2026 NBA Draft Thread.....

SUPERBALLMAN · Post #281 » by **SUPERBALLMAN** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 5:57 am

I'd love to get JT Toppin with our late 1st.

SUPERBALLMAN · Post #282 » by **SUPERBALLMAN** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 6:13 am

Some good games coming up...

Tonight (Thursday)

Pitt vs WV at 6:00pm on FS1

Purdue vs Alabama at 7:00pm on ESPN2

Saturday

Maryland vs Illinois at 3:30pm on FS1

BYU vs UCONN at 7:00pm on FOX (AJ Dybantsa)

Sunday

Houston vs Auburn at 3:00pm on ESPN (Chris Cenac Jr)

Miami vs Florida at 8:30pm on ESPN

Tuesday 11/18

Michigan State vs Kentucky at 6:30pm on ESPN

Navy vs UNC at 7:00pm on ACC Network (Caleb Wilson)

Kansas vs Duke at 9:00pm on ESPN (Peterson - Boozer)

Wednesday 11/19

Arizona vs UCONN at 7:00pm on FS1 (Koa Peat)

Alabama vs Illinois at 9:00pm on FS1

Tyrone Messby · Post #283 » by **Tyrone Messby** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 2:34 pm

How are the Pacers this bad this season? Missing Halliburton shouldn’t have that big of an impact on their W-L and I know they’ve been a little banged up to start the season but a Finals team shouldn’t be 1-10.

Hibachi_0 · Post #284 » by **Hibachi_0** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 2:41 pm

Tyrone Messby wrote:How are the Pacers this bad this season? Missing Halliburton shouldn’t have that big of an impact on their W-L and I know they’ve been a little banged up to start the season but a Finals team shouldn’t be 1-10.

Maybe Haliburton was THIS good. And I think they miss Turner a lot, he was the perfect center to play with Siakam and how the Pacers wanted to play.

tontoz · Post #285 » by **tontoz** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 2:43 pm

Tyrone Messby wrote:How are the Pacers this bad this season? Missing Halliburton shouldn’t have that big of an impact on their W-L and I know they’ve been a little banged up to start the season but a Finals team shouldn’t be 1-10.

The lost Turner in free agency and have injuries to Toppin, Mathurin and some other guys.

Post #286 » by **nate33** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 2:47 pm

Tyrone Messby wrote:How are the Pacers this bad this season? Missing Halliburton shouldn’t have that big of an impact on their W-L and I know they’ve been a little banged up to start the season but a Finals team shouldn’t be 1-10.

They're not just a little banged up. They are VERY banged up.

Not only are they without Haliburton for the season. They also lost Miles Turner to Milwaukee. They also have been without McConnell the whole season.

Even with their best, third-best and 7th best players from last year out at the start of the season, they battled OKC to a double OT in Game 1. They had a bad Game 2 and got blown out by Memphis and Mathurin got hurt. (Mathurin was averaging 30 points a game in the first 2 games.) In game 3 against Minnesota, they still managed to battle Minnesota to a 4 point loss without Mathurin, but Obi Toppin got hurt. In Game 4 they lost by 2 points to Dallas and Nembhard got hurt.

So from then on, they were playing games without Haliburton, Nembhard, Mathurin, McConnell and Turner and Toppin. That's 6 of their top 8 rotation guys from the championship run last year including all 4 of their guard rotation and both of their centers. It basically became impossible for them to win games. Nembhard just game back, but at this point they've probably abandoned the idea of competing for the playoffs so they are thinking about taking a gap year and tanking.

Benjammin · Post #287 » by **Benjammin** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 3:40 pm

Took a morning spin on tankathon this morning: 4,5,4,3,5. The Wizards need the Suns to go on a long losing streak to get some more balls.

Frichuela · Post #288 » by **Frichuela** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 7:12 pm

Yep. We need the Suns to start losing..

With our second 1sr rounder, which is likely to be 29/30, I’d target this chap. Saint Supery is a great combo guard from Spain.

https://youtu.be/vwJPBgdO24c?si=zU3csiaZX53X939Y

Tyrone Messby · Post #289 » by **Tyrone Messby** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 7:15 pm

Appreciate the explanations on the Pacers. Love this boards knowledge. Cheers.

tontoz · Post #290 » by **tontoz** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 7:44 pm

Read on Twitter

Tyrone Messby · Post #291 » by **Tyrone Messby** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 8:04 pm

All these numbers are great but I feel like college bball stats don’t really matter until conference play ramps up. That’s the week to week slog where the real cream rises to the top.

tontoz · Post #292 » by **tontoz** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 8:12 pm

Tyrone Messby wrote:All these numbers are great but I feel like college bball stats don’t really matter until conference play ramps up. That’s the week to week slog where the real cream rises to the top.

through 3 games Houston's pg Kingston Fleming is shooting 73%........from the field :lol:

prime1time · Post #293 » by **prime1time** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 9:03 pm

Watch on YouTube

Don't sleep on this Mikel Brown kid. A lot of people talked about and rightfully so. But I wouldn't be shocked if he ended up in the discussion as the best in this class. Peterson might be #1 but Brown Jr. is not a consolation prize. The three point shooting that a Brown Jr. and a Tre Johnson backcourt would have would be insane.

prime1time · Post #294 » by **prime1time** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 9:22 pm

The issue that Bub is going to have is we aren't going to wait for him. Tankathon has Mikel Brown Jr. going 5th and that's probably too low. He's like Tre Johnson but he can pass, attack the hoop and create for others. He's a 3 level scorer right now and he has no conscience from 3. He has a great change of pace. He can play on ball he can play off ball. And unlike Tre Johnson, his college team is actually good. I do like Ament and I like Caleb Wilson, but we have to be honest. In the modern NBA with guys like Wemby you need players that can be absolutely lethal shooting the ball. Brown absolutely torched a good Kentucky team. It's a long season but I don't know how you can watch Mikel Brown play and just be like Peterson is a lock for #1. I would absolutely love for the Wiz to get another lottery pick because there are so many good players but I don't think any team will be stupid enough to do it.

tontoz · Post #295 » by **tontoz** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 9:29 pm

I watched Brown in that game and also in FIBA over the summer. I don't think he has the shot versatility from 3 that Tre does. I dont think he is as good moving right or left and then shooting like Tre can do. But he does have deep range and is very comfortable shooting pullup 3s off the dribble.

On the other hand Brown looks dynamic taking it to the basket. He had one drive in that game where he drove left and tried to dunk on someone with his left hand but missed because he was fouled. I was like

. I heard somewhere that he has a 40" vertical which wouldn't surprise me. He also looks like he has legit playmaking skills.

So yeah that could be a nasty backcourt but we need a high pick to get him depending on who is in front of us.

prime1time · Post #296 » by **prime1time** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 10:10 pm

From a basketball standpoint I get why people are higher on Peterson. Peterson is bigger and stronger. So defensively he projects as a better player. But I'd point out that Brown Jr. seems to have a rare combination of 3 level scorer, lethal shooter and elite playmaker. So far Brown Jr. has already had assist numbers of 5, 6 and 9. Brown Jr. is 18/19 from the ft line.

Watch on YouTube

I think the comp for Brown Jr. is Tyrese Haliburton. Lethal shooter, great passer can play on ball can play off ball.

Watch on YouTube

You can tell a lot about a player by just watching how he carries himself on the floor. Tre Johnson is good. This kid is better.
I know it's early but when you see something that's special you know it immediately. To understand Mikel Brown Jr. a couple things. His shot attempts increased as the it got more competitive.16 attempts vs. Kentucky. But breakdown that Kentucky game. 11 free throw attempts. That's very impressive. 10 3's, he forces you to get out to the 3-point line because he's a knockdown shooter. But perhaps the most stunning of all, 83% on 2 point fgs. Think about it like this all of last year the highest 2 point fg% Tre Johnson shot was 77.8% on 2s. Mikel Brown Jr. is averaging 78.6% on 2s for the season.

The reason why, leads me to be so high on him. He mind understands the game so fast. And he has the ability to pass the ball. So if you help or trap he's passing instead of forcing a bad shot. He's already so adept at navigating tight spaces and not forcing/settling for bad shots. In the NBA with even more floor spacing he's going to be a nightmare to stop. You're looking at a guy who will at worst make multiple all-star games. And be your lead guard. Mikel Brown Jr. is hand meet glove for this Wizards team.

I'm not taking Nate Ament over him. No chance. And I think you have to consider him at 2. Depending on how Peterson plays you might have to consider him at 1. Modern NBA lacks passers. I don't just mean a basic pass to a big rolling to the rim. I mean a player who's mind is always active, probing, seeing possibilities. That Mikel Brown. Defensively I think he'd be similar to Haliburton. Meaning his defense won't be so bad that it will lose you games.

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #297 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Thu Nov 13, 2025 11:52 pm

(A little levity since of got a couple posters rankled over Queen)

The Wizards should draft a PG who just dropped 44 points with an NCAA-record 16 steals. (SIXTEEN STEALS!!!)

Watch on YouTube

Trivia. What's the correlation between these people?: Denise Long Rife and Lusia Harris

**She's not eligible for the WNBA draft because of the 22 and over rule. Hannah Hidalgo with a 2026 late round two pick!

SUPERBALLMAN · Post #298 » by **SUPERBALLMAN** » Yesterday 9:34 am

prime1time wrote:From a basketball standpoint I get why people are higher on Peterson. Peterson is bigger and stronger. So defensively he projects as a better player. But I'd point out that Brown Jr. seems to have a rare combination of 3 level scorer, lethal shooter and elite playmaker. So far Brown Jr. has already had assist numbers of 5, 6 and 9. Brown Jr. is 18/19 from the ft line.

Watch on YouTube

I think the comp for Brown Jr. is Tyrese Haliburton. Lethal shooter, great passer can play on ball can play off ball.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

You can tell a lot about a player by just watching how he carries himself on the floor. Tre Johnson is good. This kid is better.
I know it's early but when you see something that's special you know it immediately. To understand Mikel Brown Jr. a couple things. His shot attempts increased as the it got more competitive.16 attempts vs. Kentucky. But breakdown that Kentucky game. 11 free throw attempts. That's very impressive. 10 3's, he forces you to get out to the 3-point line because he's a knockdown shooter. But perhaps the most stunning of all, 83% on 2 point fgs. Think about it like this all of last year the highest 2 point fg% Tre Johnson shot was 77.8% on 2s. Mikel Brown Jr. is averaging 78.6% on 2s for the season.

The reason why, leads me to be so high on him. He mind understands the game so fast. And he has the ability to pass the ball. So if you help or trap he's passing instead of forcing a bad shot. He's already so adept at navigating tight spaces and not forcing/settling for bad shots. In the NBA with even more floor spacing he's going to be a nightmare to stop. You're looking at a guy who will at worst make multiple all-star games. And be your lead guard. Mikel Brown Jr. is hand meet glove for this Wizards team.

I'm not taking Nate Ament over him. No chance. And I think you have to consider him at 2. Depending on how Peterson plays you might have to consider him at 1. Modern NBA lacks passers. I don't just mean a basic pass to a big rolling to the rim. I mean a player who's mind is always active, probing, seeing possibilities. That Mikel Brown. Defensively I think he'd be similar to Haliburton. Meaning his defense won't be so bad that it will lose you games.

Yeah I was very impressed with him. Pure PG who reads the floor and can run a team. Dynamic playmaker and scorer. My only question or hesitation would be a backcourt Brown and Tre defensively. Not great, but they're both young so could improve with chemistry and experience. With Sarr, Kyshawn and Coulibaly in the frontcourt the overall D could still be good. Maybe keep Tre off the bench as a microwave scorer, and rotate with Bilal or Watkins.

As of now I would still have him after Peterson or Dybantsa, but well see how things progress throughout the season. I definitely want to watch more of him. He could be the star of this draft.

SUPERBALLMAN · Post #299 » by **SUPERBALLMAN** » Yesterday 2:25 pm

Boozer is pretty consistent at #1.

I do love the idea of the Wizards getting both Boozers with their 2 picks.

Watch on YouTube

tontoz · Post #300 » by **tontoz** » Yesterday 2:29 pm

SUPERBALLMAN wrote:Boozer is pretty consistent at #1.

I do love the idea of the Wizards getting both Boozers with their 2 picks.

Based on what i've seen i wouldn't consider Boozer in the top 5. He feasts on cupcakes but against a decent team i don't think he is going to look good. He was 10-32 from the field combined against Tenn and Texas and they aren't exactly powerhouse teams.

His skills taking it to the basket and finishing look pretty mediocre to me. I think he is being way overrated based on what he did in high school.