2026 NBA DRAFT CLASS

[Caneman786]

Based on rookiescale.com's consensus big board rankings. See more:

Spoiler:

Here's a list of the biggest risers and fallers at the NBA draft compared to the rookiescale.com's consensus big board rankings.

Only one player got drafted who wasn't listed in their top 100 prospects. Five players who were in the top sixty did get drafted.

Drafted in the first round:

[spoiler](+6) (Ranked at 21, drafted at 15) Dailyn Swain
(+6) (Ranked at 23, drafted at 17) Ebuka Okorie
(+5) (Ranked at 33, drafted at 28) Joshua Jefferson
(+4) (Ranked at 13, drafted at 9) Morez Johnson, Jr.
(+4) (Ranked at 24, drafted at 20) Jayden Quaintance
(+4) (Ranked at 29, drafted at 25) Sergio de Larrea
(+3) (Ranked at 26, drafted at 23) Zuby Ejiofor
(+3) (Ranked at 32, drafted at 29) Alex Karaban
(+1) (Ranked at 9, drafted at 8) Kingston Flemings
(+1) (Ranked at 12, drafted at 11) Yaxel Lendeborg
(+1) (Ranked at 17, drafted at 16) Bennett Stirtz
(-1) (Ranked at 25, drafted at 26) Tarris Reed, Jr.
(-1) (Ranked at 11, drafted at 12) Aday Mara
(-2) (Ranked at 20, drafted at 22) Labaron Philon, Jr.
(-3) (Ranked at 27, drafted at 30) Koa Peat
(-5) (Ranked at 22, drafted at 27) Chris Cenac, Jr.
(-5) (Ranked at 8, drafted at 13) Nate Ament
(-6) (Ranked at 15, drafted at 21) Karim Lopez
(-8) (Ranked at 16, drafted at 24) Cameron Carr

Drafted in the second round (as well as undrafted players who were ranked in the top 60 prospects prior to the draft):

Spoiler:

(+?) (Not ranked in rookiescale.com’s consensus big board’s top 100 players, drafted at 57) Narcisse Ngoy
(+40) (Ranked at 94, drafted at 54) Lajae Jones
(+16) (Ranked at 76, drafted at 60) Malique Lewis
(+14) (Ranked at 72, drafted at 58) Jaron Pierre, Jr.
(+13) (Ranked at 44, drafted at 31) Bruce Thornton
(+13) (Ranked at 69, drafted at 56) Vsevolod Ishchenko
(+10) (Ranked at 53, drafted at 43) Tyler Bilodeau
(+8) (Ranked at 49, drafted at 41) Otega Oweh
(+8) (Ranked at 57, drafted at 49) Bryce Hopkins
(+6) (Ranked at 50, drafted at 44) Maliq Brown
(+5) (Ranked at 37, drafted at 32) Richie Saunders
(+3) (Ranked at 38, drafted at 35) Trevon Brazile
(+3) (Ranked at 45, drafted at 42) Ja’Kobi Gillespie
(+3) (Ranked at 51, drafted at 48) Tobi Lawal
(+1) (Ranked at 39, drafted at 38) Braden Smith
(+1) (Ranked at 41, drafted at 40) Dillon Mitchell
(+1) (Ranked at 47, drafted at 46) Felix Okpara
(+1) (Ranked at 60, drafted at 59) Trey Kaufman-Renn
(-1) (Ranked at 36, drafted at 37) Ryan Conwell
(-2) (Ranked at 34, drafted at 36) Baba Miller
(-3) (Ranked at 52, drafted at 55) Nick Martinelli
(-3) (Ranked at 48, drafted at 51) Izaiyah Nelson
(-3) (Ranked at 35, drafted at 39) Jack Kayil
(-4) (Ranked at 30, drafted at 34) Meleek Thomas
(-5) (Ranked at 40, drafted at 45) Emanuel Sharp
(-5) (Ranked at 28, drafted at 33) Isaiah Evans
(-8) (Ranked at 42, drafted at 50) Jaden Bradley
(-10) (Ranked at 43, drafted at 53) Ugonna Onyenso
(-21) (Ranked at 31, drafted at 52) Henri Veesaar

(-?) (Ranked at 54, undrafted) Milos Uzan
(-?) (Ranked at 55, undrafted) Aaron Nkrumah
(-?) (Ranked at 56, undrafted) Tobe Awaka
(-?) (Ranked at 58, undrafted) Kylan Boswell
(-?) (Ranked at 59, undrafted) Nate Bittle

Here are some tables showing the demographic distributions of the draftees in the first and second rounds of this draft, what was expected and what actually occurred.





The overall takeaway is that there were two American seniors selected higher than two expected American underclassmen in the first round, and that the consensus big board was overlooking some international talent that was chosen in the second round (as opposed to some American seniors). This particularly happened towards the end of the second round.

[Chuck Everett]

So, another name I think scouts are going to get a good look at this season is Dailyn Swain, 6'8 wing for Texas. He followed Sean Miller from Xavier but he looks like a prototype 3/D player. So far this season he's filling up the stat sheet with boards and assists.

Wouldn't shock me if Sam Presti was scouting him pretty heavily during the season. Guy looks like a future pro to me.

Wasn't sure if anyone mentioned his name yet.

And he played well enough this season to become the #15 pick. Someone give me a scouting job.

[Caneman786]

Here's an overall look of how the NBA draft landscape has been changing over the previous decade, with the new figures from this week's draft included. The impact of NIL can clearly be seen, with seniors taking over the second round almost completely. The small amount of players who chose to come in through the G League and other domestic leagues has been decimated. The first round of the NBA draft still has its usual diversity, though, with 10 to 18 freshmen being drafted every year.

When it comes to the 2026 draft class, this class specifically was very American, but I doubt that's due to any trend, but rather just due to normal variance with this year's prospect grouping having more American talent. It is a stark difference to the previous two draft classes where 34% and 41% of prospects were international. Interestingly, it is a real trend that the second round of the NBA draft has more international players than does the first round (over the last six years, 24% of first-round draft selections were international players, while 36% of second-round draft selections were international players). This honestly goes against what I was expecting given how international players have almost completely taken over the MVP race and make up most of the top players in the league. I was thinking there would be a similar distribution among drafted players, with the top-tier international talent being selected in the first round (for example the stereotype like Victor Wembanyama). However, there is real depth with international players. This either can suggest that the American domestic development programs are still strong, and that basketball is starting to build up in the grassroots outside the United States, but those are just two theories I came up with.

[Cammo101]

So, another name I think scouts are going to get a good look at this season is Dailyn Swain, 6'8 wing for Texas. He followed Sean Miller from Xavier but he looks like a prototype 3/D player. So far this season he's filling up the stat sheet with boards and assists.

Wouldn't shock me if Sam Presti was scouting him pretty heavily during the season. Guy looks like a future pro to me.

Wasn't sure if anyone mentioned his name yet.

And he played well enough this season to become the #15 pick. Someone give me a scouting job.

You were banging that drum early for sure. Nice job.

[Bad Bart]

So, another name I think scouts are going to get a good look at this season is Dailyn Swain, 6'8 wing for Texas. He followed Sean Miller from Xavier but he looks like a prototype 3/D player. So far this season he's filling up the stat sheet with boards and assists.

Wouldn't shock me if Sam Presti was scouting him pretty heavily during the season. Guy looks like a future pro to me.

Wasn't sure if anyone mentioned his name yet.

And he played well enough this season to become the #15 pick. Someone give me a scouting job.

Nice call! How do you feel about him on Chicago?

[Chuck Everett]

So, another name I think scouts are going to get a good look at this season is Dailyn Swain, 6'8 wing for Texas. He followed Sean Miller from Xavier but he looks like a prototype 3/D player. So far this season he's filling up the stat sheet with boards and assists.

Wouldn't shock me if Sam Presti was scouting him pretty heavily during the season. Guy looks like a future pro to me.

Wasn't sure if anyone mentioned his name yet.

And he played well enough this season to become the #15 pick. Someone give me a scouting job.

Nice call! How do you feel about him on Chicago?

I think it's a home run selection by Bryson Graham.

Provided, of course, he comes into the league as a POA defender, then he's a seamless fit next to Giddey-Buzelis-Wilson 1-4. His handles are good enough to be a big guard, Joe Johnson style, but if he can also defend the lead guards in this league (since Giddey cannot), then he is probably a day-1 starter for Chicago.

If you're a fan of Dailyn, a rebuilding situation like the Bulls was absolutely the best case scenario for immediate development and playing time.

[Bad Bart]

And he played well enough this season to become the #15 pick. Someone give me a scouting job.

Nice call! How do you feel about him on Chicago?

I think it's a home run selection by Bryson Graham.

Provided, of course, he comes into the league as a POA defender, then he's a seamless fit next to Giddey-Buzelis-Wilson 1-4. His handles are good enough to be a big guard, Joe Johnson style, but if he can also defend the lead guards in this league (since Giddey cannot), then he is probably a day-1 starter for Chicago.

If you're a fan of Dailyn, a rebuilding situation like the Bulls was absolutely the best case scenario for immediate development and playing time.

That makes a lot of sense. I also think his rim pressure will be valuable for them as well.