With exactly one year until the 2026 NBA Draft there is a lot that we don’t know. There will be players who fly up the draft board over the coming year, and players who fall. But one thing we know for certain is that there will be elite talent throughout the top 10 picks next year.
It’s such a stacked class that even if a few of the guys falter there is plenty of talent waiting in the wings to rise into the top 10.
The race for the no.1 pick looks like it’ll be a 3 way race with a possible 4th dark horse candidate. AJ Dybansta, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer are the front-runners with Nate Ament lurking just behind them. This is a special group of players, a four-headed monster as I called them in my in depth Stupendously Early Look At The 2026 Draft Class.
But the big time talent goes well beyond the top four. Chris Cenac Jr., the 6-10 center heading to Houston, is special. He’s got a rare mix of size, twitchy-ness and talent. He can put it on the deck, hit outside shots and soar above the rim. He’s going to be awesome to watch for the defending runner-ups.
Tounde Yessoufou has been a big riser over the past 6 months. He’s a special athlete with size, bulk, burst and bounce. He’s a sensational open court athlete who is a nightmare in transition. He can also hit the outside shot and has some court vision as well. He’s the next in a long line of elite Baylor guards who are one and done first rounders.
At this early stage I see the top 10 prospects for the 2026 draft as follows (it’ll be interesting to check back on this in a year to see how many land in the top 10 of the draft)
Top 10 Projected Prospects In the 2026 NBA Draft
- AJ Dybantsa – SF – BYU
- Darryn Peterson – SG – Kansas
- Cameron Boozer – PF – Duke
- Nate Ament – SF/PF – Tennessee
- Chris Cenac Jr. – PF/C – Houston
- Dash Daniels – PG – Australia
- Karim Lopez – SF – NZ Breakers, NBL (Mexico)
- Tounde Yessoufou – SF – Baylor (Benin)
- Jayden Quaintance – PF/C – Kentucky
- Caleb Wilson – PF – North Carolina
I feel pretty good that at least 5 or 6 of these guys will stay in the top 10 of my mock all season long and go in the top 10 next June.
A few things that stand out about this group are:
1) The blue bloods are well represented here. We got Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina. I’m not as sure Caleb Wilson will be a one and done top 10 pick so he’s a question mark but I really like his talent and think there’s a chance. Jayden Quaintance is going into his sophomore year, his first at Kentucky after transferring from Arizona State. He was too young to enter the 2025 draft but would have been a mid first rounder if he was able to.
2) The two international players are not from France and one is the highest rated prospect to ever come out of Mexico. Karim Lopez is playing in the NBL and is looking like an elite talent. He could even go in the top 5. Dash Daniels is the younger brother of Dyson Daniels and is more advanced at this stage.
3) There is no elite 7-footer in this group. The closest is Chris Cenac Jr. at about 6-10, maybe 6-11. He does have a 7-3+ wingspan.
4) The only point guard on this list is Dash Daniels, who is somewhat of a combo guard. Darius Acuff (Arkansas) is right there in the mix and Mikal Brown (Louisville) has been buzzing all spring/early summer. One or both of those guys could crash the top 10 party.
5) At this early stage it does not look like there is a top prospect coming from Europe for the 2026 draft. This is pretty shocking after such a long run of elite talent coming from the likes of France and Spain etc.
6) No team has multiple players projected in the top 10. The closest might be Duke, if either Isaiah Evans or Dame Sarr have a monster season. Nikolas Khamenia could be in the mix as well but at the moment I have him in the 2027 first round. Houston could if Isaiah Harwell excels. In each of the previous three years we’ve had a team with multiple top 10 picks (Duke had three in the top ten this year!).
7) Arizona has a bunch of NBA talent on their roster and two players that are just outside my top 10 right now, Koa Peat and Brayden Burries. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them ends up in the top ten.
8) I don’t think it’s physically possible for me to write an article about the 2026 draft without mentioning Bennett Stirtz (Iowa). So this line item is for that.
We know a lot can and will change over the coming year but one thing that is sure to stay the same is that the talent at the top of next year’s class is going to be special.
Here’s my full two round 2026 NBA Mock Draft