The tape has been watched, the numbers have been crunched, and the 2026 NBA Draft cycle is finally coming to a close. The draft begins on Tuesday night with the Washington Wizards on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick. By now, everyone has an opinion on this class.
NBA mock draft 2026: Final projection after Giannis trade lands Bucks another lottery pick
Here’s our final projection of the 2026 NBA Draft.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Read why we believe Cameron Boozer is the top overall player in this class. Check out our final big board that ranks the 60 best prospects available. Read our in-depth profile of Caleb Wilson to hear about the past, present, and future of the draft’s most explosive athlete.
Now it’s time for our final mock draft. There’s some movement since our last mock over the weekend with the Giannis Antetokounmpo blockbuster delivering the No. 13 overall pick to the Milwaukee Bucks via the Miami Heat, and Brooklyn Nets reportedly leaning a new way with the No. 6 overall pick. We’ll have more analysis on what’s changed going into draft night after the table.
Pick | Team | Player | Position | School | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington Wizards | AJ Dybantsa | Wing | BYU | Freshman |
| 2 | Utah Jazz | Darryn Peterson | Guard | Kansas | Freshman |
| 3 | Memphis Grizzlies | Cameron Boozer | Forward | Duke | Freshman |
| 4 | Chicago Bulls | Caleb Wilson | Forward | North Carolina | Freshman |
| 5 | Los Angeles Clippers | Keaton Wagler | Guard | Illinois | Freshman |
| 6 | Brooklyn Nets | Mikel Brown Jr. | Guard | Arkansas | Freshman |
| 7 | Sacramento Kings | Darius Acuff | Guard | Houston | Freshman |
| 8 | Atlanta Hawks | Kingston Flemings | Guard | Louisville | Freshman |
| 9 | Dallas Mavericks | Brayden Burries | Guard | Arizona | Freshman |
| 10 | Milwaukee Bucks | Nate Ament | Forward | Tennessee | Freshman |
| 11 | Golden State Warriors | Aday Mara | Forward | Michigan | Senior |
| 12 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Yaxel Lendeborg | Center/Forward | Michigan | Sophomore |
| 13 | Milwaukee Bucks | Labaron Philon | Guard | Alabama | Sophomore |
| 14 | Charlotte Hornets | Morez Johnson | Center/Forward | Washington | Washington |
| 15 | Chicago Bulls | Hannes Steinbach | Center | Michigan | Freshman |
| 16 | Memphis Grizzlies (via Magic) | Bennett Stirtz | Guard | Iowa | Senior |
| 17 | Oklahoma City Thunder (via 76ers) | Karim Lopez | Forward | NZ Breakers | Born 2007 |
| 18 | Charlotte Hornets (via Suns) | Dailyn Swain | Wing | Texas | Junior |
| 19 | Toronto Raptors | Christian Anderson | Texas Tech | Guard | Sophomore |
| 20 | San Antonio Spurs | Cameron Carr | Big | Houston | Freshman |
| 21 | Detroit Pistons (via Wolves) | Ebuka Okorie | Wing | Baylor | Junior |
| 22 | Philadelphia 76ers | Allen Graves | Big | Kentucky | Sophomore |
| 23 | Atlanta Hawks (via Cavs) | Jayden Quaintance | Guard | Stanford | Freshman |
| 24 | New York Knicks | Chris Cenac Jr. | Forward | Santa Clara | RS Freshman |
| 25 | Los Angeles Lakers | Joshua Jefferson | Forward | Iowa State | Senior |
| 26 | Denver Nuggets | Koa Peat | Forward | Arizona | Freshman |
| 27 | Boston Celtics | Sergio De Larrea | Guard | Valencia | Born 2005 |
| 28 | Minnesota Timberwolves (via Pistons) | Isaiah Evans | Guard | Duke | Sophomore |
| 29 | Cleveland Cavaliers (via Spurs) | Henri Veesaar | Big | North Carolina | Junior |
| 30 | Dallas Mavericks (via Thunder) | Meleek Thomas | Guard | Arkansas | Freshman |
Here’s what changed since our last mock:
- The Nets now take Mikel Brown Jr. over Darius Acuff: The tea leaves are suggesting that Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr. will be Brooklyn’s pick at No. 7. This would be wonderful news for the Sacramento Kings, because they reportedly covet Arkansas’ Darius Acuff at No. 7.
- It feels like the Hawks will choose between Kingston Flemings and Aday Mara: Atlanta has already re-signed C.J. McCollum, but it was only a one-year deal. Flemings is almost unanimously viewed as a better prospect than Mara. I don’t think this will be that difficult of a call for the Hawks. Flemings is the pick for this mock.
- I was tempted to put a Michigan man at No. 9, but stuck with Brayden Burries: Basically everyone’s mock draft has Dallas taking Burries. I thought about putting Yaxel Lendeborg or Morez Johnson here as the Dusty May hire, but ultimately decided to finish the drill.
- The Warriors go with Aday Mara, and the Thunder go for Yaxel Lendeborg: Mara just feels like such a great fit for Steve Kerr’s system given his fantastic passing ability, and the Warriors also need a big man. Yaxel to OKC is perfect. He was telling me about dreaming of playing with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back in March.
- The Bucks have options at No. 15: Milwaukee brought in Labaron Philon for a workout during the pre-draft process, so I’m assuming they like him. The other guys they brought in for workouts are already gone in this projection (Acuff, Brown, and Lendeborg), and I doubt Cenac is a realistic option here. The Bucks already have two pretty good guards in Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr., and they also added another developmental guard in Kasparas Jakucionis in the Giannis trade. Morez Johnson and Karim Lopez could also make sense here.
- I have no idea what the Bulls do at No. 15: I think Chicago would run to select Morez Johnson or Aday Mara, but both are off the board in this projection. I have Hannes Steinbach tabbed here. He’s one of my favorite players in the class (No. 10 on my final board), but he’s not exactly the defensive anchor the Bulls need next to Caleb Wilson long-term. It’s worth noting the Bulls added another center on Monday by taking on Nic Claxton from the Nets in the three-team Julius Randle deal. I have no idea which way new top executive Bryson Graham would be leaning if the board breaks like this.
- Chris Cenac falls: I put Cenac top-20 a couple days ago, but that feels a bit too rich. He feels like a little bit of a project as a toolsy big man who needs to develop both physically and mentally right now. Cenac drops to the Knicks at No. 24 in this mock while San Antonio goes with a more ready-made contributor in Baylor wing Cam Carr.
How to watch the 2026 NBA Draft
Here’s how to watch the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft:
Date: Tuesday, June 23
TV and streaming: ESPN
Time: 8 p.m. ET
The second round will begin at the same time and on the same network on Wednesday, June 24.
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