Grading the 2026 NBA Draft
Another draft cycle is in the books. After attending the NBA Draft live in person, here's my in-depth view on how all teams performed with their made selections:
Introduction
What a week it’s been. I visited the United States for the first time in my life and spent these days in New York City. I’ve very-much enjoyed the city, the food and encountered many, many friendly people. I’ll definitely come back a lot more in the coming years.
The draft has been a great experience as well. It was fun seeing the action in person, but in hindsight I’d rather watch the action on television. But it didn’t make it less fun, as I continued to take notes during the event while trying to follow everything that happened in terms of picks being traded etc.
Overall, it’s been a boring draft in terms of consensus versus outcome. That was the disappointing factor this year. Most of the made selections were to be expected as well. But let’s continue with what you all came here for: grading all draft selections!
The Verdict
Thoughts
The Lottery
Overall, it’s been a boring draft in terms of consensus versus outcome. The Los Angeles Clippers had the chance to shake things up, but went with the ‘right pick’ in Keaton Wagler, who’ll be a long-term cornerstone for them. Overall, my biggest worry for the top is that Cameron Boozer went to a spot where they’ll rebuild and let him be Cam, while Washington has paid Trae Young big money while AJ Dybantsa has been the guy his entire life, and now has to adjust to a new situation where he’s in the passenger’s seat for a few years.
Overall, everyone in the top ten might the right picks, where in terms of production the Sacramento Kings cornerstone in Darius Acuff, Jr. has a clear path to be the early standout among all guards, while the Nets, Bucks and Hawks all found the right fit. Despite them being high-level players, it’s been good decisions, not great so I came nowhere close in giving teams a A+ in my grading this year.
My favorite fit at the top is Peterson going to Utah. He’ll play with another pure two-guard in Keyonte George, and I’m very sure that’s the reason why it’s going to be a success, as Peterson’s high-end defense on top of both players being potentially outlier offensive weapons will pan out greatly for the Jazz. Chicago made two good decisions as they lock their future three and four in Swain and Wilson, while the lottery-bound centers will fight a big battle to where Mara is the high-end utility forward ready to take on a championship battle as a rookie, while Steinbach will elevate the Hornets’ frontcourt where they didn’t find the much-needed production this past year.
The Remainder of the First Round
The post-lottery guards have all went to situations where they can play a much-needed role immediately. OKC has traded two guards and Stirtz comes in as a immediate producer, giving them relief by adding a floor general, while Ebuka Okorie and Labaron Philon, Jr. will both be leading ball handlers and scorers in the minutes they’ll play. The Hornets made the best decision in Christian Anderson, Jr. adding the flair and top-end offensive potential days before the big LaMelo Ball-trade.
San Antonio looks to make a win-now type of combination with Tarris Reed, Jr. who fills an immediate role, but has been a reach with a rookie-scaled contract in the first round to where Jayden Quaintance is health-wise already clear that he won’t play big minutes anytime soon — hence the Reed, Jr. pick. I’m not moved with San Antonio going for both, but understand it as it was clear against the New York Knicks that they desperately needed help at center. The C’s for San Antonio are because Atlanta took their needed option in Zuby Ejiofor, who is a fantastic pick for them.
Continuing with utility pieces, Memphis did well to focus on physical players while adding a utility wing in Karim López while the Lakers addressed their shooting and athleticism needs in Cameron Carr. Overall, winning players seemed to be the emphasis as well, while Sacramento traded up to get Alex Karaban—the most NBA-ready wing in this class, while Dallas has their much-needed pick-and-roll playmaker in the Spanish sensation Sergio De Larrea, who I wrote about more than three years ago!
The Second Round
This is where reality should kick in. There’s something to say about all these picks in terms of a great outcome. But we should stay realistic. They go in the second round because of a combination of teams struggling to utilize their cap space as good as possible and trading back into the second round, with the Knicks being an example. Also, we see teams draft older guys who have more of a specific role for the NBA, not focusing on long-term potential anymore, but taking what’s there at face value. I can name seven players who’ll have a decade-plus NBA career from this year’s second round, but it’s not realistic as of now because it’s not feasible these players will be treated like a player on a first-round deal in the form of a rookie-scaled contract.
Houston will make New York regret that they traded the pick that led to Bruce Thornton, who has been one of my favorite upperclassman guards for two straight years. Instead, they took a similarly-physical guard in Kayil but without the clear path of him having an impact for their backcourt while using it more as a developmental pick like Miles McBride five years ago. Overall, Memphis, Minnesota and Cleveland all addressed their shooting needs with quality pieces who we will flourish. Especially Saunders will make the Grizzlies look like geniuses because he only fell because of the season-ending injury, while Evans and Thomas are young and can have a similar developmental path as Kayil in New York City.
Baba Miller, Dillon Mitchell, and Trevon Brazile are more utility forwards while the first two are pure athletic, high-motor finishers while Brazile is more of a floor-spacer alongside Miller. All three names will have a shot at cracking the rotation early in the season. The two Western Conference Finalists add much-needed leadership and guard play to the mix as well, with two quality picks at hindsight, but with players who are used to having the ball in their hands and must find a way to adjust to the NBA where that won’t be the case. My question here is how well those teams can implement that.
As expected, we see five centers being picked after 45, mostly being easy-to-replace options who will have to battle their way into back-up center roles. Izaiyah Nelson is my favorite among the five, while Ngoy will be a college-stash—another development I really like about the way the NCAA is shaping things up.
For other positions, defensive versatility has been the main focus, with Tyler Nickel being one of the names who might add some wing depth to give their stars some relief during the regular season. Sacramento did well by adding another consistently-performing piece from a high-end program in Emanuel Sharp. On top of that, Dallas made sure they gave De Larrea a high-end athlete and finisher outside the center spot in Lawal, maximizing their ability to create plays via the backcourt.
Last but not least: Lajae Jones and Vsevolod Ishchenko are two fantastic picks and both have a clear shot at cracking the rotation. The top-end shooting while adding few more quality skills to play NBA playoff basketball makes that the reason for them. Those two were my clear favorites in round two, alongside the Raptors adding a All-American guard in Jaden Bradley while San Antonio get the best defensive forward in college in Maliq Brown.
Came out as Winners
Dallas Mavericks
Charlotte Hornets
Sacramento Kings
Atlanta Hawks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Golden State Warriors
Most Underwhelming
Brooklyn Nets
Minnesota Timberwolves
San Antonio Spurs
Predicting the Award Winners
Rookie of the Year
Cameron Boozer — Memphis Grizzlies
All-Rookie First Team
G — Darius Acuff, Jr. — Sacramento Kings
G — Darryn Peterson — Utah Jazz
W — AJ Dybantsa — Washington Wizards
F — Cameron Boozer — Memphis Grizzlies
C — Hannes Steinbach — Charlotte Hornets
All-Rookie Second Team
G — Keaton Wagler — Los Angeles Clippers
G — Mikel Brown, Jr. — Brooklyn Nets
W — Alex Karaban — Sacramento Kings
F — Yaxel Lendeborg — Golden State Warriors
F — Morez Johnson, Jr. — Dallas Mavericks