back to: 2026 NBA Mock Draft
1/11/26
It seems like every week we have a new breakout star in this loaded 2026 NBA draft class. Earlier in the season we had a Caleb Wilson week, then a Keaton Wagler week. Recently it’s been Tyler Tanner who has captured the hearts of college basketball fans and draft nerds. Tanner is one of the most dynamic small guard we’ve seen in a long time. At a generously listed 6-feet tall he’s a very capable above the rim player with a lightning quick first step and great burst. He’s got long arms, which help him play bigger than his size and the type of electric athletic ability that keeps crowds on the edge of their seats. I have him mocked in the early second round but my bet is that he’ll return to school and cash in on some major NIL money before entering the much weaker 2027 draft.
Another hot name right now is Alabama wing Amari Allen. He’s been one of their best players and just looks the part of a NBA wing. He’s not overly explosive and doesn’t make a lot of ‘wow’ plays but he’s incredibly smart and fundamentally sound and just knows how to ball. He’s another guy who could decide to cash in on NIL money with an eye on the 2027 draft.
I keep moving Henry Veesaar up my board. While he might not be the most exciting player in the country the 7-foot Estonian is incredibly productive on the court and has a skill set that every NBA could use. In the late lottery/mid first round area it’ll be tempting to swing on the high upside freshmen but a solid, NBA-ready player like Veesaar might be the wise choice.
Jayden Quaintance is only a few games into his Kentucky career, after missing the start of the season recovering from the ACL so it’s too early to judge…but…. it looks like the offensive game remains very raw. He’s a stud defender and will earn NBA minutes with his play on that side of the floor but I’m starting to wonder if all the top 10 hype is too much. Again, it’s too early to tell and he’s going to take some time before being back at full strength and getting into the flow of the game but there are some signs for concern.
In fact, I’ve got some concerns with most of the big men in this draft class and have an article coming out really soon on that topic. I’ll link it here when it’s posted.
12/6/25
We’ve finally seen the long awaited debut of UConn shooting guard Braylon Mullins. The wiry 6-6 sharp shooter has looked really good since returning from an ankle injury. He’s a great movement shooter and a high feel player who has supreme confidence on the court. He’s also much more than just a shooter, showing some dribble drive and mid range game and solid defensive abilities.
Alabama point guard Labaron Philon continues his impressive play and continues to rise up the mock draft. He looks to be in total control on the court and looks like a NBA player playing down a level in college basketball.
The biggest faller on my latest mock is Tennessee forward Nate Ament who drops out of the top 10 for the first time in a long time. He’s a prospect that shows awesome flashes but too often disappears on the court and is somewhat of an enigma that is hard to get a good read on. He’s got great size for a wing but is a slow mover that struggles to get separation and can’t really get to the rim. He’s mainly a perimeter player who lacks the explosiveness and physicality to impact in the lane. Maybe he moves back up the board with some good performances…we’ll see.
A prospect that I struggle to rank is Arkansas point guard Darius Acuff Jr. He looks like a lottery pick to me but whenever I do the mock update he ends up in the late teens. Part of this is due to how strong the draft class is but still, my gut instinct is that he needs to be ranked higher. Maybe next mock update :)
I’m not super high on the international guys this year. Karim Lopez is intriguing in theory but when I see him play I just don’t see a lottery level prospect. He’s young and has time to improve his body and athleticism but for now I see him as a late first rounder.
I’m a bit higher on Dash Daniels, at least in terms of long-term projection. He’s got the tools to be a high level NBA player and of course the standout defensive abilities that are already on a NBA level. He’s a project but one that is worth a swing in the mid/late first.
11/25/25
For now the Big 3 at the top of the draft remain the same (DP, AJ, Cam) but if you saw my latest Big Board you’d know how I feel about Caleb Wilson. Wilson has been sensational to start the season and it could just be a matter of time before he breaks into the top 3. His. teammate Henri Veesaar is playing at a high level as well and is looking like a first rounder.
Overall this draft class is more than living up to the hype. The top of the draft is loaded with superstar level talents and there is really high level prospects through the lottery. The emergence of players like Kingston Flemings and Cameron Carr only enhance an already strong late lottery/mid first round range.
One player that has slid down the board a few spots is Baylor wing Tounde Yessoufou. He’s been solid to start the season but has looked a bit more raw than expected. I still see him as a lottery level talent but at one point I had him mocked in the top half of the lottery, which now seems unlikely.
A less heralded prospect who has really impressed me is Gonzaga freshman guard Mario Saint-Supery. The 6-3 Spaniard is a tough, hard-nosed, high IQ player who reminds me of a young Tyler Kolek. He might not be a one and done but I think he has a NBA future.
Another potential second-round riser is Illinois wing Andrej Stojakovic who has been coming on strong over the past few games. He’s looking like a more well-rounded scorer than what we saw from him previously and he’s playing with a ton of confidence. That Illinois team has a number of NBA prospects including stud freshman forward David Mirkovic, freshman wing Keaton Wagler (who could be a next year guy) and big man Tomislav Ivisic.
A player who I had ranked outside of the top 60 but who has risen into draftable range on my latest mock is Florida big man Rueben Chinyelu. He’s not going to be a star at the next level but seems like the type of physical enforcer off the bench that every NBA team would love to have. He’s only a junior so he could be a 2027 pick, if he decides to stay in school.
11/4/25
College basketball is back in a big way with some monster first games, especially for the freshmen. Koa Peat played out of his mind in his first game at Arizona, looking every bit as poised, polished and powerful as a senior. I’ve had him ranked in the top 10 range of this draft class for years now but for some reason (getting too cute) I dropped him to 15. He’ll be making a big jump up when my next mock comes out tomorrow. Fellow Arizona freshman Brayden Burries had a really tough opening night, fighting foul trouble and having an off shooting night but still I’m very bullish on his draft stock. Despite the bad night he looked physically mature and very ready for the college game. I can’t move him up the board after such a bad game but I’m not going to move him down.
On the other side of the court Florida’s Thomas Haugh poured in 27 points and looked like the type of versatile Swiss-army knife player that will have NBA teams enamored. He’s not a first option offensive player but could be an elite glue-guy in the league.
Despite being in the spotlight for so long now AJ Dybantsa is still a tough evaluation for me. He’s a strange player with his herky-jerky style and awkward movements. He doesn’t always handle the ball as well as you’d like and he’s missing an outside shot but at the same time he’s an athletic 6-9 ball-handling wing who can get into the lane pretty much it will and impose his will on the game. On one hand it bothers me that he struggles to finish over shorter and less athletic players but then once in a while he just explodes into the lane with his size and length and athleticism on full display and makes a”wow” play. It’s easy to forget just how young he is and he’s got time to put more polish on his game and improve his jumper.
Nate Ament is like the polar opposite of AJ Dybantsa in many ways. His positives are that he’s a great outside shooter at 6-10 and he’s got great touch on his mid range jumper as well. But he lacks the ability to explode into the lane and is more of a smooth athlete than a twitchy player. Even with his lack of burst I’m completely enamored with his upside potential. He plays the game at his own pace and can get his outside shot whenever he wants. He’s got pretty good handles for a 6-10 freshman and will only get stronger and more powerful on his drives as he fills out his frame.
Speaking of Tennessee, they lost Cameron Carr to the transfer portal last season and he came out swinging for the Baylor Bears with a 28 point opening night, hitting 3 of 6 from downtown and adding 2 steals as 3 blocks. He could be a riser on draft boards over the first part of this season.
Tounde Yessoufou did many good things in his first college game and looked like a lottery pick. With such as strong freshmen class he has a lot of competition for landing in the the top 10 but he’s certainly in the mix.
Arkansas freshmen guards Meleek Thomas and Darius Acuff Jr. had really strong first games. Acuff has often been mocked in the mid first round, or even as high as the lottery, while Thomas has most often been mocked outside the first round. That will likely change as the wiry 6-4 shooting guard has looked really good in exhibition play and now in his first official game. He’s really quick and crafty with the ball and has a lightning quick jumper. Early on he’s looking like one of the most lethal outside shooters in the class. Some of the upper class men on the Razorbacks are NBA prospects as well but the two freshmen look like the cream of the crop.
UNC’s Caleb Wilson is a special talent with rare movement skills for a 6-10 dude. He’s got the athletic tools and the mindset to be an All-NBA defender and he’s becoming a force on the offensive end as well. He lacks polish on his game but the upside is through the roof. He’s looking more and more like a top 10 lock.
Darryn Peterson looked as good as expected in his first official game at Kansas pouring in 21 points in 22 minutes on 7 of 11 shooting. He’s going to have some monster scouring games this season on his way to being a top 2 pick in the draft.
One of his big challengers at the top of the draft, Cameron Boozer, plays tonight in a great opening match-up of Duke vs. Texas. I’m going to wait to update my mock draft until tomorrow to take in all of tonight’s games first.
9/15/25
For about two years AJ Dybantsa held onto the no.1 spot in my 2026 mock draft but over the course of the past year Darryn Peterson has been making his case for the top spot. Now he has it. The move comes due to a combination of factors but is mainly due to the insane talents of Peterson, who might be the best guard prospect since Kobe.
The 6-5 Kansas guard can do it all on the floor and is the most polished scorer coming out of high school in a long, long time. He can get to the rim, has a lethal mid range game and is a pure outside shooter. He’s got handles, quickness, strength, athleticism and feel for the game. In short, he can do it all.
The move also comes as AJ Dybantsa has sort of leveled off in his growth and trajectory. He is still an elite talent who would challenge for the top spot in just about any recruiting class but there appears to be a bit of a stagnation in his development. He’s an absolute monster taking the ball to the basket and in the transition game. Where the doubts come in are with his outside shot, where off the catch and shoot or off the bounce. During the recent FIBA U19 tournament AJ won MVP (although many considered Mikal Brown the real MVP) and he showed his dominance going to the basket but he hit only 2 out of 18 three pointers.
After dropping him from no.1 to no.2 I think I’ll keep him ranked there until the season starts. Then we’ll see if he can hold off the powerful and polished Cameron Boozer, who is also in the mix for the top spot in the class.
6/27/25
This is one of the most exciting times of years for draft fans. Obviously it’s all about the current draft that just went down but it’s also the time of year where we glance ahead to the next draft cycle and start to identify the top talents in the upcoming class.
We also start to analyze which NBA teams might be near the top of next year’s draft and can imagine how the top prospects might fit on their roster.
I took a closer look here at my way too early projected top 10 prospects. It’s clearly a very strong group, even if some of the names at the top shift over the course of the next year.
I also took a closer look at the 2026 draft class in this article but the long and short of it is that after the elite group at the top there is a ton of depth thanks in large part to the NIL rules. Next year’s second round is going to be night and day compared to the weak second round we just saw yesterday.
2/15/25
The top prospects for the 2026 draft continue to shine. Darryn Peterson is an elite prospect who is challenging Dybantsa for the top spot in the class. He’s a special talent who would be the no.1 overall prospect in many recruiting classes.
Caleb Wilson has committed to UNC, giving the Tar Heels an elite talent at the PF position. It’ll be interesting to see if one or both of Drake Powell and Ian Jackson stay for another year. They could have a very intriguing team next year.
USC got a huge commitment from Alijah Arenas who classed-up to the 2025 recruiting class.
Overseas Karim Lopez is looking like he could be the top international prospect next year. He’s showing well in the NBL.
12/4/24
The 2026 NBA Draft is shaping up to be a really special draft class. We still have a year and a half until the 2026 draft but we can already identify 5 or 6 elite level prospects and a number of potential future stars. We’re now hearing rumors that Alijah Arenas might reclassify and join this class, making it even stronger.
As good as the 2025 draft is looking, 2026 might end up being even better.
Recent commitments in this class include star guard Darryn Peterson committing to Kansas and Meleek Thomas committing to Arkansas.
Stud PF/C Chris Cenac Jr. has committed to Houston, joining Isiah Harwell and Kingston Fleming in a stacked class for the Cougars
And of course the Boozer twins are going to Duke.
6/28/24
With two full years to go until the 2026 NBA Draft there are a few knowns and many unknowns about the 2026 draft class. Let’s start with the knowns:
We see two TRULY ELITE talents at the top of the class in AJ Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer. They are very different players but both look the part of a future no.1 overall pick and that battle is going to be great to watch over the next two years.
Dybantsa is a giant wing with elite physical tools and awesome, tough shot-making ability. He’s an overpowering player at the high school level who can step back and hit difficult 3’s or muscle his way into the lane and soar to the rim for the finish. He’ll be spending his senior season at Utah Prep and holds the no.1 spot in most recruit rankings.
Boozer (son of Carlos Boozer) is the most polished young player I can remember ever scouting, especially for a big man. He’s a 6-9 power forward who reminds me a of a mix between Michael Beasley and Jayson Tatum, with a little Paolo Banchero mixed in as well. The level of refinement in his game is impressive. He can do it all on the offensive end, making it all look easy and effortless. He’s incredibly efficient with his touches and can put up 30 points without breaking a sweat. I wouldn’t call him an elite athlete but he’s got impressive quickness, strength, size and all the tools. His twin brother Cayden, a combo guard, is a high level prospect as well.
At this early stage it’s clear that those two are at the top of the 2026 draft class but there are some other special talents as well, most notably polished scoring guard Darryn Paterson, stud power forward Caleb Wilson and do-it-all forward Koa Peat. A fast rising name in the this class is lengthy wing Nate Ament, who is a silky smooth offensive talent oozing with upside.
There has been a lot of praise for the strong 2025 draft class, and well deserved, but the 2026 draft class is looking very strong as well. After a down year in 2024 it’s great to see two really good draft classes on the near horizon. Stay tuned to this page for ongoing updates and commentary on the 2026 draft class.
back to: 2026 NBA Mock Draft
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