2026 NBA Mock Draft

By Max Trueblood

1. WASHINGTON, A.J. DYBANTSA, SF, BYU, 6'9"

I wrestled with this a bit. The Wiz have a ton of wings and their starting 4, AD, is obviously injury prone. Was thinking that breaking in Caleb Wilson or Cam Boozer would work but Dybantsa is clearly the top guy with few question marks

2. UTAH, DARREN PETERSON, 1/2G, KANSAS, 6'5"

This one was tough as well given that Peterson actually questioned going to Utah or Sacramento but he's just too good a fit next to Ace Bailey for this not to work. Utah will work on selling itself to him during the workout and interview process

3. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES, CAM BOOZER, PF, DUKE, 6'9"

I've actually got Wilson higher on my board but he's a work in progress. I would think Memphis favors someone from a strong family background and high character after the Ja Morant headache

4. CHICAGO BULLS, CALEB WILSON, C/PF, NORTH CAROLINA, 6'10"

Was tempted to go with Illinois' Keaton Wagler here as he's a good fit with the Bulls but that would be too much of a reach. Bulls have options with Wilson. Start him at the pivot from day 1 or at the 4 by moving Buzelis to the 3 then signing someone like Hartenstein in free agency as they have tons of cap space

5. LA CLIPPERS, KINGSTON FLEMINGS, PG, HOUSTON, 6'3"

The Clippers are the big winner of the draft as they not only get a pick but 5 is the best that they could do and they landed it. Wilson is the pick here if he drops but assuming the Bulls take him, the Clips should seriously consider a lead guard as this draft is deep with them and they don't have anyone on the roster other than the oft injured Darius Garland who is a true lead guard

6. BROOKLYN NETS, KEATON WAGLER, 1/2G, ILLINOIS, 6'6"

Good landing spot for Wagler here as he fits right in at the two spot after the Nets drafted a bunch of lead guards last year

7. SACRAMENTO KINGS, DARIUS ACUFF JR., PG, ARKANSAS, 6'3"

Good pick for the Kings. Exciting playmaker will get the joint jumping. The Kings trotted out a bunch of ancient lead guards last season and outside of Devin Carter, nobody is under contract at that spot for the coming season

8. ATLANTA HAWKS, BRADEN BURRIES, 1/2G, ARIZONA, 6'5"

It starts getting tough here. I wasn't enamored with Burries' play during the tournament but he's got tons of fans in the scouting world so I'll role with their analysis. Neither C.J. McCollum nor Gabe Vincent is under contract for next season and Burries can play either guard spot. NBA teams like defensive lead guards better than exciting playmakers nowadays so Burries is the pick

9. DALLAS MAVERICKS, MIKEL BROWN, 1/2G, LOUISVILLE, 6'4"

Dallas has no depth at lead guard for the oft injured and aging Kyrie. They are fine with Burries or Brown and with Burries off the board, Brown looks like the safe pick

10. MILWAUKEE BUCKS, LABARON PHILON, PG, ALABAMA, 6'3"

This one is tough due to nobody knowing what Giannis' status is. For this exercise, we'll assume he's on the roster so the Bucks go with need as they were shuffling lead guards in and out of the equation after letting Damian Lillard go

11. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS, YAXEL LENDEBOURG, PF, MICHIGAN, 6'10"

Draymond has been talking a lot this offseason so the Warriors need to start thinking about life after the headache. Lendebourg is a good pick here and can even play some pivot in case they lose Kristaps in free agency

12. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER, KOA PEAT, PF, ARIZONA, 6'8"

The Thunder would've loved to get Lendebourg here so Presti throws the first big surprise of the night with Peat. OKC really doesn't need anything but the roster is void of bigs and there is a good chance that they don't pick up Hartenstein's option as that would put them well into 2nd apron territory

13. MIAMI HEAT, DAILYN SWAIN, SF, TEXAS, 6'7"

Another tough call here. The Heat have a bunch of free agents and others with player options plus you just never know what type of lineup they will throw out there. Swain could be a good combo forward similar to Andrew Wiggins or former Heater Haywood Highsmith

14. CHARLOTTE HORNETS, KARIM LOPEZ, SF, MEXICO, 6'9"

The roster is getting expensive and that's tough for a small market team. They need to zero in on keeping their trio of Ball, Knueppel and Miller so they're tempted to take a 4 here like Nate Ament but go with wing depth instead

15. CHICAGO BULLS, CAMERON CARR, 2G, BAYLOR, 6'5"

Bulls have nobody under contract at the 2 spot plus Carr is one of the best left on the board regardless of position. Son of below average NBA players usually turn out to be pretty good in the league

16. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES, AMARI ALLEN, SF, ALABAMA, 6'6"

The Grizz seem to be extremely deep at the guard spots so after going big earlier, they get depth or even a starter at the 3 spot

17. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER, ADAY MARA, C, MICHIGAN, 7'4"

Even after going big with the last pick, they do it again given how deep they are on the wings. Mara was a late bloomer who had a great tournament and still has tons of room to grow. OKC is the perfect landing spot as he won't be rushed right away

18. CHARLOTTE HORNETS, PF, NATE AMENT, TENNESSEE, 6'10"

Ament does a bit of a free fall as most pundits have him top 15 but the Hornets go with the best available after taking a perimeter player with the last pick

19. TORONTO RAPTORS, HANNES STEINBACH, C/PF, WASHINGTON, 6'11"

The Raps seem to have someone under contract at each spot in the lineup plus their backup so they go with the best on the board. If nothing else, Steinbach is insurance in case Mamu doesn't pick up his option

20. SAN ANTONIO SPURS, MORIZ JOHNSON, PF/C, MICHIGAN, 6'10"

Good pick for the Spurs here. Johnson can swing as a 4 in big lineups or as Wemby's backup

21. DETROIT PISTONS, ISAIAH EVANS, 2G/SF, DUKE, 6'6"

The Pistons are similar to the Raps where they have someone under contract at all spots as well as the backups so another case of taking the BPA. There is also chatter that they want to improve their outside shooting so Evans is one of the better shooters available

22. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS, CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, PG, TEXAS TECH, 6'2"

The Sixers mysteriously traded away a solid backup point guard in Jared McCain last season so they make up for that blunder by getting a floor leader here

23. ATLANTA HAWKS, CHRIS CENAC, C, HOUSTON, 6'11"

No guarantee that Jock Londale will be back so Hawks get a backup for OO here

24. NEW YORK KNICKS, JAYDEN QUIANTANCE, PF/C, KENTUCKY, 6'10"

Dadiet and Sochan have been dissapointments as backup bigs so the Knicks rectify the situation here

25. LOS ANGELES LAKERS, HENRICK VEESAR, C, NORTH CAROLINA, 7'0"

Deandre Ayton seems to be great on offense but horrible on defense. They may want to upgrade here

26. DENVER NUGGETS, BENNETT STIRTZ, PG, IOWA, 6'3"

The Nugz really didn't have a true backup for Jamal Murray as swingman Bruce Brown seemed to get the majority of those minutes. Stirtz could work well here

27. BOSTON CELTICS, ALEX KARABAN, SF/PF, UCONN, 6'8"

This guy will give the C's a little more size on the front line from the bench. Jordan Walsh is good but at 6'6", seemed overmatched at times playing against bigger players. Being a local guy helps too

28. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES, TYLER TANNER, PG, VANDERBILT, 6'0"

DD may miss the season and Mike Conley is getting old. Not sure if Ayo Dosunmo is cut out for full time duties at lead guard but he'll have to do it so it's important that they have depth here

29. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS, MILAN MOMCILOVIC, SF/PF, IOWA STATE, 6'9"

Cleveland is already well into the 2nd apron so it's doubtful that they can bring back long time favorite Dean Wade. MM is a similar type player and is obviously much cheaper

30. DALLAS MAVERICKS, JOSHUA JEFFERSON, SF/PF, IOWA STATE, 6'9"

How's this for a first. We finish the last two picks of the first round with combo forwards from Iowa State. I bet that's a first

What did Peterson say about Utah or Sacramento?

Can you add height, either for this time, or next time?

Maybe also wingspan if it's worth mentioning, for a certain player.

Whose pick at 16 did Memphis get?

He was worried about the fact that they weren't trying to win and worried about if that would still be the case in the event that he gets drafted by either team

Only one international player? If that's the way it goes, I don't like that.

Seems then like there's less talent, if there aren't any projected top international players.

Phoenix but not sure what the trade was that brought the pick to them. Dillon Brooks signed as a free agent from Memphis to Houston so it wasn't him

Here's why. A ton of those college players are international players due to NIL. Whereas Aday Mara would've been playing for Real Madrid or Barcelona in the old days, he took the NIL money to play at Michigan

Ditto for Hannes Steinbach. A German native who took the NIL money at Washington

Same with Youseffou and Budinga in the 2nd round

I'll do that soon

As far as wingspan, I'm unfortunately not Jay Bilas aka "the wizard of wingspan" so that's gonna be a bit tougher

Thanks. For wingspan, I just meant if it's noticeable. Pre draft, that's what got my attention about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Also, can you mention if a draft prospect is a 2nd or 3rd generation NBA player? Or if BOTH parents are athletes. (Playing college or professional sports counts).

There seem to be a few 2nd generation players in every draft, lately.

Even if it's someone high profile, so most people will already know this it's just worth mentioning again that this is a 2nd generation player. Because that probably does help sway some decisions too.

I.E. that player is more likely to have an easier time adjusting to professional life than others.

Can you also note if a player missed time and had longterm injury concerns, or if a player missed time but will be fully healthy to start the NBA season?

Don't have to do this for everyone. Just whatever players you think it's worth mentioning.

Remember how there was no in draft commentary about Jokic, not even a 13 second highlight package?

What makes all of this even more ironic, is that for the next two players picked after Jokic, they spent at least 20 seconds talking about each player.'

They noted one of those guy's wingpan. Bill Simmons, who was one of the broadcast draft commentators, then said he could probably open two car doors at the same time.

The only one that I can think of besides Arenas is Carr who I briefly mentioned in my comment in that sons of below average to average NBA players make for pretty good players. I think Carr's dad was Chris Carr who played for the TWolves in the late 90's, early 2000's

Good info. I did not know that was Gilbert Arenas son, in your 2nd round mock.

Also worth adding to your comment in one of these places, for Cameron Boozer, that he's Carlos' son. Because that could influence Utah's pick, so maybe a comment there.

OR, a comment under Cameron himself.

Good catch. He made such a name for himself that you forget his dad played in the league. If not for the State Farm and phone commercials, I would forget that Carlos is his dad

Peterson is the only one that I know about in the first round as he missed a few weeks

On the 2nd round, I mentioned that Richie Saunders could be out for the season

I remember that although I don't think it was Simmons who made the comment but rather that international scout guy that they always have on

Lol. I didn't forget. Partly because I loved Boozer as a player.

I did not like a lot of Jazz fans reactions, who were unhappy that Carlos was an All-Star, because they wanted Deron Williams to be an All-Star. Then when Okur got named an All-Star, they were unhappy again because it wasn't Deron.

Also, I remember one person did change his mind about Carlos, while he was in Utah. When stories came out about Carlos going through a divorce, that person became more sympathetic. Rather than complain about everything Carlos did, he then took a different perspective that this is a real person, who is still playing reasonably well, while navigating some off the court stuff.

I've also always wondered if having twins had anything to do with the divorces of Steve Nash and Carlos Boozer. Since they both had twins, and had divorces, within a few years of each other. And overlapped during those time periods.

So, when Cameron started to make noise as a potential 1st round pick, I was thinking it would be cool if the franchise where his dad played his best ball, also drafted him. So that's what I've been thinking about for several months. And now that the draft lottery is over, you have to think that they might have some insight as to how the Boozers are as a family. Not that everything is always the same, but it could help.

That would be cool but they have Lauri Markannen and JJJ more or less playing his spot. Peterson is a good fit there so he's probably the choice

Even better, here are the winners and losers of the combine measurements

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25427014-winners-and-losers-2026-nba-combine-so-far

Here's a great article about wingspans

https://www.si.com/nba/draft/newsfeed/who-had-the-longest-wingspans-at-the-2026-nba-draft-combine-01krh6q2g05x

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine

Added heights to the players line. My personal explanation is this. They were measured yesterday at the combine without shoes. I always round up so if you're 6'0" without shoes, I'll list you at 6'1"

Likewise with 6'0" 1/4 or 6'0" 1/2. I'll still list you at 6'1"

But if you're at 6'2" 3/4, I'll give you an inch and a quarter and call you 6'4"

I am tired of the Clippers being undersized.

And I want a good young PF. Clippers have no one.

I don't want one via trade or free agency, because they won't be young.

Having more depth for Garland won't matter as much for the next few years. A PF can make more impact on this team.

I also wouldn't mind a Center, if you think he'd be a lot better next year than Niederhauser. Otherwise, I'm fine with Niederhauser.

So, who are some PFs you think would fit on this team, and could start quickly, even if they might not be as good as a guard available at that slot?

Yes, I know it's always possible to draft a guard, then trade Garland for a PF. But I don't think there's many good PFs on the trade market either.

Can there be a draft prospect as good as Precious Achiuwa? Maybe not day one, but soon? I know Achiuwa can be signed outright, but again, I want someone young.

I want at least some names, then I can look at their video and decide if it's worth it. Not saying we have to take these potential people, but just trying to think of ways to impact the team. A guard is going to be buried for a while. These are just some names to consider, is all I'm asking.

Why are there so few good foreign prospects? Is this the worst foreign draft class in years?

I'm a little shocked at that myself.

Finding the sleeper version of Buzelis for 2026 would be good. He was a G leaguer and not international.

But the point is, no one was talking about him before the draft, and he's turned into a good combo forward.

Wait, @Trueblood had him at #4, and Tankathon had him at #1.

https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/comments/14m5pnn/tankathons_first_2024_first_round_mock/

I guess I heard a lot more about Sarr, Knecht, Ron Holland, Edey, Clingan than Buzelis.

Forget about how he compares to other #1 picks. If a team got Buzelis, they'd have gotten a player who is durable, and has made an impact in each season, who is also versatile. You at least know you have a starting caliber player.

Apparently for the Clippers #5 pick it might be between Wagler & Acuff. Both look like good prospects, though Acuff looks a little better with the explosiveness and athleticism. But Wagler does have better size.

I'd go with Acuff but if Lue has any input, he's gonna put pressure on management to go with Flemings due to his defense. I hope I'm wrong but he's not the most creative coach around. Those types usually want defensive players to bail them out due to their lack of setting up a cohesive offensive unit

I mentioned it earlier but you may have missed it. There are lots of international players but instead of playing home or some other country abroad, they took the NIL money from American colleges. Therefore, you see Mara playing for Michigan instead of Real Madrid and Hannes Steinbach playing for Washington instead of Bayern Munich

I also have Karim Lopez from Mexico in my mock although he played professionally in New Zealand instead of at an American university

In the 2nd round, there is Sergio De Llarea who did stay in Spain as opposed to take NIL money as well as Luigi Suigo from Italy and Pavle Backo from Serbia

Yessenfou is from Benin but played at Baylor, Bidunga is from the Congo and played at Duke

See my explanation above

Keep in mind that Buzelis is actually born and raised in Chicago to Lithuanian immigrant parents. The Chicago area seems to produce a lot of those. American born players from European immigrant parents. There's also Max Strus who was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs to a German father and Slovenian mother

Jon Konchar has a Czech and Hungarian parent as well as a Serbian one as well

This year's foreign sounding player who is actually American born is Milan Momcilovic. Not the Chicago area but close by in Wisconsin

There's a very small chance that Caleb Wilson drops to #5. If so, he's the pick by a landslide

If you want them to make a shocking pick that will get ripped by the media but COULD look like a genius pick down the road, you take Lendebourg

There's also the option of trading down with the Hawks. Give them the #5 pick and get #8 and #23 in return. If you do that, you take Lendebourg at 8 then get the best PG on the board which would probably be Bennett Stirtz

Apparently Darius Acuff did very well at the combine:

Keaton Wagler didn't fare as well:

Caleb Wilson did very well:

Kingston Flemings had a strong combine too:

Great job David! We can zero in on Clipper possibilities with the way you broke it down

Not to be the lottery grinch but wouldn't that be something if the Aspiration punishment turns out to be voiding this year's pick? With all the garbage hanging over our heads right now, that might not be the worst thing in the world although it would be quite disappointing

I was thinking about that too.

I was also thinking about whether Kevin had gotten Pritch Slapped before, and it would be when Portland tried to claim a medical retirement for Darius Miles in 2008.

Miles would then play at least the minimum 10 games in 2008 - 2009, thus putting Miles' contract back on Portland's books.

I'm sure there are other ones that I can't think of off the bat but yeah, getting Mathurin, Jackson and the #5 for Zu is looking better and better all the time unless of course my nightmare scenario comes to fruition

OTOH, there was a certain amount of luck involved too. If the league were to void a pick that we basically had a coin flip chance of getting in the first place, is it really that big of a loss in the first place? And if it turns out to be the entirety of the punishment then even better

That being said, I'd prefer to have no punishment at all. After all, and as I've said before, they were already paying Kawhi too much as it was. Anything beyond what they were paying was just stupid money

Thanks! Gotta give most of the credit to Google though lol.

I'd be shocked if the Clipper pick were voided. Even if there was wrongdoing, something so punitive like voiding a top 5 pick doesn't seem appropriate. Perhaps the worst would be voiding KL's contract. I'm guessing the investigation concludes that the Clippers didn't do anything out of bounds.

Voiding the contract would be doing them a favor though. There are gonna be other owners and fans of small market teams that are gonna be angry that nothing is happening to the Clips then if a bad contract comes off the books, they will see it as doing them a favor on top of that. I agree with your reasoning but just not sure if the league is willing to go in that direction

The punishment should probably be the same, whether its a "bad" contract or not. Because that is always subjective.

So in other cases, like the Joe Smith one, its draft picks, then it should still be draft picks.

In the Juwan Howard case, the Heat GM messed up in the cap space calculations, and the NBA office voided it. He hadn't actually played any games or done anything official as a Heat, so it was probably an easier punishment to administer.

In this Leonard case, he's already been under contract, so it's different.

Have we had other examples where someone was under contract, and then later found guilty?

Good question. I know of someone who SHOULD'VE been found guilty. KD due to Draymond actively recruiting him on social media

Do we have the tweet or IG post where he did that? Or did someone save a screen shot of it?

I'm a die hard Zona fan, and I watch every game on TV. So, I got to see a bunch of the projected 1st Round picks play last year. A few of these guys impressed me, but I REALLY like Chris Cenac Jr, and I think he can be the next Triple J. Also, with the weird culture of only evaluating one side of the court, I feel like people miss out on great players too often today. ANYONE who plays well for Kelvin Sampson should get at least a second look. I would not be opposed to trading down, getting more assets to replace missing draft capital in the future, and taking Cenac. Who knows, maybe there's a deal that allows us to trade down far enough to get another first rounder? I also like Ament. To me, he looks like... what if SloMo could shoot the ball? Optimally, I want to cut a deal that lands us those 2, Cenac n' Ament. The Darius Garland deal was extremely annoying. Now, we're going to get killed by every primary ball handler in the West. That's not how you build a championship contender in today's landscape. Unless we trade him, there's zero sense in drafting Acuff, Flemings, Burries and Bradley (Who I am rooting for - Bear Down), Philon, Christian Anderson, Uzan, Braden Smith, Boswell (Formerly Bear Down AND my Uso... Afakasi Samoan), or Cadeau. I'd love to break the team down completely and go full Brooklyn last season.... like 5 First Rounders along with our pair of 2nd Rounders. I met Tounde a couple times, and he seems a really great kid. Very friendly, very positive kid. One of my best friends trained him all through HS at St. Joe's in Santa Maria. I'm actually rooting for him even harder than....

Great writeup. Appreciated. My trade down with the Hawks COULD net Ament and Cenac but it would be a tight squeeze. That would mean 8 & 23. You could definitely get Ament at 8 but not sure if Cenac would still be around at 23. That would be the risky part of the trade

I think there may have been but I don't have access to it

Yeah, I think Cenac is performing himself right out of the mid 1st. I think he's going higher than he was initially projected. I think it might take a few years, but Ament could be a player.

I want a huge team that plays defense. I think we should look into large wings for those 2nd round picks. Maybe we can get Baba Miller to shoot the ball better?

Dillon Mitchell has been looking bouncy and explosive in the Combine highlights. I'm trying to think of guys who might be around for that pair of 2nds.

I read somewhere that Malachi Moreno is on the radar for that last pick. I don't hate that. Who knows if it's true. I just see stuff on X and blindly believe it, LoL.

Last year, my favorite was Yaxel Lendeborg, but he's not a sleeper AT ALL now that he transferred to Michigan and won the Natty....

Before the Zu trade, my favorite was Magoon Gwath. He's going back to school Maybe next year, I think he's still a sleeper at this time in 2027

I had Dillon Mitchell going 31st or 32nd so he'd be off the board for the Clippers early 2nd round pick but not that many people are that high on Mitchell. He will probably still be on the board for the 36th pick

I was a huge Yaxel fan too. Great choice to stay in school. I'm hoping more and more players stay and take the NIL money and hopefully become better players as well. Which reminds me that the #8 and #23 could get Yaxel in the mix. Maybe take him at #8 instead of Ament and then go with a lead guard at 23

I never got around to pulling the trigger on Baba in my 2nd round. He'll definitely go at some point or maybe even sneak into the late 1st

If Moreno is around for the late 2nd rounder then go for it but I wouldn't take him with the 36

Momcilovic, Amari Allen and Tyler Tanner are pulling out of the draft. Not sure if Momcilovic and Tanner are returning to Iowa State and Vanderbilt respectively or are part of the transfer portal

Allen is returning to Alabama