With the 2025 NBA Draft in the books, it’s time to turn the page and begin looking ahead to the 2026 draft.
I do want to make it clear that in this article, I’m just dipping my toes in the water with regards to the 2026 draft class – and that’s intentional.
We’re in July, 11 months before the next draft. Historical data tells us that this early in the cycle, our big boards should be in pencil, not pen. And evaluations we make on prospects should be more bite-sized. Then we should get more in-depth with our evals, the deeper we get into the draft cycle.
To illustrate this point, here’s some historical data. DJ Wagner was a projected top 10 pick in July, prior to his freshman season at Kentucky. Harrison Ingram, Matthew Cleveland, Daimion Collins, Kendall Brown, JD Davison, Kennedy Chandler, and TyTy Washington were all projected lottery picks in July before their freshman season of college.
Jaden Hardy was a top 3 pick during July after he finished high school. Patrick Baldwin Jr was top 5. Peyton Watson and Caleb Houstan were in the top 10. And during July, before the season in which they were drafted, Jalen Williams was an unknown name in draft circles. Keegan Murray wasn’t considered a top 20 pick, Dalton Knecht and Reed Sheppard weren’t considered 1st rounders.
Bottom line, take rankings/mock drafts this early in the cycle with a grain of salt. And this early, it’s best to take a look at next year’s draft class in a very introductory, bite-sized manner.
With that being said, here’s a look at where my big board for 2026 stands at this point:
Tier 1:
- Darryn Peterson
2. Cam Boozer
Tier 2:
3. AJ Dybantsa
4. Nate Ament
5. Mikel Brown Jr
Again, this is very early in the draft cycle. So at this point, I really only have the top 5 guys ranked. As we get deeper into the cycle, my big board will have more names on it.
Next, I’ll touch on why I ranked those 5 guys the way I did. Then share some thoughts on a few other intriguing prospects in this class.
Why Peterson at no. 1?
Darryn Peterson has stood out a little bit more than Boozer and Dybantsa in my initial film viewings. He’s popped more. Has looked more like a star.
Here’s one play that caught my eye. In Chipotle Nationals vs LUHI, Peterson shows the ability to drive the lane, collapse a defense, and make a nice pass to the open big in the dunker’s spot. We see his ability to change directions, get to his spots, make plays for others, and also show impressive flexibility:
Here we see Peterson get the ball out on the perimeter, turn the corner and shows good burst to get to the basket and the vertical pop to finish over the rim. You also like to see how he plays off 2 feet on this drive:
This play is just filthy. He’s looking to create a shot. Starts off with a behind-the-back dribble, then a hesi, then through the legs, then an in-and-out dribble, then a spin move into the lane. He’s then met by a help defender at the rim, so he changes direction and switches hands at the last second and scoops in the shot at the rim.
Not only does he show a deep bag on this play, but he plays with pace, plays with a bounce in his step, and again shows that bend/flexibility when driving:
Yes, Peterson can shoot, too. Here he brings the ball up, the defender gives him a little bit of space, so he sticks the 3. Good balance and clean shot mechanics here:
One thing that also impresses me about Peterson is how he gets after it on defense and how locked in he is on that end of the floor. That’s not always the case with prospects who are high usage, high scorers – especially when they are this young:
It also helps Peterson’s case that he was undefeated last season in games vs Boozer and Dybantsa’s teams:
AJ not in Tier 1?
Okay, now that I touched on why I have Peterson ranked No. 1 (for now), the next question you may have is: Why don’t I have Dybantsa in Tier 1, with Peterson and Boozer?
Firstly, Dybantsa is a distant third in winning percentage, scoring differential, and RPG on the chart above.
Secondly, he didn’t have a great tournament at the FIBA U19 World Cup. While he did win MVP of the tournament, most people seem to think it should have gone to teammate Mikel Brown Jr. Some even believe that Mikel Brown Jr. was clearly a better player at FIBA U19 than Dybantsa and therefore should be ranked above Dybantsa.
I’m not willing to go that far. I don’t put a ton of weight on FIBA youth competitions. It’s a small sample size of games, the teams are often thrown together with little practice time, and a lot of the time, the games are not very competitive. I also have some other concerns with Mikel Brown Jr, which I’ll touch on later, so I do have Dybantsa ranked higher than him. And I do think the full body of work for Dybantsa (as well as the potential to be an athletic 3-level scorer wing with good size, athleticism, and some defensive chops is enough to keep him in the top 3.
One other reason I have Dybantsa in the next tier down from Peterson and Boozer, though, is some tendencies I see on film that give me pause. Specifically, his defense isn’t that great. His passing isn’t that great either.
Also, there are times when the effort/motor isn’t that great either. On this play, he is very casual bringing the ball up the floor. Then he comes dangerously close to committing a backcourt violation. But what worries me most here is that after he passes the ball near midcourt, the remaining 15 or so seconds of the possession, he’s just standing around. I’d like to see more off-ball movement here, more energy. Or at least look like you’re ready to catch a pass if it all of a sudden comes your way. This isn’t the only possession where I’ve seen this kind of stuff from Dybantsa either:
Brown Jr or Ament?
There are a few reasons why I currently have Ament ranked just higher than Brown Jr. First off, I was pretty impressed by some of the stuff that Ament showed in his head-to-head matchup last season vs Prolific Prep, led by Peterson.
Ament led his Highland High School team to the win. Ament and Peterson were matched up quite a bit in this game, with Ament winning several of those possessions. Highland was trailing to start the 4th quarter, but then they switched up their defense and had Ament defend Peterson the entire 4th quarter. Ament slowed him down, and that was a big factor in Highland pulling out the comeback win:
Both Peterson and Ament had a hard time scoring against each other. That just shows you they are both very good players and were both really getting after it in this game.
Additionally, it seems like most of the hype for Brown Jr is based on his play in FIBA U19. But again, I don’t think it’s wise to weigh those types of tournaments very heavily:
Also, depending on the site you’re looking at, Brown Jr is either 6’2, 6’3”, or 6’4” (FIBA lists him at 6’2”), which is on the smaller end for guards. Examining prospects from the past 5-10 years reveals that the hit rate is low for small guards. Unless we have a substantial sample size of games demonstrating that the player is a standout, it’s best not to rank small guards too high.
Also, for a point guard who will likely handle the ball a lot, I have been a little bit concerned with his ability to execute basic passes:
With that being said, overall I have been intrigued by a lot of the stuff I’ve seen in initial film viewings of Brown Jr – enough to put him in my top 5 (for now). I’ve seen intriguing flashes of driving, shooting, passing, and defense.
Brown Jr led team USA (which also had Dybantsa and Koa Peat on the team) in PPF (14.9), APG (6.1) and efficiency (15.9). He also shot a blistering 47.6% from 3 on 6 3PA per game. Plus, on film he doesn’t look that small – looks to be around 6’3” or 6’4” in shoes. I wouldn’t say his positional size is good or bad.
I think there’s enough talent and upside in Brown Jr as a PG prospect to slot him in at no. 5 on my early big board. Also worth noting – he is an older freshman (will be age 20.2 when drafted) which does go against him. But it’s not something that should cause him to drop too far in the draft since other older freshmen have turned out well (Chet Holmgren, Jared MCcain, Brandon Miller, etc.)
I think that’s good for now in terms of breaking down my top 5 and why I have them ranked there. Now, I will touch on some of the other prospects in the 2026 draft class who have caught my eye.
Karim Lopez
Let’s start off by taking a look at some of Lopez’s film from last season, at age 17 on the New Zealand Breakers:
Obviously, there’s a long way to go till the 2026 draft, so a lot can change. But at this point, Lopez seems like a fairly straightforward evaluation. He’s a wing, which is the most coveted position for NBA teams. He’s got good size for the wing at about 6’8″/6’9″ with a sturdy frame—decent mobility and athleticism for his size.
Lopez also seems like a good connector. He shows good promise as a defender, connective passer, cutter, rebounder and attacking closeouts. But he doesn’t seem to have much in terms of handle, “a bag,” or self-creation. And while the defense appears to be good, I definitely wouldn’t call it elite, at least not right now.
Plus, he has all of these skills and physical tools all at a very young age, and already has a year under his belt playing in a top pro league, the NBL. That definitely sounds like a lottery pick to me – possibly even a top 10 pick.
However, with the limited creation ability as well as being good but not really elite at anything, I think top 5 (or even being in tier 1 or tier 2) would be too high. But I do think Lopez is one of the better prospects in this class, outside of the top 5 guys.
I’m not sure about his star upside, but he definitely seems like he could be a really good role player/connector type of piece. Those are valuable in the NBA – just not guys you reach for in the top 5, especially in a class that is this good at the top of the draft.
I’m not big on player comps (because they often ignore so much nuance and because players are all so different/unique), and Lopez is very young, but watching him play, there are some similarities to guys like Deni Avdija, Hedo Turkoglu, Simone Fontecchio, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Tobias Harris.
Caleb Wilson
Outside of the top 5 guys I have ranked at the top of this article, Lopez and Wilson are probably about as good as any prospect I have seen so far from this class.
Wilson is about 6’9″, with a reported 7’0″ wingspan. He’s long and athletic. He can drive, shoot, pass, and defend (to varying degrees).
On this play, we see the athleticism and cutting ability:
So we’ve seen the athleticism that pops on film. It’s always intriguing if guys who are that athletic (especially if they also have size and are young prospects) also have good feel. In this play, we see him demonstrate the length and motor to grab the contested rebound, followed by the ability to lead the break and the feel to read the floor, making a good live dribble pass with one hand to his cutting teammate for a layup.
He puts the pass on time, on target, and makes it look easy:
You can start to see the vision with Wilson as this long, athletic, toolsy wing who can also defend. Here he is locked in as a help defender, then shows length, timing, athleticism, and tenacity with the block. It’s always a plus if you’re a wing who can be a weak side rim protector:
Wilson needs to improve his physical strength and continue to work on his shooting and driving skills. But I think at this point he’s a solid pick in the 6-10 range.
Jayden Quaintance
Quaintance is another guy I would probably put in the 6-10 range at this point. I could maybe even see a case for the top 5, but he’s coming back from a torn ACL. Not only do we have to wait and see how he looks coming off the torn ACL, but he transferred to a Kentucky team that has a bunch of other guys at the 4 and 5 positions. It’s a bit of a logjam there, which might make it hard for any of those bigs to stand out too much.
Also, I’d be higher on Quaintance if he could shoot better. I know he was the age of a high school senior last season while playing college basketball, but 18.8% from 3 on just 1.3 3PA per game and 47.9% from the FT line are poor numbers. His draft stock could hinge on how well he recovers from the torn ACL and how well he shoots the 3. But for now, he is hanging onto a top 10 spot on my board (my official board is only the top 5, though).
Koa Peat
My initial impression of Peat is that he looks like a lottery pick – possibly a top 10 pick. I still have to watch more, but at the moment, he seems like a pretty straightforward evaluation. He’s very good. He can score, rebound, and pass. He has good footwork, skill, and a few different moves along with decent touch inside the arc. So he’s able to score in a lot of different ways – inside the arc.
Peat can also defend pretty well.
The downside is that he doesn’t shoot 3’s. He had 0 3PA in the FIBA U19 tournament. Position-wise, he’s a PF who could maybe play some small-ball 5. A guy like that, ideally, could give you some shooting. If not, ideally, he would have more size, more athleticism, or more defense than Peat has.
Peat is a very good player, with size and skill at a young age. But due to the limitations mentioned here, there are some questions about how he will translate at the NBA level.
Luckily, he has his entire freshman season in college still ahead of him. In 11 months, by the time the next draft rolls around, the chances are pretty good that he’s further along in his development. If he does, it would solidify him as a lottery pick – maybe even a top 10 pick.
David Mirkovic
As I’ve mentioned, mock drafts and big boards this early in the cycle should be taken with a grain of salt. With that being said, I think Mirkovic might be the most underrated prospect on them so far. I think he has a case for being a top 10 pick.
While most of the top-rated players in this class were playing high school ball last season, Mirkovic was playing (and playing very well) in one of the better pro leagues in the world – the Adriatic League.
Here’s a glimpse into some of his offensive skills, which are impressive for a player of his size:
Mirkovic can also defend pretty well. On this play, we see good defense and switchability. Slides his feet. Stays with the driver, blocks the shot at the rim, stays with the play, hustles to save the ball from going out of bounds, and gets it to a teammate before he falls out of bounds. Then busts his tail, running the floor in transition:
For a player of his size (he’s about 6’8″/6’9″ and about 255 lbs) who was only 18 years old, playing in a pro league, it was very impressive the amount of offensive skill Mirkovic showed last season for SC Derby. He can basically handle the ball and shoot it like a guard.
It’s pretty rare for a big to be able to shoot the rock this well at such a young age, while also having other things he can do well on the floor. Not to mention the strong, sturdy frame and quick feet.
Last season, Mirkovic shot 35% from 3 on 6.8 3PA per 40 minutes. That’s a very high % for an 18-year-old big in a pro league – especially on that kind of volume. His FT% was only 70.1 (while I think he can shoot, I’m not projecting him as an elite shooter), but the year before that, he shot 73.2% from the FT line and 81.3% the year before that (per RealGM).
A dribble/pass/shoot big with good size, a strong/sturdy frame, quick feet, who plays his tail off, and has high basketball IQ. Good production (19.0 TRB% last season, 14.5 assist%) in a top pro league at a young age.
I get. His athleticism isn’t great. He’s kind of shorter for a big, and his rim protection isn’t great. But I think if we factor everything in (the pros and the cons) there’s a strong case to project him as a lottery pick in next year’s draft – possibly a top 10 pick. I’m very intrigued to see how smooth his transition is this season (he’s leaving Europe to come stateside and play at Illinois), but I think he has the potential to have a really big season.
Hannes Steinbach
Steinbach was eligible for the 2025 draft but did not declare. Instead, he decided to commit to the Washington Huskies, where he’ll play college ball this upcoming season.
When you watch Steinbach play, it won’t take long before you’ll start seeing some similarities to other German bigs such as Daniel Theis, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Moe Wagner.
Here we see him come out to set a high screen, slip the screen, and move to the open space in the middle of the floor. He catches the pass, takes a power dribble, uses long strides to get to the rim, and finishes strong with the dunk, putting the defender on a poster. A play like this will translate to the NBA and his role there.
Here’s a good block by Steinbach, late in a close game to help secure the win for his team. On this play he shows the ability to defend out on the perimeter along with good timing (feel) on when to go up for the block:
In this clip, Steinbach shows off how bouncy he is – he’s sneaky athletic. Plays bigger than his listed height (which is about 6’8”) due to the bounciness and ability to get up over the rim to make plays like this as a lob catcher.
This play also shows Steinbach’s feel, as he knows just the right time to cut to the basket for this lob. Again, this is stuff that can translate to his projected role in the NBA:
Steinbach is firmly a 1st round guy for me at this point in the 2026 draft (but admittedly, rankings this early in the cycle should be taken with a grain of salt). I think there’s enough in terms of size, feel, ability to rebound, catch lobs, set screens, finish as a roll man, defend, along with sneaky athleticism and solid production at a young age to warrant 1st round consideration.
However, he is somewhat of an undersized big. And if you’re an undersized big, usually you need to have at least some combination of elite defense, really good perimeter shooting, or be an elite playmaking hub. Or have really good driving/shot creation or some elite athleticism. But Steinbach doesn’t really have any of that. He’s a solid big. But he’s kind of a jack of all trades, master of none type of big. And he’s kind of a tweener. So that makes it hard for me to put him in lottery conversations – at least right now.
I see him as a guy you would take in the back half of the 1st round. There’s a long way to go till the 2026 draft, though. I am very intrigued to see how he does this season at Washington.
Ian Jackson
I wrote a pretty in-depth breakdown article on Jackson last season. I don’t have too much to add, other than reiterating that I do think he is a better passer and defender than he’s given credit for.
Also, given how strong his work ethic is (as touched on in the article last season), I am pretty intrigued to see how much better he looks next season with some additional skill development – and hopefully some more time in the weight room.
I am also optimistic that a change of scenery (from UNC to St. John’s) could do him good. NBA hopefuls at UNC under coach Hubert Davis have not done well in terms of improving their draft stock. St. John’s coach Rick Pitino has a much better track record at developing his players into NBA guys.
Rumor has it, Pitino plans on playing Jackson at PG next season. So that will be interesting to see. If it works out well, it could really help his NBA chances, since a guard who doesn’t have great size probably has a better chance if he can play PG, rather than if he is just limited to the 2-guard spot.
I’m not sold yet on Jackson being a lottery pick for 2026, but I do see him as a guy worthy of 1st round consideration.
Wrapping it Up
So there you have it—my initial impressions of the 2026 NBA Draft class. I wanted to go in depth here, but not too in depth, because again, we’re still so early in the draft cycle that much is likely to change, including the rankings and evaluations of these players.
I’ve covered 12 prospects here. But again, these are not necessarily the top 12 prospects on my big board. I really only have firm rankings for the top 5 guys at this point. The other 7 players I covered here are simply other guys I am intrigued by, who I see as likely 1st round picks.
I’ll have more coverage in the coming months on this draft class. However, remember that as we progress deeper into the draft cycle and approach the draft, the rankings and mock drafts become increasingly meaningful, and our evaluations should become more in-depth. This early, it’s really just preliminary, rough draft kind of stuff.
However, I hope you enjoyed this piece and found it helpful as an introduction to the upcoming draft class, particularly in terms of identifying some of the top prospects and my perspective on them.
That is all.
The Center Hub 
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