College basketball season is over, and the Michigan Wolverines are national champions. Now the 2026 NBA Draft is on the clock.
This has long been considered a strong class due to the three star freshmen expected to go with the first three picks. The draft lottery on May 10 will determine in what order Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa come off the board. The rise of fellow freshmen like North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson, Illinois guard Keaton Wagler, Arkansas guard Darius Acuff, and Houston guard Kingston Flemings makes this class even stronger in the first half of the lottery.
The Final Four had so many great NBA prospects on display. This mock draft features a whopping nine players who competed in Indianapolis for the national semifinals. Wagler will have a chance to go as high as No. 5 overall, and Braylen Mullins’ incredible Elite Eight buzzer-beater to stun Duke now has him in his highest mock draft position all season.
Michigan’s dream season was also great for the NBA hopes of their top players. Yaxel Lendeborg made a brilliant decision by choosing Michigan over entering last year’s NBA draft. Aday Mara went from the end of the bench at UCLA to a top-10 pick in this mock draft. Morez Johnson just missed the lotto after leaving Illinois for Michigan.
Here’s our latest projection of the 2026 NBA Draft. The order is determined by the NBA’s current lottery position standings.
| Pick | Team | Player | Position | School | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington Wizards | Cameron Boozer | Forward | Duke | Freshman |
| 2 | Indiana Pacers | Darryn Peterson | Guard | Kansas | Freshman |
| 3 | Brooklyn Nets | AJ Dybantsa | Wing | BYU | Freshman |
| 4 | Utah Jazz | Caleb Wilson | Forward | North Carolina | Freshman |
| 5 | Sacramento Kings | Darius Acuff | Guard | Arkansas | Freshman |
| 6 | Atlanta Hawks (via Pelicans) | Keaton Wagler | Guard | Illinois | Freshman |
| 7 | Memphis Grizzlies | Kingston Flemings | Guard | Houston | Freshman |
| 8 | Dallas Mavericks | Mikel Brown Jr. | Guard | Louisville | Freshman |
| 9 | Chicago Bulls | Aday Mara | Center | Michigan | Junior |
| 10 | Milwaukee Bucks | Brayden Burries | Guard | Arizona | Freshman |
| 11 | Golden State Warriors | Yaxel Lendeborg | Forward | Michigan | Senior |
| 12 | Portland Trail Blazers | Nate Ament | Wing | Tennessee | Freshman |
| 13 | Miami Heat | Karim Lopez | Forward | NZ Breakers | Born 2007 |
| 14 | Memphis Grizzlies (via Magic) | Jayden Quaintance | Center/Forward | Kentucky | Sophomore |
| 15 | Oklahoma City Thunder (via Clippers) | Hannes Steinbach | Forward/Center | Washington | Freshman |
| 16 | Charlotte Hornets | Morez Johnson | Center/Forward | Michigan | Sophomore |
| 17 | Toronto Raptors | Labaron Philon | Guard | Alabama | Sophomore |
| 18 | Oklahoma City Thunder (via 76ers) | Braylon Mullins | Guard | UConn | Freshman |
| 19 | Charlotte Hornets (via Suns) | Bennett Stirtz | Guard | Iowa | Senior |
| 20 | San Antonio Spurs (via Hawks) | Patrick Ngongba | Center | Duke | Sophomore |
| 21 | Detroit Pistons (via Wolves) | Thomas Haugh | Forward | Florida | Junior |
| 22 | Atlanta Hawks (via Cavs) | Cameron Carr | Wing | Baylor | Junior |
| 23 | Philadelphia 76ers (via Rockets) | Motiejus Krivas | Center | Arizona | Junior |
| 24 | Los Angeles Lakers | Dailyn Swain | Forward | Texas | Junior |
| 25 | New York Knicks | Tyler Tanner | Guard | Vanderbilt | Sophomore |
| 26 | Denver Nuggets | Allen Graves | Forward | Santa Clara | Freshman |
| 27 | Boston Celtics | Tounde Yessoufou | Guard | Baylor | Freshman |
| 28 | Minnesota Timberwolves (via Pistons) | Joshua Jefferson | Forward | Iowa State | Senior |
| 29 | Cleveland Cavaliers (via Spurs) | Koa Peat | Forward | Arizona | Freshman |
| 30 | Dallas Mavericks (via Thunder) | Tarris Reed | Center | UConn | Senior |
Some do some quick takes here:
- Boozer is my No. 1 prospect because he was obviously the best player in the country this year, he’s the youngest of the big three, he has the strongest feel for the game, and the best offensive versatility. I don’t understand the skepticism about his upside as he goes to the next level. All he does is impact winning to the highest degree. I really like his fit in Washington with a mobile defensive center in Alex Sarr.
- Acuff shouldn’t be a top-five pick in my view, because he might be the worst defensive player in the class. Still, the freshman point guard’s production was incredible this season and there are already rumors the Kings are interested. Acuff to Sacramento makes too much sense.
- I love the fit with Mikel Brown Jr. going to Dallas. The Point Flagg experiment was cool, but let’s get him focused on playing elite level defensive again.
- Bennett Stirtz is my favorite prospect after the lottery this year. He’s an elite shot-maker with the strong feel who should thrive once he exits Iowa head coach Ben McCollum’s super slow offense.
- The toughest evaluation this year is Jayden Quaintance. He looked like a stud as a 17-year-old freshman at Arizona State a year ago, but recovering from a torn ACL wiped away almost his entire season at Kentucky this year. Quaintance has great physical tools, but his offensive impact is questionable. I thought he’d be a lock for a top-10 pick coming into the year, and now it’s extremely difficult to project where he could go.
Got a question or comment about this mock? Leave a comment and I’ll respond
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What a great college basketball season. The draft lottery is going to be absolute cinema.
