2026 NBA DRAFT CLASS

[FarBeyondDriven]

teams hiring youtube personalities as scouts or front office guys is becoming more commonplace. I suppose they can't be worse than the guys they currently employ.

[tontoz]

Props to Barlowe. The guy who ran the Hoop Intellect YouTube channel got hired as a scout also.

[babyjax13]

I'll throw another question out, there are a million interesting but smallish guards this year who could be drafted. How do we feel about ---

Boogie Fland
Maleek Thomas
Darius Acuff
Tahaad Pettiford
Christian Anderson
Mihailo Petrović
LaBaron Philon
Ian Jackson
Donovan Dent
Kylan Boswell
Xaivian Lee
Trey McKenney
Omer Maier
Darren Harris
Jasper Johnson

If you had to pick 5 that will stay in the draft, who are they? I've excluded Braden Smith since I think he has to stay in the draft.

I'll revise this question, which 2 non-Darryn Peterson/Mikel Brown point guard separates from the pack?

My bet would be on Boogie Fland and Mihailo Petrovic. But there will be teams that get good rotation guards in the second round given how deep this draft is in point and combo guards.

[Chi town]

Can Ament play SG and defend SG in the league?

Is his handle good enough to be a 2nd handler?

Does he move his feet well enough to stay with SG’s on D?

The more I watch him the more I see a taller Reggie Miller. Pure movement shooter.

[babyjax13]

Can Ament play SG and defend SG in the league?

Is his handle good enough to be a 2nd handler?

Does he move his feet well enough to stay with SG’s on D?

The more I watch him the more I see a taller Reggie Miller. Pure movement shooter.

I don't *think* so. I think he is a 3/4 - he is gigantic. Certainly nimble for that size, though. He is going to fill out, too.

[QMemphis]

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

Read on Twitter

?s=46

Ah, that's awesome!

Good for you Barlowe. Been listening to him for a few years only hate he going to the Mavs and not my Grizz.

[Chi town]

Can Ament play SG and defend SG in the league?

Is his handle good enough to be a 2nd handler?

Does he move his feet well enough to stay with SG’s on D?

The more I watch him the more I see a taller Reggie Miller. Pure movement shooter.

I don't *think* so. I think he is a 3/4 - he is gigantic. Certainly nimble for that size, though. He is going to fill out, too.

Yeah he’d have to stay lean and he’s already adding serious muscle.

Would love him on my Bulls next to Buz.

[Catchall]

Can Ament play SG and defend SG in the league?

Is his handle good enough to be a 2nd handler?

Does he move his feet well enough to stay with SG’s on D?

The more I watch him the more I see a taller Reggie Miller. Pure movement shooter.

His handle is good enough to be a 2nd handler. The question is whether he has enough physical presence to get where he wants on the floor. That's probably what impedes him from being a playmaker right now, but let's see how he develops.

Remember in the 2023 draft when people were wondering if Risacher could create and play off the dribble? Ament answers those questions positively, while Risacher didn't.

[Chi town]

Can Ament play SG and defend SG in the league?

Is his handle good enough to be a 2nd handler?

Does he move his feet well enough to stay with SG’s on D?

The more I watch him the more I see a taller Reggie Miller. Pure movement shooter.

His handle is good enough to be a 2nd handler. The question is whether he has enough physical presence to get where he wants on the floor. That's probably what impedes him from being a playmaker right now, but let's see how he develops.

Remember in the 2023 draft when people were wondering if Risacher could create and play off the dribble? Ament answers those questions positively, while Risacher didn't.

Good point on Risacher.

I see Ament more like KD… winning with length and shooting over the D more than getting past the D with speed. He could be a good bump player with that muscle too.

[babyjax13]

Dybantsa continues to play by mostly throwing himself in the paint and trying to physically overwhelm players. His is pretty frequently just pushing players with his off arm as he goes up. The jumper is improving, though. I am less confident in him now than I was a year ago, I think I have Boozer ahead of him now.

[sikma42]

Dybantsa continues to play by mostly throwing himself in the paint and trying to physically overwhelm players. His is pretty frequently just pushing players with his off arm as he goes up. The jumper is improving, though. I am less confident in him now than I was a year ago, I think I have Boozer ahead of him now.

I got to watch this game. Never seen an efficient 30 point debut game received like this

[babyjax13]

Dybantsa continues to play by mostly throwing himself in the paint and trying to physically overwhelm players. His is pretty frequently just pushing players with his off arm as he goes up. The jumper is improving, though. I am less confident in him now than I was a year ago, I think I have Boozer ahead of him now.

I got to watch this game. Never seen an efficient 30 point debut game received like this

To be clear, it was a good game. We have three amazing prospects at the top and I might end with AJ at 1 by the end, but he does have some things about his game that need to change.

[MemphisX]

Dybantsa continues to play by mostly throwing himself in the paint and trying to physically overwhelm players. His is pretty frequently just pushing players with his off arm as he goes up. The jumper is improving, though. I am less confident in him now than I was a year ago, I think I have Boozer ahead of him now.

I got to watch this game. Never seen an efficient 30 point debut game received like this

Every draft season, they pick the prospect they will nit pick. It is just weird at this point.

[bigboi]

Dybantsa continues to play by mostly throwing himself in the paint and trying to physically overwhelm players. His is pretty frequently just pushing players with his off arm as he goes up. The jumper is improving, though. I am less confident in him now than I was a year ago, I think I have Boozer ahead of him now.

I got to watch this game. Never seen an efficient 30 point debut game received like this

To be clear, it was a good game. We have three amazing prospects at the top and I might end with AJ at 1 by the end, but he does have some things about his game that need to change.

Dybantsa is clearly number 1. You can cope how you want. I said from the get go that he was better than Flagg. He’s the most skilled offensive prospects since Durant, I wouldn be surprised if he averaged 25-30

[babyjax13]

I got to watch this game. Never seen an efficient 30 point debut game received like this

To be clear, it was a good game. We have three amazing prospects at the top and I might end with AJ at 1 by the end, but he does have some things about his game that need to change.

Dybantsa is clearly number 1. You can cope how you want. I said from the get go that he was better than Flagg. He’s the most skilled offensive prospects since Durant, I wouldn be surprised if he averaged 25-30

I disagree that he is clearly number 1. Right now I would take Peterson. He is just a more polished player who is still an amazing athlete.

FWIW, I have this as one of the best classes ever entering the NCAA season. I dont think it is outside the realm of possibility that we have 3 players that could or would go #1 in at least half of the drafts on the last 20 years, and AJ is definitely one of those guys. I just think some of the development I anticipated from him is happening slower than I had liked. He is showing a hit more change of pace in the BYU offense, so this might be the right environment for that to happen. He also looks like he is bigger than 6-9.

[bigboi]

To be clear, it was a good game. We have three amazing prospects at the top and I might end with AJ at 1 by the end, but he does have some things about his game that need to change.

Dybantsa is clearly number 1. You can cope how you want. I said from the get go that he was better than Flagg. He’s the most skilled offensive prospects since Durant, I wouldn be surprised if he averaged 25-30

I disagree that he is clearly number 1. Right now I would take Peterson. He is just a more polished player who is still an amazing athlete.

FWIW, I have this as one of the best classes ever entering the NCAA season. I dont think it is outside the realm of possibility that we have 3 players that could or would go #1 in at least half of the drafts on the last 20 years, and Ace is definitely one of those guys. I just think some of the development I anticipated from him is happening slower than I had liked. He is showing a hit more change of pace in the BYU offense, so this might be the right environment for that to happen. He also looks like he is bigger than 6-9.

Peterson is not an amazing athlete lmao. . Watch Peterson play again, there is nothing special about his speed nor jumping ability. Dybantsa is much more skilled offensively, literally every single tool in his arsenal offensively all while being much more athletic than Peterson. The course of the season will show that this won’t be even close

[babyjax13]

Dybantsa is clearly number 1. You can cope how you want. I said from the get go that he was better than Flagg. He’s the most skilled offensive prospects since Durant, I wouldn be surprised if he averaged 25-30

I disagree that he is clearly number 1. Right now I would take Peterson. He is just a more polished player who is still an amazing athlete.

FWIW, I have this as one of the best classes ever entering the NCAA season. I dont think it is outside the realm of possibility that we have 3 players that could or would go #1 in at least half of the drafts on the last 20 years, and Ace is definitely one of those guys. I just think some of the development I anticipated from him is happening slower than I had liked. He is showing a hit more change of pace in the BYU offense, so this might be the right environment for that to happen. He also looks like he is bigger than 6-9.

Peterson is not an amazing athlete lmao. . Watch Peterson play again, there is nothing special about his speed nor jumping ability. Dybantsa is much more skilled offensively, literally every single tool in his arsenal offensively all while being much more athletic than Peterson. The course of the season will show that this won’t be even close

I've watched both several times. We will see how it translates to college and what their development looks like over the season, but as of now, I am very comfortable having Peterson #1. He is more skilled than Dybantsa, and can act as the primary ball handler for his team. He has great body control, change of direction, and an excellent first step, etc. That is not to devalue what AJ is great at, I would happily have either on my lowly Jazz.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Can Ament play SG and defend SG in the league?

Is his handle good enough to be a 2nd handler?

Does he move his feet well enough to stay with SG’s on D?

The more I watch him the more I see a taller Reggie Miller. Pure movement shooter.

His handle is good enough to be a 2nd handler. The question is whether he has enough physical presence to get where he wants on the floor. That's probably what impedes him from being a playmaker right now, but let's see how he develops.

Remember in the 2023 draft when people were wondering if Risacher could create and play off the dribble? Ament answers those questions positively, while Risacher didn't.

it was the 2024 draft and Risacher has shown improvement in that area and was never as bad at it as people were saying to begin with. One thing about Ament I didn't like was how passive he sometimes plays when around other great players. He reminds me of Brandon Ingram good and bad

[tontoz]

Elyjah Freeman is a Div 2 transfer to Auburn. Some mocks don't have him listed at all but I've seen a couple of YouTubers that have him top 10. High level athlete that shot 3s well on low volume.

Watch on YouTube

[peZt]

Boozer with a dominant preseason game

Read on Twitter

Now its Peterson's turn to have a 30+point preseason game.

Dont know when there was such an elite top 3 going into the college season. Then you have guys like Nate Ament or Mikel Brown Jr. Surely 1-2 surprise players that will rise up. Could be an all time draft class