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NBA mock draft 2026: Final projection after Giannis trade lands Bucks another lottery pick

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 22: Darryn Peterson #22 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates during the second half against the St. John’s Red Storm in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University on March 22, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The tape has been watched, the numbers have been crunched, and the 2026 NBA Draft cycle is finally coming to a close. The draft begins on Tuesday night with the Washington Wizards on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick. By now, everyone has an opinion on this class.

Read why we believe Cameron Boozer is the top overall player in this class. Check out our final big board that ranks the 60 best prospects available. Read our in-depth profile of Caleb Wilson to hear about the past, present, and future of the draft’s most explosive athlete.

Now it’s time for our final mock draft. There’s some movement since our last mock over the weekend with the Giannis Antetokounmpo blockbuster delivering the No. 13 overall pick to the Milwaukee Bucks via the Miami Heat, and Brooklyn Nets reportedly leaning a new way with the No. 6 overall pick. We’ll have more analysis on what’s changed going into draft night after the table.

Pick Team Player Position School Class
1 Washington Wizards AJ Dybantsa Wing BYU Freshman
2 Utah Jazz Darryn Peterson Guard Kansas Freshman
3 Memphis Grizzlies Cameron Boozer Forward Duke Freshman
4 Chicago Bulls Caleb Wilson Forward North Carolina Freshman
5 Los Angeles Clippers Keaton Wagler Guard Illinois Freshman
6 Brooklyn Nets Mikel Brown Jr. Guard Arkansas Freshman
7 Sacramento Kings Darius Acuff Guard Houston Freshman
8 Atlanta Hawks Kingston Flemings Guard Louisville Freshman
9 Dallas Mavericks Brayden Burries Guard Arizona Freshman
10 Milwaukee Bucks Nate Ament Forward Tennessee Freshman
11 Golden State Warriors Aday Mara Forward Michigan Senior
12 Oklahoma City Thunder Yaxel Lendeborg Center/Forward Michigan Sophomore
13 Milwaukee Bucks Labaron Philon Guard Alabama Sophomore
14 Charlotte Hornets Morez Johnson Center/Forward Washington Washington
15 Chicago Bulls Hannes Steinbach Center Michigan Freshman
16 Memphis Grizzlies (via Magic) Bennett Stirtz Guard Iowa Senior
17 Oklahoma City Thunder (via 76ers) Karim Lopez Forward NZ Breakers Born 2007
18 Charlotte Hornets (via Suns) Dailyn Swain Wing Texas Junior
19 Toronto Raptors Christian Anderson Texas Tech Guard Sophomore
20 San Antonio Spurs Cameron Carr Big Houston Freshman
21 Detroit Pistons (via Wolves) Ebuka Okorie Wing Baylor Junior
22 Philadelphia 76ers Allen Graves Big Kentucky Sophomore
23 Atlanta Hawks (via Cavs) Jayden Quaintance Guard Stanford Freshman
24 New York Knicks Chris Cenac Jr. Forward Santa Clara RS Freshman
25 Los Angeles Lakers Joshua Jefferson Forward Iowa State Senior
26 Denver Nuggets Koa Peat Forward Arizona Freshman
27 Boston Celtics Sergio De Larrea Guard Valencia Born 2005
28 Minnesota Timberwolves (via Pistons) Isaiah Evans Guard Duke Sophomore
29 Cleveland Cavaliers (via Spurs) Henri Veesaar Big North Carolina Junior
30 Dallas Mavericks (via Thunder) Meleek Thomas Guard Arkansas Freshman

Here’s what changed since our last mock:

  • The Nets now take Mikel Brown Jr. over Darius Acuff: The tea leaves are suggesting that Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr. will be Brooklyn’s pick at No. 7. This would be wonderful news for the Sacramento Kings, because they reportedly covet Arkansas’ Darius Acuff at No. 7.
  • It feels like the Hawks will choose between Kingston Flemings and Aday Mara: Atlanta has already re-signed C.J. McCollum, but it was only a one-year deal. Flemings is almost unanimously viewed as a better prospect than Mara. I don’t think this will be that difficult of a call for the Hawks. Flemings is the pick for this mock.
  • I was tempted to put a Michigan man at No. 9, but stuck with Brayden Burries: Basically everyone’s mock draft has Dallas taking Burries. I thought about putting Yaxel Lendeborg or Morez Johnson here as the Dusty May hire, but ultimately decided to finish the drill.
  • The Warriors go with Aday Mara, and the Thunder go for Yaxel Lendeborg: Mara just feels like such a great fit for Steve Kerr’s system given his fantastic passing ability, and the Warriors also need a big man. Yaxel to OKC is perfect. He was telling me about dreaming of playing with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back in March.
  • The Bucks have options at No. 15: Milwaukee brought in Labaron Philon for a workout during the pre-draft process, so I’m assuming they like him. The other guys they brought in for workouts are already gone in this projection (Acuff, Brown, and Lendeborg), and I doubt Cenac is a realistic option here. The Bucks already have two pretty good guards in Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr., and they also added another developmental guard in Kasparas Jakucionis in the Giannis trade. Morez Johnson and Karim Lopez could also make sense here.
  • I have no idea what the Bulls do at No. 15: I think Chicago would run to select Morez Johnson or Aday Mara, but both are off the board in this projection. I have Hannes Steinbach tabbed here. He’s one of my favorite players in the class (No. 10 on my final board), but he’s not exactly the defensive anchor the Bulls need next to Caleb Wilson long-term. It’s worth noting the Bulls added another center on Monday by taking on Nic Claxton from the Nets in the three-team Julius Randle deal. I have no idea which way new top executive Bryson Graham would be leaning if the board breaks like this.
  • Chris Cenac falls: I put Cenac top-20 a couple days ago, but that feels a bit too rich. He feels like a little bit of a project as a toolsy big man who needs to develop both physically and mentally right now. Cenac drops to the Knicks at No. 24 in this mock while San Antonio goes with a more ready-made contributor in Baylor wing Cam Carr.

How to watch the 2026 NBA Draft

Here’s how to watch the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft:

Date: Tuesday, June 23

TV and streaming: ESPN

Time: 8 p.m. ET

The second round will begin at the same time and on the same network on Wednesday, June 24.

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