El Diario Urbano

2026 NBA Draft News & Notes

Written by

rb809rb

in

Below are some notes on the 2026 NBA Draft from the official NBA Draft Media Guide.

> Round 1: June 23, 8 ET | ABC/ESPN (Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.)
> Round 2: June 24, 8 ET | ESPN (Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.)

FIRST PICK FACTS

• The Washington Wizards are set to make the first pick in the NBA Draft for the third time in the common draft era (since 1966). They previously selected Kwame Brown (2001) and John Wall (2010) with the first overall pick.

• Washington entered the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery with a 14.0% chance of receiving the No. 1 overall pick, tied for the best odds with the Brooklyn Nets and the Indiana Pacers. The Wizards became the first team since the flattened odds were introduced in 2019 to finish with the NBA’s worst record and receive the No. 1 pick.

• If Washington makes the pick, it would be the franchise’s highest selection since choosing Wall first in 2010. Wall was a five-time NBA All-Star with the Wizards.

• In the lottery era (since 1985), the Cleveland Cavaliers have made the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft the most times (five). With the top pick, Cleveland selected Brad Daugherty (1986), LeBron James (2003), Kyrie Irving (2011), Anthony Bennett (2013) and Andrew Wiggins (2014).

• A college freshman was the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft for 13 consecutive years from 2010 through 2022. The streak was broken in 2023, when the San Antonio Spurs selected Victor Wembanyama of France with the top pick.

• The Atlanta Hawks selected Zaccharie Risacher of France with the No. 1 pick in 2024, marking the first time in history that an international player who did not play basketball at a U.S. college was selected first overall in back-to-back years.

• In the common draft era, Duke has had the most No. 1 overall picks with five, followed by Kentucky with three. The Blue Devils’ No. 1 selections are Elton Brand (1999), Kyrie Irving (2011), Zion Williamson (2019), Paolo Banchero (2022) and Cooper Flagg (2025). The Wildcats’ No. 1 selections are John Wall (2010), Anthony Davis (2012) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2015).

• In the lottery era, four of the 41 No. 1 overall picks have won an NBA championship with the team that drafted them: David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs; first pick in 1987), Tim Duncan (Spurs; first pick in 1997), LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers; first pick in 2003) and Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers; first pick in 2011). James’ NBA championship with the Cavaliers came in his second stint with the team.

PICK POSITION

• The Utah Jazz are set to pick second overall in the NBA Draft for the second time. The Jazz selected Darrell Griffith with the No. 2 pick in 1980.

• The Memphis Grizzlies are set to pick third overall in the NBA Draft for the second time. The Grizzlies selected Shareef Abdur-Rahim with the No. 3 pick in 1996 ahead of their second season as an expansion team.

• The Chicago Bulls are set to pick fourth overall in the NBA Draft for the sixth time. With the No. 4 pick, the Bulls selected Tom Boerwinkle in 1968, Kelvin Ransey in 1980, Marcus Fizer in 2000, Eddy Curry in 2001 and Patrick Williams in 2020.

• The LA Clippers are set to pick fifth overall in the NBA Draft for the first time. It is their first top-five selection since 2009, when they drafted Blake Griffin No. 1 overall.

• The Milwaukee Bucks are set to pick 10th overall in the NBA Draft, marking their first lottery selection since 2016, when they selected Thon Maker with the 10th pick.

• Two teams hold a league-high four picks in the 2026 NBA Draft: Chicago Bulls (Nos. 4, 15, 38 and 56) and San Antonio Spurs (Nos. 20, 35, 42 and 44).

• Six teams hold two picks in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft: Atlanta Hawks (Nos. 8 and 23), Charlotte Hornets (Nos. 14 and 18), Chicago Bulls (Nos. 4 and 15), Dallas Mavericks (Nos. 9 and 30), Memphis Grizzlies (Nos. 3 and 16) and Oklahoma City Thunder (Nos. 12 and 17).

• Six teams do not hold a pick in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft: Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers. Indiana and Portland also do not hold a pick in the second round.

• The 2026 NBA Draft will feature 60 selections for the first time since 2021. The previous four drafts had fewer than 60 selections because of forfeited picks.

SECOND-ROUND SUCCESSES

• The NBA Draft has consisted of two rounds since 1989.

• Since 1989, 22 players selected in the second round of the NBA Draft have been named NBA All-Stars. Eleven of those 22 players have earned multiple NBA All-Star selections: Nikola Jokić (eight), Draymond Green (four), Paul Millsap (four), Gilbert Arenas (three), Jalen Brunson (three), Marc Gasol (three), Khris Middleton (three), Carlos Boozer (two), Manu Ginóbili (two), Rashard Lewis (two) and Isaiah Thomas (two).

• Since 1989, 11 players selected in the second round of the NBA Draft have been named to the Kia All-NBA Team: Nikola Jokić (eight), Gilbert Arenas (three), Jalen Brunson (three), DeAndre Jordan (three), Marc Gasol (two), Manu Ginóbili (two), Draymond Green (two), Carlos Boozer (one), Goran Dragić (one), Michael Redd (one) and Isaiah Thomas (one).

• Since 1989, 16 players selected in the second round of the NBA Draft have won at least one of the NBA’s five longtime annual Kia Performance Awards (Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player and Rookie of the Year). The list includes a three-time MVP (Nikola Jokić), a three-time Sixth Man of the Year (Lou Williams) and a recipient of both the Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year awards (Malcolm Brogdon). In 2024-25, second-round pick Jalen Brunson won the Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year Award, which was first presented in 2022-23.

• The Denver Nuggets famously selected three-time Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokić in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft (41st overall pick).

• The Sacramento Kings selected Maxime Raynaud in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft (42nd overall pick). Raynaud was named to the 2025-26 Kia NBA All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.

• Several recent second-round picks have developed into rotation players or starters within their first two seasons, including Ayo Dosunmu (2021), Herb Jones (2021), Andrew Nembhard (2022), Toumani Camara (2023), Ajay Mitchell (2024) and Jaylen Wells (2024).

SCHOOL TIES

• AJ Dybantsa could become BYU’s first No. 1 overall pick. The highest-drafted player from BYU is Shawn Bradley at No. 2 in 1993.

• Darryn Peterson could become Kansas’ third No. 1 overall pick in the common draft era, joining Danny Manning (1988) and Andrew Wiggins (2014). The Jayhawks have never had a No. 2 pick, and their two No. 3 picks in the common draft era are Raef LaFrentz (1998) and Joel Embiid (2014).

• If selected with the No. 1 pick, Cameron Boozer would become the sixth Duke player selected first overall in the common draft era, the most for any school. He would join Elton Brand (1999), Kyrie Irving (2011), Zion Williamson (2019), Paolo Banchero (2022) and Cooper Flagg (2025).

• In the common draft era, Duke has had five players selected No. 2 overall – Danny Ferry (1989), Jay Williams (2002), Jabari Parker (2014), Brandon Ingram (2016) and Marvin Bagley III (2018) – and six selected No. 3 overall: Christian Laettner (1992), Grant Hill (1994), Mike Dunleavy Jr. (2002), Jahlil Okafor (2015), Jayson Tatum (2017) and RJ Barrett (2019).

• If selected in the top four, Caleb Wilson would become North Carolina’s highest draft pick since Marvin Williams was selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.

• If selected in the top four, Darius Acuff Jr. would become Arkansas’ highest draft pick in the common draft era. Sidney Moncrief currently holds that distinction as the No. 5 pick in 1979, while Joe Kleine (1985) and Anthony Black (2023) were selected No. 6 overall.

• Keaton Wagler has a chance to become Illinois’ third top-10 pick in the common draft era, joining Kendall Gill (No. 5 in 1990) and Deron Williams (No. 3 in 2005).

• Michigan has three potential first-round picks from its 2026 NCAA national championship team – Morez Johnson, Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara. The Wolverines had three first-round picks in a single draft once before, in 1990, with Rumeal Robinson (No. 10), Loy Vaught (No. 13) and Terry Mills (No. 16). The trio helped Michigan win the 1989 national championship.

• Since 1989, Duke has had the most first-round picks (50), followed by Kentucky (48).

• Since 1989, Kentucky holds the record for the most picks in an NBA Draft from one school with six (2012 and 2015).

GLOBAL GAME

• The top 2026 NBA Draft international prospects who did not play at a U.S. college in the 2025-26 season include Jack Kayil (Germany), Sergio de Larrea (Spain), Karim López (Mexico), Luigi Suigo (Italy) and Noam Yaacov (Israel).

• Karim López, who played the last two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers as part of the NBL’s Next Stars program, has a chance to become the first Mexican-born player to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.

• The top 2026 NBA Draft international prospects who played at U.S. colleges in the 2025-26 season include Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg (Dominican Republic) and Aday Mara (Spain), Cincinnati’s Baba Miller (Spain), Tennessee’s Felix Okpara (Nigeria), Virginia’s Ugonna Onyenso (Nigeria) and North Carolina’s Henri Veesaar (Estonia).

• A record 27 international players were selected in the 2016 NBA Draft, including a record 15 in the first round.

• At least 10 international players have been selected in the NBA Draft every year since 2000.

• At least two international players have been selected in the top 10 of the NBA Draft in each of the last 12 years.

• Fifteen international players have been selected first overall in the NBA Draft, most recently Zaccharie Risacher of France in 2024.

FAMILY TIES

• Duke’s Cameron Boozer is the son of two-time NBA All-Star and 2001 Duke national champion Carlos Boozer.

• Kansas’ Darryn Peterson is the brother of Darryl Peterson III, who played linebacker at Wisconsin and recently signed with the Los Angeles Rams after going undrafted in 2026.

• Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. is the son of Darius Acuff Sr., who played point guard at Eastern Kentucky and also coached him growing up.

• Houston’s Kingston Flemings is the brother of Duke commit Bella Flemings. Kingston (2024-25) and Bella (2025-26) were Gatorade Texas Players of the Year in back-to-back seasons.

• Arizona’s Brayden Burries is the son of Bobby Burries, who played college basketball at Cal State San Bernardino and is a member of its Athletics Hall of Fame.

• Washington’s Hannes Steinbach is the son of Burkhard Steinbach, who was a teammate of NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki’s with Würzburg Baskets in Germany.

• Kentucky’s Jayden Quaintance is the son of Haminn Quaintance, who played college basketball at Kent State and Jacksonville.

• Baylor’s Cameron Carr is the son of Chris Carr, who played six NBA seasons and was the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest runner-up to Kobe Bryant.

• Arizona’s Koa Peat is the son of former NFL offensive lineman Todd Peat and the brother of 11-year NFL offensive lineman Andrus Peat.

• Michigan’s Aday Mara is the son of Javier Mara, who played professional basketball in Spain, and Gely Gómez, who competed in volleyball for Spain’s national team.

• Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson is the son of Christian Anderson Sr., who played college basketball at College of Charleston and Virginia Union and professionally overseas.

• Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson is the son of Ben Jefferson, who was an offensive lineman in the NFL and CFL.

• UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau is the son of Cass Bauer-Bilodeau, who played in the WNBA, and Brent Bilodeau, who was the No. 17 pick in the 1991 NHL Draft.

• Kentucky’s Otega Oweh is the brother of Washington Commanders defensive end Odafe Oweh, a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

• BYU’s Richie Saunders is the great-grandson of Nephi Grigg, the founder of Ore-Ida and creator of the tater tot.

• Houston’s Emanuel Sharp is the son of Derrick Sharp, who played professionally for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League and the EuroLeague.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More posts