2026 NBA DRAFT CLASS

[tmorgan]

Yep, the primary reason to not be all that high on this draft class is the number of small guards likely to go 6-12. If I was a team picking in that range, I’d straight up want to trade out or down. I bet at least one of the 6’2” and under guys does develop and hit, but I don’t know which one it is. People seem to be favoring Acuff, but I don’t see any reason in particular I believe in.

And by “hit” I mean turn into Keyonte or something similar, which still causes almost as many problems as it solves.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Acuff is the only "small" guard. Flemings and Philon look to have Steph/Fox size. Wagler, Burries, Brown are all 6'4" and up no? Half the lead guards in the NBA are small guards as are their backups. Of course you'd prefer a lead guard with size and that's why they tend to go higher in drafts. Garland wasn't the reason they lost that game. Kawhi completely choked while Steph got hot. Giddey, Demin, Reaves, Luka, Harden and Melo all have size and are atrocious on defense so not sure it matters as much as people think.

[The-Power]

Wagler, Burries, Brown are all 6'4" and up no?

I wouldn't be surprised if Burries measures under 6'3 w/o shoes to be honest, though he's still sturdy which certainly helps.

I do think it's notable that NBA teams seem to avoid committing to playing and paying small Guards, and even regular PG-sized players unless they are very good defensively. Not saying that these players don't find any role but it does have a clear impact on their value IMO.

[ReggiesKnicks]

Acuff is the only "small" guard. Flemings and Philon look to have Steph/Fox size. Wagler, Burries, Brown are all 6'4" and up no? Half the lead guards in the NBA are small guards as are their backups. Of course you'd prefer a lead guard with size and that's why they tend to go higher in drafts. Garland wasn't the reason they lost that game. Kawhi completely choked while Steph got hot. Giddey, Demin, Reaves, Luka, Harden and Melo all have size and are atrocious on defense so not sure it matters as much as people think.

Garland is one of the worst defenders in the NBA and was a key point of their loss. He was getting hunted by Gary Payton Jr Post-Ups.

When have we ever seen that guy post-up a player?

[moss_is_1]

You watch another postseason game where Darius Garland is completely useless defensively because he is just too small and it definitely becomes hard to see how those small guards are supposed to work during the playoffs.

They have to be Brunson like offensively to make it work or as strong as a Kyle Lowry or Fred Van Vleet. I don't know these little guards are damn near unplayable this time of year.

Yep. That's why with a mid-late 1st I can see Tanner being taken, but you better be sure he can at least be a high level backup PG and someone who will have value on his rookie deal for regular season games. Once high level post-season basketball starts these small guards are just attacked constantly.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Acuff is the only "small" guard. Flemings and Philon look to have Steph/Fox size. Wagler, Burries, Brown are all 6'4" and up no? Half the lead guards in the NBA are small guards as are their backups. Of course you'd prefer a lead guard with size and that's why they tend to go higher in drafts. Garland wasn't the reason they lost that game. Kawhi completely choked while Steph got hot. Giddey, Demin, Reaves, Luka, Harden and Melo all have size and are atrocious on defense so not sure it matters as much as people think.

Garland is one of the worst defenders in the NBA and was a key point of their loss. He was getting hunted by Gary Payton Jr Post-Ups.

When have we ever seen that guy post-up a player?

sure bro, the guy that scored 6 total points "hunted" Garland. If you're putting up 21 points and assisting on 8 other baskets, even if you're a bad defender like Garland, you're still a net positive. Kawhi, Jones and Lopez combining to go 3-16 from three while Steph was going 7-12 were the key points of the loss

[CptCrunch]

Yep, the primary reason to not be all that high on this draft class is the number of small guards likely to go 6-12. If I was a team picking in that range, I’d straight up want to trade out or down. I bet at least one of the 6’2” and under guys does develop and hit, but I don’t know which one it is. People seem to be favoring Acuff, but I don’t see any reason in particular I believe in.

And by “hit” I mean turn into Keyonte or something similar, which still causes almost as many problems as it solves.

+1000 that one of these small guards is gonna hit and become a offensive superstar. There is just so many of them, and they are on average as talented offensively as a Markelle Fultz/Anythony Edwards type of player.

[ReggiesKnicks]

Acuff is the only "small" guard. Flemings and Philon look to have Steph/Fox size. Wagler, Burries, Brown are all 6'4" and up no? Half the lead guards in the NBA are small guards as are their backups. Of course you'd prefer a lead guard with size and that's why they tend to go higher in drafts. Garland wasn't the reason they lost that game. Kawhi completely choked while Steph got hot. Giddey, Demin, Reaves, Luka, Harden and Melo all have size and are atrocious on defense so not sure it matters as much as people think.

Garland is one of the worst defenders in the NBA and was a key point of their loss. He was getting hunted by Gary Payton Jr Post-Ups.

When have we ever seen that guy post-up a player?

sure bro, the guy that scored 6 total points "hunted" Garland. If you're putting up 21 points and assisting on 8 other baskets, even if you're a bad defender like Garland, you're still a net positive. Kawhi, Jones and Lopez combining to go 3-16 from three while Steph was going 7-12 were the key points of the loss

Garland is a net-positive player when he puts up 21-8. I think we all agree on that.

The difficulty with players like Garland is they need to put up 21-8 every night in order to be a net-positive player.

[tmorgan]

Acuff is the only "small" guard. Flemings and Philon look to have Steph/Fox size. Wagler, Burries, Brown are all 6'4" and up no? Half the lead guards in the NBA are small guards as are their backups. Of course you'd prefer a lead guard with size and that's why they tend to go higher in drafts. Garland wasn't the reason they lost that game. Kawhi completely choked while Steph got hot. Giddey, Demin, Reaves, Luka, Harden and Melo all have size and are atrocious on defense so not sure it matters as much as people think.

I did say 6’2” and under, so I understand the pushback.

What I meant was, offensively focused, rather poor defensively, and not very big. While Fox and Curry definitely added size as they aged, they came into the league as guys that played small on both ends. That’s what I’m talking about here — abusable guys that likely will only ever be a positive on one end of the floor. There’s a bunch of them that’ll go mid to late lottery, I don’t have a strong preference for any of them over each other, and I’d prefer to avoid them all entirely, even though it’s likely at least one turns into a very good offensive player.

Once Wagler goes (which I believe will be top 5, with AJ, DP, Boozer and Wilson), I’d be looking at the 6th through 10th pick or so and think “I don’t really want to be here… does anyone else want to be here?”. This could also lead to utterly crazy stuff like Mara going 6th or 7th.

[Chuck Everett]

Acuff is the only "small" guard. Flemings and Philon look to have Steph/Fox size. Wagler, Burries, Brown are all 6'4" and up no? Half the lead guards in the NBA are small guards as are their backups. Of course you'd prefer a lead guard with size and that's why they tend to go higher in drafts. Garland wasn't the reason they lost that game. Kawhi completely choked while Steph got hot. Giddey, Demin, Reaves, Luka, Harden and Melo all have size and are atrocious on defense so not sure it matters as much as people think.

I did say 6’2” and under, so I understand the pushback.

What I meant was, offensively focused, rather poor defensively, and not very big. While Fox and Curry definitely added size as they aged, they came into the league as guys that played small on both ends. That’s what I’m talking about here — abusable guys that likely will only ever be a positive on one end of the floor. There’s a bunch of them that’ll go mid to late lottery, I don’t have a strong preference for any of them over each other, and I’d prefer to avoid them all entirely, even though it’s likely at least one turns into a very good offensive player.

Once Wagler goes (which I believe will be top 5, with AJ, DP, Boozer and Wilson), I’d be looking at the 6th through 10th pick or so and think “I don’t really want to be here… does anyone else want to be here?”. This could also lead to utterly crazy stuff like Mara going 6th or 7th.

NBA combine measurements will tell us all.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Acuff is the only "small" guard. Flemings and Philon look to have Steph/Fox size. Wagler, Burries, Brown are all 6'4" and up no? Half the lead guards in the NBA are small guards as are their backups. Of course you'd prefer a lead guard with size and that's why they tend to go higher in drafts. Garland wasn't the reason they lost that game. Kawhi completely choked while Steph got hot. Giddey, Demin, Reaves, Luka, Harden and Melo all have size and are atrocious on defense so not sure it matters as much as people think.

I did say 6’2” and under, so I understand the pushback.

What I meant was, offensively focused, rather poor defensively, and not very big. While Fox and Curry definitely added size as they aged, they came into the league as guys that played small on both ends. That’s what I’m talking about here — abusable guys that likely will only ever be a positive on one end of the floor. There’s a bunch of them that’ll go mid to late lottery, I don’t have a strong preference for any of them over each other, and I’d prefer to avoid them all entirely, even though it’s likely at least one turns into a very good offensive player.

Once Wagler goes (which I believe will be top 5, with AJ, DP, Boozer and Wilson), I’d be looking at the 6th through 10th pick or so and think “I don’t really want to be here… does anyone else want to be here?”. This could also lead to utterly crazy stuff like Mara going 6th or 7th.

I dunno, what do you expect from picks 6-10 in most drafts? I think there's a very real chance that teams potentially picking there (DAL, MIL, MEM, CHI, ATL) would absolutely love to get one of these guards. DAL with Flagg, MIL with Giannis, ATL with Johnson and both MEM and CHI would love to grab starting point guards imho. And if not them then I could see someone wanting to trade up for one of them more than I could see them wanting to trade up for a wing or big.

The one guy who might gain momentum for those spots is Quaintance if he shows he's healthy and participates at the combine and scrimmages. He's a needle moving talent that is a mystery but like with Sharpe a few years ago, teams will overlook lack of film for the right talent.

[tmorgan]

I agree that those teams need guards and will likely select them.

What I’m saying is, I don’t like any of those guys to have positive impact NBA careers, even though at least one of them probably will. It’s why the draft looks pretty ugly after the five guys I like — which still A LOT for a single draft, but the supposed depth really isn’t there.

I’d honestly take a swing on Ament before picking any of the 1-way average size or smaller guys.

[Cammo101]

Acuff is the only "small" guard. Flemings and Philon look to have Steph/Fox size. Wagler, Burries, Brown are all 6'4" and up no? Half the lead guards in the NBA are small guards as are their backups. Of course you'd prefer a lead guard with size and that's why they tend to go higher in drafts. Garland wasn't the reason they lost that game. Kawhi completely choked while Steph got hot. Giddey, Demin, Reaves, Luka, Harden and Melo all have size and are atrocious on defense so not sure it matters as much as people think.

Yeah, I for the most part like the guards in that range. Yes, a lot of them are average defenders at best, but most have decent positional size and the athleticism to get there. And Acuff has the dog in him. I have a real hard time seeing Acuff failing as an NBA player even with his size and athleticism not being great.

[FarBeyondDriven]

I agree that those teams need guards and will likely select them.

What I’m saying is, I don’t like any of those guys to have positive impact NBA careers, even though at least one of them probably will. It’s why the draft looks pretty ugly after the five guys I like — which still A LOT for a single draft, but the supposed depth really isn’t there.

I’d honestly take a swing on Ament before picking any of the 1-way average size or smaller guys.

yeah, sounds like you're really down on the class. I'm mostly worried about depth and we can't know that until we find out who is staying in.

[Chuck Everett]

So Donovan Atwell (Texas Tech) showed pretty well at the PIT tournament from what I've heard (he shot 13-32 from 3, 40.6%).

Not sure if he's going to receive a G-League combine invite, however, he's 6'5 200 shooter (6'6 wingspan), with a lightning fast release, who transferred in to the Red Raiders, playing with JT Toppin and Christian Anderson. He shot nearly 46% from 3 and 84% from the line during the season. This is the third year in a row, he shot 40% from 3 and over 84% from the line. The first three years were at UNC Greensboro.

I saw him torch Houston from 3 twice this past season. I think a team would be wise to bring him in. As we see, there are still a lot of "shooters" who have pretty form, but can't actually make shots. This guy isn't one of them. Knowing what I know now, wouldn't shock me if Brad Stevens and company bring Atwell in for some workouts. This is another under-the-radar guy who has an elite skill. He's also a pretty solid defender (as you have to be, to play for Grant McCasland).

[Caneman786]

And Acuff has the dog in him

There has never been a player who couldn't even try on defense who had the dog in him

[wco81]

Do any of the small guards in this 2026 draft class have the ability to go downhill like Edgecomb or Harper from the 2025 draft class.

[Cammo101]

And Acuff has the dog in him

There has never been a player who couldn't even try on defense who had the dog in him

He has some rough stretches defensively, but he can be solid when he digs in. In the NBA, he will be forced to be at least an adequate defender to see the floor, and I think he will settle in as that. Offensively he is an absolute assassin. I think Harden is a good comparison for him as far as how he plays offense/defense. Not exactly the same player, but similar trajectories and overlapping skillsets.

[Caneman786]

Do any of the small guards in this 2026 draft class have the ability to go downhill like Edgecomb or Harper from the 2025 draft class.

Ebuka Okorie (6' 2", 185 lbs.)

Made 135 / 240 (56.3%) shots at the rim in 1088 minutes played at Stanford (an ACC school). Only 13.3% assisted.

[2weekswithpay]

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