nets-pick-uncs-drake-powell-in-first-round-251263630/) at No. 22 overall.
An Exhibit 10 deal is a one-year, minimum salary contract with no other bonuses. The Exhibit 10 attachment gives NBA teams the ability to convert the contract into a two-way deal, but only if they do so before the start of the regular season.
Davis turns 24 years old in October, and registers as diminutive by NBA standards, particularly as the league has grown to value positional length with increasing emphasis. He measured 5-foot-11 with a wingspan of 6-4 during the pre-draft process. Gonzaga guard Ryan Nembhard (6-2 wingspan), Alabama guard Mark Sears (6-2) and Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla (6-2) checked in as the only other prospects with shorter reaches.
At UNC, Davis's No. 4 jersey will hang among the honored numbers in the Smith Center rafters for all time, the reward for his accomplished college run that's underlined by the ACC Player of the Year award and consensus first-team All-America recognition in the 2023-24 season, when he led the ACC in scoring (career-best 21.1 points per game). In February of that season, he set the single-game scoring record at the Smith Center, pouring in a 42-point tour de force during a defeat of Miami.
He finished his five-year Carolina career as the only player in program history to compile at least 2,500 points, 600 rebounds, 500 assists, 300 made 3-pointers and 150 steals. He became the Tar Heels' all-time leader in successful 3-pointers (359) and free throw shooting (86.1 percent). And with 2,725 career points, he trails only Carolina great Tyler Hansbrough and Duke star JJ Redick — both of whom played four seasons in college — at the top of the ACC's all-time scoring list.
Two months ago, when UNC's season ended in an NCAA Tournament loss to Ole Miss, Davis sat in the quiet of the postgame locker room and remarked "it's going to hurt," as he pondered a question about his legacy and not playing for the Tar Heels again.
"The family that I built here, the brotherhood that I built here, I'm going to remember that forever," Davis said that March day in Milwaukee. "I won't be putting this jersey on anymore. It's definitely going to be a new chapter in my life, a new adjustment to get into. Summers I won't be here. There's no more school for me, so a lot of it is an adjustment period for me.
"Obviously, I've spent half a decade here in my five years. And me just growing as a freshman into a young man, it's going to be different. And that's just something I'm going to have to get used to."
In May, Davis turned his stay at the NBA G League Elite Camp into a productive experience, though he wasn't among the five G League camp participants who landed call-ups to the NBA Draft Combine. He supplied double-digit scoring in both of his team's games at that prospect camp for 45 draft hopefuls in Chicago, capping his play with 13 points and a game-high five assists off the bench in a victory.
His team went 2-0 at the G League camp, an event conducted in front of NBA scouts, coaches and front-office executives. Davis was in the starting lineup for his team's first game, and scored 14 points. He connected on 10-for-19 shooting from the field, including 2-for-7 beyond the 3-point arc, across those two camp games.
Davis said he thought he did a commendable job of "making the most of my time, and just playing my game" during the G League camp. He was asked there about what contributions he can provide for an NBA team.
"I've been a scorer my whole life, so just that scoring lift," he said in response. "But at the same time, the little tangibles. Being a great teammate, being a great leader. Being a vocal guy and just a locker room guy. I think I can bring that to a team, and be an extension of the coach on the floor. And honestly, just being that spark. A lot of teams already have their star player, so just coming in, understanding my role, and just doing my job."
Davis appeared in more games than any player in ACC men's basketball history, and never missed a game across the course of his college career. He ranks as the conference's career leader with 140 games in double-digit scoring. He's fourth all-time in ACC history in 3-point makes, and ninth in free throw percentage. Georgia Tech's Travis Best is the only player in ACC history to average 15.5 points per game or more, while compiling a better assist-to-turnover ratio than Davis.
His career scoring average of 15.6 points per game rates as the eighth-highest mark ever among guards at UNC. He's one of three Carolina players, along with Hansbrough and Phil Ford, to deliver 500 points or more in four straight seasons.