The 2026 NBA Draft was a highly anticipated event, featuring some of the best college players from the past decade. The loaded freshmen class from college basketball proved to be the top prospects in the draft, with the top eight players all being first-year players.
AJ Dybantsa was taken first by the Washington Wizards, with not too many surprises among the first five picks. But there were intriguing moves both in the lottery and beyond, with some teams winning overall while others made more controversial picks.
Here’s a recap of each team’s draft, along with an overall grade for their moves.
Atlanta Hawks
8. (via New Orleans) - Kingston Flemings
- 2025-26 stats (Houston): 16.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, and 5.2 apg
23. (via Cleveland) - Zuby Ejiofor
- 2025-26 stats (St. John’s): 16.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg
52. Henri Veesaar
- 2025-26 stats (North Carolina): 17 ppg and 8.7 rpg
The Hawks got the point guard they wanted in Flemings, who was a standout at Houston, which isn’t an easy feat for freshmen. The other two picks were big men, including Big East Defensive Player of the Year Ejiofor and Veesar, who was a projected first-round pick in many mocks but somehow slid down to 52. It’s a home run draft for the franchise with this trio of picks.
Grade: A+Â
Boston Celtics
27. Chris Cenac
- 2025-26 stats (Houston): 9.5 ppg and 7.9 rpg
40. Dillon Mitchell
- 2025-26 stats (St. John’s): 8.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, and 3.0 apg
After missing out on landing Giannis Antetokounmpo in a trade, the Celtics did take their first-round pick. Cenac is an athletic frontcourt player who can defend and rebound at a high level. Mitchell is one of the top individual defenders in the draft and projects to be a quality glue-guy for them in the rotation. They’ll have to figure out what to do with Jaylen Brown, but as far as the draft goes, it was a good couple of nights.
Grade: B+
Brooklyn Nets
6. Mikel Brown
- 2025-26 stats (Louisville): 18.2 ppg and 4.7 apg
28. (via Detroit and Minnesota) - Joshua Jefferson
- 2025-26 stats (Iowa State): 16.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 4.8 apg
43. - Tyler Bilodeau
- 2025-26 stats (UCLA): 17.6 ppg and 5.6 rpg
The Nets had choices for who to take at guard at No. 6 and went with Brown, an electric ball-handler who they hope can be a franchise-changing playmaker. Jefferson is a good, versatile forward, while Bilodeau is one of the best stretch forwards in the draft. But after trading for Julius Randle from the Timberwolves, playing time for the two frontcourt pickups may not be long.
Grade: B
Add us as a preferred source on Google