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Guard Darryn Peterson #22 is No. 1 on our 2026 NBA Mock Draft.
We are just a few days from the opening of the draft, after months of anticipation. But first, we have a new 2026 NBA Mock Draft, with a significant change in the most significant place: No. 1.
Yes, after much angling and considerable drama, we’re forecasting Darryn Peterson from Kansas, even after a rocky freshman year with the Jayhawks at No. 1. The reasoning was simple: Enough scouts are conceding that Peterson has the higher upside over AJ Dybantsa, who is probably a cleaner fit than Peterson. But the Wizards are still rebuilding and they need as much upside as they can get.
It’s entirely possible that the Wizards are sending out smokescreens on their intentions, and that they’re going to stick with Dybantsa, the safer pick. Heck, they could yet pick Cameron Boozer and throw us all for a loop. But for now, we’re bumping Peterson up to No. 1.
At the Top: Darryn Peterson Makes His Move
- Washington Wizards. Darryn Peterson, SG, Kansas. We’re bumping Peterson up here. It is worth noting, though, that the Wizards have been very tight-lipped about their intentions here, and it’s safe to say that everything is on the table–a trade (not probable), AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer or Peterson. The big concern is Peterson’s repeated cramping issues while he was at Kansas, but if the Wizards are OK with how that played out, Peterson has upside. Dybantsa is the safer pick, but one scout said, “Peterson has tended to get the better of Dybantsa when they’ve met before.”
… - Utah Jazz. AJ Dybantsa, F, BYU. This would be ideal for the Jazz and part of the push to move Peterson up is coming from Peterson’s camp, which would rather not see Peterson in a backcourt with Keyonte George (they have the same agency). Dybantsa would be a cleaner fit, positionally. And he’s really good. Worth noting, too, is the fact that the Jazz have looked at lower-rated players, indicating they’d be willing to move down or add another pick in a trade. Scout: “He checks every box and is going to come into the league with an All-Star’s game. He needs to get more consistent with his shooting and he needs to be better at understanding how to keep an offense moving because he can be a ball-stopper sometimes. But those are easy fixes. Everything else is an A.”
… - Memphis Grizzlies. Cameron Boozer, PF, Duke. Memphis has it easy–let the drama play out in front of them and take the third guy on the board. Boozer is the no-drama guy in all of this. We still don’t know where things will go with Ja Morant, but the Grizzlies are trying to offload before the draft, hoping to get a pick. Either way, starting to build around Boozer, Cedric Coward, a hopefully healthy Zach Edey, and whomever the Grizz can get at point guard is not a bad prospect. One scout on Boozer: “He has so much skill around the basket, he knows how to win, and he makes everyone around him better. He will score 25 points and still throw elbows, set screens, dive on the floor. He is a guy you want on your team.”
NBA Mock Draft 2026: The Aday Mara Problem
- Chicago Bulls. Caleb Wilson, PF, North Carolina. Like the Grizzlies, the Bulls appear to have an easy job of it here: Take Wilson. The Bulls need a star, and Wilson has the capability to be electric. He is less polished than the guys going ahead of him, but the raw talent is there. Scout: “He reminds me of Chris Bosh, and Bosh was a Hall of Famer. But you’ve got to remember, Bosh put in a ton of work–he was way too skinny and could not shoot when he came in, but you could see the tools. Wilson, you can see the tools but he is skinny and he needs to learn to shoot better. So the question is, how much work is he going to put in?”
… - LA Clippers (from Indiana Pacers). Mikel Brown, Jr., PG, Louisville. It appears the Clippers are honing in on three players: Brown, Darius Acuff and Keaton Wagler. But there is a considerable chance that the Clippers will trade this pick, which they had about a 50-50 chance of winning as part of the Ivica Zubac trade. They would still like to keep at least one pick in the first round, but the Clippers see this as an opportunity to collect multiple assets. Scout on Brown: “He makes mistakes, and you’ve got to live with those and hope he improves. But he has a ton of creativity, he can shoot from the perimeter and he pressures the rim. There’s a lot of upside.”
… - Brooklyn Nets. Aday Mara, C, Michigan. The heat around Mara has cooled a bit but we’re sticking with him in this spot, under the assumption that the Nets interest in him has not faded, and/or that they have a willingness to move down a few spots for more assets so that someone else takes him here. The Nets certainly could add yet another guard here, with Darius Acuff, Keaton Wagler or Mikel Brown possibilities, but Mara remains a wildcard. He is a young, skilled and very tall player in a league that now has a Victor Wembanyama problem. Mara is a reach, for sure, but the interest is there.
… - Sacramento Kings. Darius Acuff Jr., PG, Arkansas. We’re skeptical on Acuff because of his defense, but the Kings are said to be targeting him if he is on the board at No. 7. Acuff is a very tough and versatile scorer, and that is undeniable. But as one scout said, “He is not just a bad defender, he is an awful defender. You will need to work on him to get him up to average.” Now, having looked at how poor defenders in the backcourt have been so problematic for playoff teams, that should knock him down the draft board. But the rumors about the Kings having interest are out there, and it would be very on brand for Sacramento to take him.
Keaton Wagler in the Mavericks’ Laps
- Atlanta Hawks (from New Orleans Pelicans). Kingston Flemings, PG, Houston. The Hawks also have the No. 23 pick in this draft and have explored trading up. They’ve also explored trading back and adding assets. The fact that they’ve got CJ McCollum on board and are expected to re-sign him won’t stop them from adding a point guard, though, especially a proven two-way guard who plays with intelligence like Flemings. He is a good shooter who can develop his 3-ball. He shot 38.7% on 3s at Houston, though he took only 2.9 per game. Scout: “Teams will fall in love with him as they talk with him and see how he thinks the game. There are more raw talented players, but he is a worker and a thinker, and he is going to get everything out of his talent.”
… - Dallas Mavericks. Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois. This would be a dream scenario for the Mavericks, as Wagler could go as high as No. 5 in this draft and he has done well in workouts. But there is a crowd of point guards, and someone is going to slip. If it’s Wagler, a big point guard who would fit well with Cooper Flagg, then it’s job well done for the Mavs.
… - Milwaukee Bucks. Nate Ament, SF, Tennessee. There is skepticism about Ament, as he was not great as a freshman at Tennessee, but he is a 6-foot-10 wing with shooting ability. He just did not show it with the Vols (16.7 points, 39.9% shooting). But many still believe in his natural shooting ability and at his size, that has value. The Bucks need to rebuild and it makes sense to rebuild with big wings. Scout: “Up and down year for him. It was good he came back after getting hurt (ankle injury in late February), but there’s a lot of question marks there. He’s a shooter at 6-foot-10, though. … You just have to trust that you can develop him.”
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NBA Mock Draft 2026: A New Name for the Warriors
- Golden State Warriors. Brayden Burries, G, Arizona. Conventional wisdom holds that Burries will go No. 9 to the Mavericks, and that is possible. It also holds that Yaxel Lendeborg charmed the Warriors in his workout, and that is true, too. But Burries is an excellent shooter who can handle multiple positions and fits well with the Warriors, who hosted him for a workout this week. The concerns about Burries are obvious ones–he is older as an outgoing freshman (he will be 21 in September) and he is a 6-foot-4 combo guard. He is an excellent two-way guard, though, and while he can’t carry a team offensively, he can be a winning player.
… - Oklahoma City Thunder (from LA Clippers). Morez Johnson, PF, Michigan. Johnson has been good in workouts but his limited offense makes his range tough to pin down. Could he go in the Top 10? Possible. Could he go in the late teens? Well, that’s possible, too. But he is a known commodity in that his defense is certain–a team like the Thunder, if they hang onto this pick, can gamble on his offensive upside. Johnson is excellent in his role as a defensive star who can chip in offensively, though is not much of a shooter. His measurements (9-foot standing reach, 7-foot-3 wingspan) in Chicago were impressive. He’s a rim-runner first and foremost, but he can defend, score out of dribble handoffs and has excelled in the double-big lineups.
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- Miami Heat. Yaxel Lendeborg, F, Michigan. It’s possible someone is going to reach for Lendeborg in the Top 10, and it’s not hard to imagine, say, the Hawks at No. 8 or the Mavericks at No. 9 making that leap. But is 23, and that narrows the list of teams willing to take him. He worked out for the Heat, and if Miami actually makes this pick, he’d be an interesting fit for a team that pioneered “positionless basketball.” Scout: “He’s going to be 24 in September, and that’s the big thing with him—he is ready to play in the NBA but you’d expect him to be more of a versatile, dirty-work kind of role player. That’s not a bad thing, but he fits best with a contender. Some teams might be looking for a bigger swing.”
… - Charlotte Hornets. Hannes Steinbach, C/PF, Washington. The Hornets are not locked into taking big men, as they are weighing what to do in the trade market, too. But if they don’t pull off a deal, it makes sense to focus on adding size to a team that is well-stocked on the perimeter. Steinbach was the nation’s leading rebounder in college last year. Scout: “The concerns are, can he defend out to the perimeter, can he guard big shooters? He does not have a lot of athleticism, so that’s No. 1. But he has a lot of skill in the post and he should be able to stretch his offensive game to the 3-point line. Smart player, he understands the angles and that’s why he’s been such a great rebounder.”
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GettyYaxel Lendeborg #23 of the Michigan Wolverines
Point Guards Find Homes
- Chicago Bulls (from Portland Trail Blazers). Cameron Carr, SF, Baylor. Carr is tough to place in this draft. Scouts are split on him, but many believe his off-ball ability will translate to the NBA. He is 6-foot-5 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and good shooting ability–he has the raw tools teams are looking for, and has noticeably improved over time. “I think he is moving up the more NBA people get a closer look at him,” one personnel man said. “He’s not your No. 1 option but he can be a really good No. 3 as a rookie, and a No. 2 in time.”
… - Memphis Grizzlies (from Phoenix Suns). Christian Anderson, G, Texas Tech. We’re sticking with Anderson here, though the Grizzlies have a wide range of possibilities as their rebuild continues. Anderson has been very good in workouts, and has shown he can shoot, run a team and play some defense. He shot well in college (41.5% from the 3-point line this year) and can play both on and off the ball. It’s worth watching Labaron Philon, Bennett Stirtz and Ebuka Okorie here, too. But a point guard would be welcome in Memphis.
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- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Philadelphia Sixers). Karim Lopez, F, New Zealand Breakers. Lopez is under consideration as a Top-10 pick, but he is still something of an unknown, and despite interest in his upside, teams that are looking for more of a sure thing would be willing to pass on him. The Thunder can afford a risk, if they hold this pick. Lopez is 6-foot-8.25 with a 6-foot-11.5 wingspan and he didn’t quite put it together in his NBL season this year, averaging 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 49% shooting. Scout: “You want to play him as a big wing and he has the build for that but he is more of a straight-ahead slasher now and you can’t be sure if he is going to develop the shooting, and the court vision you want to see there. But he is young and he is physical, he is not afraid to mix it up. That’s a good starting point.”
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- Charlotte Hornets (from Orlando Magic). Bennett Stirtz, PG, Iowa. The Hornets need size, but they’re probably going to either include this pick in a trade or just focus on the best available player who can help them win now. Stirtz impressed in his Charlotte workout. He’s an attractive piece for a team with hopes of being a contender, because he is certainly polished–he turns 23 years old in the fall, in a draft deep with point guards. “He is a guy who probably could have come out earlier, but he stayed around because of NIL and it could help him in the long run,” one scout said. “He needs to play for a good team where he can set up your offense and knock down shots when he needs to. He is not going to score 20 points a game, but everybody needs guys like that.”
… - Toronto Raptors. Labaron Philon, PG, Alabama. The Raptors will weigh taking a center at this spot, but the fact that Philon is still on the board–again, there will be Top-15 point guard talents that drop because it is a crowded field–means Toronto scoops him up. Philon needs to add weight, which remains one of the big concerns with him. Scout: “He is all over the board. I think where he lands will depend on whether he gets a team who sees him as a starting point guard.”
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NBA Mock Draft 2026: Surprise for the Lakers
- San Antonio Spurs (from Atlanta Hawks). Allen Graves, PF, Santa Clara. No movement here, Graves is just a good fit in San Antonio. The Spurs worked out Graves early in the process (in early May), and are said to have had eyes on him since. They need depth in the frontcourt and could trade up with an eye on Steinbach. But if Graves is on the board, send him to the West champs. Scout: “He is so efficient, he makes winning plays, he is young and he got better as the year went on. Get him in workouts and interviews and he is the kind of kid someone is going to fall in love with.”
… - Detroit Pistons (from Minnesota Timberwolves). Dailyn Swain, G/F, Texas. The Pistons like Stirtz, Philon and Ebuka Okorie, and they’re all in play here. But Detroit does not need to draft a point guard, they just need to improve the overall depth. Swain can do that. Swain is good value here. He averaged 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds after transferring from Xavier, and was a key to Texas’ Sweet 16 run. Scout: “He is 6-foot-8 and he has always been sort of a question mark. But the more this season has gone on, and now the NCAA tournament, you see him converting potential into performance. He is passing better, he is shooting better, he is making better decisions. And he’s just scratching the surface.”
… - Philadelphia Sixers (from Houston Rockets). Isaiah Evans, SF, Duke. The Sixers could go big and like Chris Cenac at this spot–they like Swain and Koa Peat, too, but Evans has been good in workouts. Evans measured in at 6-foot-5.5 with a 6-foot-8.75 wingspan and a 8-foot-8.5 standing reach, good measurements for a perimeter scorer teams will want to see be able to defend at an NBA level, too. He does not have much heft, though, at just 186 pounds. Scout: “There is a lot to like because he is such a good offensive weapon and he has so much natural talent. But you will need to do two things with him–rein him in a bit, get him out of that habit of taking bad shots just because he knows he can make them. That’s the first thing. Then, you’ve got to beef him up a little bit, he can’t be on an NBA floor without more muscle. He added weight by the combine, so maybe that is a good sign.”
… - Atlanta Hawks (from Cleveland Cavaliers). Jayden Quaintance, PF/C, Kentucky. Hopes that Quaintance’s medicals will inspire confidence have faded, and it looks like he will go into the draft as a first-round risk because lingering knee problems after ACL surgery. Quaintance is an athletic 6-foot-10 but struggled to come back from his injury, an unfortunate bit of punctuation on a frustrating year. If healthy, he is a big win. Scout: “You see some Jalen Duren in him because he plays with that same kind of intensity. The injury is there but it is an ACL, and guys his age usually bounce back from that without a lot of added worry as long as the rest of the medicals are clean. That’s the big test.”
… - New York Knicks. Chris Cenac Jr., PF/C, Houston. We’ve heard the Knicks like Isaiah Evans here, and we’ve also heard they could move up by packaging No. 31 with this pick. But if they stay put, Cenac is an intriguing prospect. He has a 7-foot-4 wingspan and could do well with good NBA development, too, having failed to live up to his pre-college billing. Scout: “He is a risk, all the big guys in this draft are a risk. You’d like to see more rim protection, you’d like to see more consistency. But he can develop into a stretch big guy, and that’s at a premium, so he probably winds up in the lottery. There’s a lot of untapped potential.”
… - LA Lakers. Ebuka Okorie, PG, Stanford. Yes, the Lakers need a big guy, and would love to add one at this spot. But look, this team needs talent, and its recent history of draft picks (Jalen Hood-Schifino, Dalton Knecht) has not gone well. So they need talent, and Okorie would be the best talent available. Playing for the Cardinal meant that Okorie has been largely overlooked, but he is a candidate to rise up some boards in the coming weeks. The 6-foot-8 wingspan he registered at the combine will help. He averaged 23.2 points in the ACC last year, though there are questions about how his game translates to the NBA….
NBA Mock Draft 2026: Wolves Land a PG
- Denver Nuggets. Koa Peat, PF, Arizona. Peat decided to stay in the draft despite questions about his shooting, but this is a good spot for the Nuggets to take a swing on him. He is a fringe first-rounder, a 6-foot-8 forward who plays with some power. But Peat is probably the highest upside guy on the board here. How a team views him is probably based on whether it thinks he can develop a 3-pointer (6-for-19 in his college career). He might have been better off doing that in the NCAA, but now he’ll do it in the G League.
… - Boston Celtics. Zuby Ejiofor, F/C, St. John’s. We’re sticking with Ejiofor here, because the Celtics (who could trade up) really do need to go big here. And yes, teams do not draft for need, and the Celtics will take the best player, etc. All of that is true. Maybe they go with Meleek Thomas and try to add a center in free agency or through a trade. But the best chance they have of getting real value at the position is by drafting one and hoping he develops into a win. Henri Veesaar, Tarris Reed, Alex Karaban … all will be possibilities. We’re going Ejiofor, though. He has a 7-foot-2 wingspan, and an 8-foot-11 standing reach, offsetting the fact he measured at 6-foot-7.5. He finished last year strong. Ejiofor is a fast-riser who needs offensive work but plays with energy and physicality. He averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks last year. Important to note, he did not shoot much many 3s in his college career (31 for 112) but there is a belief he can eventually stretch his range to the 3-point line. He did shoot 33.3% on 3s over his final 25 games.
… - Minnesota Timberwolves (from Detroit Pistons). Jack Kayil, PG, Germany. Perhaps the Wolves will look for a win-now type of player, and they’ve been said to be among the teams looking to move up. But Kayil, at 6-foot-5 with solid two-way skills already (he is 19) is an intriguing future bet for a team that needs to maximize its draft assets.
… - Cleveland Cavaliers (from San Antonio Spurs). Alex Karaban, PF, UConn. Karaban is a polished veteran with a winning track record (two NCAA championships and another NCAA championship game appearance), who has worked out for just about every team in the lower part of the draft. Karaban will be 24 in November, and that is not a huge negative for the Cavs, who would welcome a polished, tough, floor-stretching big man who made 37.4% of his 3s in college. If he can hold his own defensively, he could be a rotation player from the jump.
… - Dallas Mavericks (from Oklahoma City Thunder). Tarris Reed, C, UConn. The Mavericks could move on from Daniel Gafford and would like a younger, tough big man who can work into the rotation. That’s Reed. Offensively, he has a pretty well-refined game around the rim, works well in pick-and-rolls and is a strong screener. He is not a jaw-dropping athlete, but he should be able to deliver even as a rookie.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including "Fun City," "Before Wrigley became Wrigley," and "Facing Michael Jordan." More about Sean Deveney