2026 NBA DRAFT CLASS

[Greek]

Well keep your eyes in 2 Greek prospects Neoklis Avdalas a 6'9 point forward that is currently functioning as a PG for the Greek U20 team you can catch some games i believe they are free from the fiba site. He needs to work a bit his shot and add some muscles. Other than that great handles good pick and roll player with great overall feel for the game. Good defender too


Next season will play for Virginia tech . The 2nd is Alexandros Samoduurov. 6'11 modern PF with 3pt,decent fluid athlete, great passer currently in the tournament has 3.3 assists. Overall great skillset, but as Avdalas desperately needs muscles. Next year will get more playing time especially in the Greek league, but also in Eurolegue according Panathinaikos coach.

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[babyjax13]

Adidas NextGen tournament is a hard watch this year, yeesh : /

[babyjax13]

Well keep your eyes in 2 Greek prospects Neoklis Avdalas a 6'9 point forward that is currently functioning as a PG for the Greek U20 team you can catch some games i believe they are free from the fiba site. He needs to work a bit his shot and add some muscles. Other than that great handles good pick and roll player with great overall feel for the game. Good defender too


Next season will play for Virginia tech . The 2nd is Alexandros Samoduurov. 6'11 modern PF with 3pt,decent fluid athlete, great passer currently in the tournament has 3.3 assists. Overall great skillset, but as Avdalas desperately needs muscles. Next year will get more playing time especially in the Greek league, but also in Eurolegue according Panathinaikos coach.

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u20 is next on my list to watch. Watched all of the nextgen tournament I can handle (3 games and highlights, so not a ton).

[babyjax13]

In terms of guys at the nextgen tournament (I realize this was months ago) that might declare this year, I liked Luigi Suigo. He is absolutely enormous, really quite mobile, and his jumper looks like it will project out to three. He might be a 2027 prospect, though (visiting colleges) but old enough to declare for 2026 if he has a good season. Will be more interesting seeing him against better competition. For 2027 I liked Fallou Mbow and Kohl Rosario.

Of the other nextgen players that were at least mildly interesting: Mathieu Grujicic (heady 1/2, physical, not sure how big he is - going to Ohio State), Diego Garavaglia (wing with some physicality and ability to initiate the offense -- not sure how good the shooting is, looks like he will be a 2027 prospecy, though - sounds like he will play for Ulm?), Ognjen Srzentic (2 who can shoot and has some physicality but I am not sure if he can create much with the ball or if he is an elite shooter).

Obviously this was a small snippet, I know we have people here who know a lot more about the international players.

[Greek]

Well keep your eyes in 2 Greek prospects Neoklis Avdalas a 6'9 point forward that is currently functioning as a PG for the Greek U20 team you can catch some games i believe they are free from the fiba site. He needs to work a bit his shot and add some muscles. Other than that great handles good pick and roll player with great overall feel for the game. Good defender too


Next season will play for Virginia tech . The 2nd is Alexandros Samoduurov. 6'11 modern PF with 3pt,decent fluid athlete, great passer currently in the tournament has 3.3 assists. Overall great skillset, but as Avdalas desperately needs muscles. Next year will get more playing time especially in the Greek league, but also in Eurolegue according Panathinaikos coach.

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u20 is next on my list to watch. Watched all of the nextgen tournament I can handle (3 games and highlights, so not a ton).

Well catch the game against Finland both had great games Avdalas got game high 23 points 7 rebs 8 assists 2 blocks while playing 38 minutes. Samodurov 20 9. Today we are playing against France the real test for us. As soon as the game is finished I will provide an update about them

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[peZt]

It seems like the next few european classes are pretty weak.
Nathan Solimon was hyped to be the next great guy, but I think he has stagnated a bit

[clyde21]

Looking forward a these next few HS classes and man does it look grim, what's going on with basketball?

[Duke4life831]

At least this class has Boozer, AJ, and Peterson.

It’s not a deep class and each of those 3 have legit big time question marks with them. But at least they’ve shown something. Boozer and AJ have looked like high level high school players for years.

I can’t recall the last time there was just completely zero hype for an upcoming senior and junior high school classes. I don’t think it’s crazy to say Tyran Stokes wouldn’t be a top 10 recruit in some classes and he’s the unanimous #1 senior going into next year.

I don’t know if this has to do with some of these guys losing out on a year + of youth ball because of COVID. But ya, as long as I’ve followed high school recruiting. The upcoming classes are some of the least hyped and least talked about players I’ve seen.

[peZt]

I dunno, I think the 2025 High School class with Petersen, Dybantsa and Boozer is a better top 3 than I dont know since when. And then you still have guys like Nate Ament, Mikel Brown, Karim Lopez, Tounde Yessoufa who I am really high on. I wouldnt be surprised if Petersen ends up being the first true american superstar since the KD generation or rather since Kawhi, so the first american guy who is really on the same level as the Jokic', Giannis' and so on. Then you have the other guys. This looks as good a High School class going into the college season as could be.

I am really down on american talents usually and if you look at the under 32 year old american players in the league, its a TERRIBLE group. Basically the worst since the 80s. So american Basketball is on a real low, so I get the scepticism, but 2026 to me looks really special on top


But yeah, 2027 looks like utter trash rn.

Unfortunataly the next 2-3 drafts look terrible in terms of Euro talent as well. No real euro guy that could save a bad draft class. Maybe Nathan Soliman but I feel like he has stagnated

At least this class has Boozer, AJ, and Peterson.

It’s not a deep class and each of those 3 have legit big time question marks with them. But at least they’ve shown something. Boozer and AJ have looked like high level high school players for years.

I can’t recall the last time there was just completely zero hype for an upcoming senior and junior high school classes. I don’t think it’s crazy to say Tyran Stokes wouldn’t be a top 10 recruit in some classes and he’s the unanimous #1 senior going into next year.

I don’t know if this has to do with some of these guys losing out on a year + of youth ball because of COVID. But ya, as long as I’ve followed high school recruiting. The upcoming classes are some of the least hyped and least talked about players I’ve seen.

COVID might have somethign to do with it, but honestly its been going on since the early 2010s. Since the 2013 draft, the best american players that were drafted are Tatum and Ant Edwards. Jaylen Brown, Brunson, Haliburton, Towns. Thats a horrendous group. You basically had more superstars in the 2008-2009 drafts than in the last decade alone. American Basketball does not manage to produce superstars anymore, but not since Covid, but since over a decade.
And I honestly blame Fortnite and Minecraft lol. Kids dont go out anymore. Kids dont play Basketball outside every day anymore. Think about it, in the past kids spent hours playing Basketball outside. This also honed and developed their skills. Now, their only touchpoint to Basketball is school and AAU. Where they are coached by random dads with no clue how to develop talent. Once this extra boost to skill development through streetball has vanished, its becoming evident that the high school system is obviously not good enough to make up for that gap and lack of development.

In Europe kids also dont play outside anymore, but at least there you have professional clubs whose youth teams are coached by professional coaches in top facilities, with nutritsionists and so on. The european talent pool is much much smaller, but the actual quality of development is better.

But I actually think its been getting better. I feel like we are getting more potential star players in the last 5 years than in the 7 years before that. Ant, Flagg, now the top 3 of 2026, Dylan Harper I feel like could become better than any guard drafted between 2012-2019.


If you wanna know how bad the 2010s were, just take a random look at any high school class in that period. 2015 for example. Its utter utter trash
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/rankings/scnext300boys/_/class/2015

Not only was the talent bad in the 2010s, scouting was at an all time low as well. Teams and scouts were really bad at evaluating talent. And I honestly blame Ballislife and co.
Shabazz Muhammad was hyped up to be the next coming of Kobe. But when you now look at his highschool clips, youre like "wtf, how was he ranked so highly?". Because the early mid 2010s were all about these hyped up high school clips, all about these low angles, dunks and so on. Very good at hyping up a high flying highlight machine, very bad at showcasing actual talent. And it was mob mentality. These youtube channels started hyping up these kids "WOW is this the best 14 year old ever??", with clips from these low angles where its impossible to see anything, people bought into the hype and it became a snowball from there on. I feel like scouting has become much better now, that might also be the reason why people seem more low on the recent drafts, because we are now more realistic about them. Nobody would hype up Shabazz Muhammad as the next Kobe if he was playing in High School now.

[HadAnEffectHere]

The fact that there wasn't a single American superstar drafted from the 2013 to 2024 classes is pretty staggering.

The closest guy is... Jayson Tatum?

Haliburton could have gotten there and Edwards may get there I guess, but it was a rough decade.

[peZt]

The fact that there wasn't a single American superstar drafted from the 2013 to 2024 classes is pretty staggering.

The closest guy is... Jayson Tatum?

Haliburton could have gotten there and Edwards may get there I guess, but it was a rough decade.

Thats also the reason why the NBA is clearly moving towards a more parity and team driven league and away from this superstar league that it has always been. The NBA has always marketed itself as a Superstar League. The casual audience didnt tune in to watch the Heat vs. Lakers. They tuned in to watch LeBron vs. Kobe. And that strategy works as long as you have the superstars. But the NBA doesnt anymore. Nobody is good or charismatic enough to be the face of the league anymore. And the ratings showcase this, lowest finals ratings in the last 20 years and so on. The NBA desperately needs its american superstars. I feel like Ant is the closest thing that combines the quality and charisma. Maybe Flagg, but he seems to be more of an elite #2 option, than a true superstar. But lets see.
I have high hopes for Darryn Petersen

[Greek]

Tough loss to shallow given that we lost by just 2 points while we were 12/26 at FT. Still Avdalas shined again with 10 assists and being the leading Greek scorer. He is every bit of a PG being 6'9, not just a point forward.

I bet that in 6 8 months from now will be considered as a lottery pick.

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[babyjax13]

Tough loss to shallow given that we lost by just 2 points while we were 12/26 at FT. Still Avdalas shined again with 10 assists and being the leading Greek scorer. He is every bit of a PG being 6'9, not just a point forward.

I bet that in 6 8 months from now will be considered as a lottery pick.

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Rafeal Barlowe seems to think so, and he has, IMO, a pretty good track record.

[Greek]

Tough loss to shallow given that we lost by just 2 points while we were 12/26 at FT. Still Avdalas shined again with 10 assists and being the leading Greek scorer. He is every bit of a PG being 6'9, not just a point forward.

I bet that in 6 8 months from now will be considered as a lottery pick.

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Rafeal Barlowe seems to think so, and he has, IMO, a pretty good track record.

Well he has all the tools to be one, other than filling out and be a bit more explosive, but given how underdeveloped is his body the potential is clearly there. He made some 3pt under a bounce too, so there is also a potential at shooting too, not to be dead eye, but good enough to keep the defense honest. Samodurov had a good game as well, but he needs more of a mean streak, plus the muscles. So my prediction is that Avdalas will be mid to late lottery pick, while Samo late 1st early 2nd, but in any case 2 int prospects worth to watch.

[zimpy27]

Dash Daniels looks good, staying in Australia with NBL instead of college

[Bucks4005]

The fact that there wasn't a single American superstar drafted from the 2013 to 2024 classes is pretty staggering.

The closest guy is... Jayson Tatum?

Haliburton could have gotten there and Edwards may get there I guess, but it was a rough decade.

I mean, Tatum in 8 years has made 1st team All-Pro 4 times, made 2 Finals, won 1, and finish top 4 in at least 2 years of MVP voting, 4th this past season. If that doesn’t fit the definition of superstar, what does exactly? Like, how much better does he need to be?

[Greek]

Some highlights from Avdalas, 15 assists and a triple double. Keep in mind that he is 6'9

https://youtu.be/0EXxD62B_Ls?si=v1RiZZCDYKAeE8pb



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[HadAnEffectHere]

The fact that there wasn't a single American superstar drafted from the 2013 to 2024 classes is pretty staggering.

The closest guy is... Jayson Tatum?

Haliburton could have gotten there and Edwards may get there I guess, but it was a rough decade.

I mean, Tatum in 8 years has made 1st team All-Pro 4 times, made 2 Finals, won 1, and finish top 4 in at least 2 years of MVP voting, 4th this past season. If that doesn’t fit the definition of superstar, what does exactly? Like, how much better does he need to be?

Peak BPM:

Tatum: 5.5
Luka: 9.9
Giannis: 11.5
SGA: 11.5
Embiid: 11.6
Jokic: 13.7


Tatum also has zero career first place MVP votes.

He's just nowhere close to where the top 5 of the league (Luka, Giannis, Jokic, SGA, formerly Embiid and now Wemby) have been.

The top 5 have been born outside of the United States for a long time and it's like a near lock to continue in the near future. No US born player has even come close to them who was drafted in their era.

[peZt]

The fact that there wasn't a single American superstar drafted from the 2013 to 2024 classes is pretty staggering.

The closest guy is... Jayson Tatum?

Haliburton could have gotten there and Edwards may get there I guess, but it was a rough decade.

I mean, Tatum in 8 years has made 1st team All-Pro 4 times, made 2 Finals, won 1, and finish top 4 in at least 2 years of MVP voting, 4th this past season. If that doesn’t fit the definition of superstar, what does exactly? Like, how much better does he need to be?

A superstar to me is someone who is in the "best player of the league" conversation. To some Tatum might be, to me he isnt. A clear top 5 guy, someone who is just clearly a step above the other top players. Someone on the level of KD, Harden, Curry, Kawhi, Giannis, Jokic, Doncic and so on.

Tatum to me is a step below that.

The last american player who fits those criteria is Kawhi. And he was drafted in 2011. Maybe AD?? Other than that you have to go back to the 2008/2009 drafts with Harden and Curry.


And in the past you always had at least 5 american guys of that level at the same time. You'd always have at least 3 guys that were as good as Giannis, Luka and Embiid were the last few years. Now you dont have anyone that matches their level

2015:
LeBron
KD
Curry
Harden
AD
Westbrook

2010:
LeBron
KD
Wade
Duncan
Kobe
Dwight

2005:
LeBron
Kobe
Duncan
Tmac
AI
KG

Now you have Tatum, Ant, Towns and Haliburton.

[Chokic]

Maybe hot take but I believe AJ Dybantsa will fall out of top 2 come draft night. I think it will come down to Nate Ament and Darryn Peterson for #1 spot. Nate Aments perimeter skill and fluidity at his size will impress many ppl projects higher than Cam Boozer.