CHICAGO — Let’s start at the top, because that’s what we do when it comes to the NBA Draft. And in the 2026 version of the draft, that “top” isn’t one or two players. It’s four.
Talking to executives here for the league’s annual draft combine, including some from multiple teams picking near the top, the consensus opinion was that reasonable people could disagree on the top four picks, in virtually any order, but the identity of those four was beyond doubt: BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke big man Cameron Boozer and North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson.
The way the draft lottery was presented, that may not have been immediately obvious. It seemed a bit like the Dybantsa Sweepstakes, and Wilson was scarcely mentioned. Certainly, insiders I spoke with this week think Dybantsa is the best bet of the four to be the top pick, but not one person I talked to considers him a lock.
Notably, some mentioned the 2017 draft, when the Boston Celtics pivoted to trading down and taking Duke’s Jayson Tatum with the third pick rather than the presumptive No. 1, Washington guard Markelle Fultz, or No. 2, UCLA guard Lonzo Ball. With a relatively flat talent curve in the top four picks, and some differences of opinion in how to rank those four, the normally dormant market for trades near the top of the draft could again become active.
One notion wasn’t far from observers’ minds: If Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith was willing to pay millions, indirectly, to get Dybantsa to his alma mater BYU a year ago, would he be willing to spare some draft capital to keep Dybantsa in Utah by trading up with the Washington Wizards? And if so, is there another player the Wizards like nearly as much (or, perhaps like Boston in 2017, even better?) that they would agree to such a deal?
Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves; it’s mid-May, and responsible front offices remain in the evaluation phase: Teams are here in Chicago conducting interviews, watching workouts and gathering information and will have select players visit their facilities in the coming weeks.
Synthesizing all that information into a draft board, even at the top, isn’t an instant process for staff that have been hammering away at this all year, let alone for a team like the Chicago Bulls, picking fourth, that hired its general manager a week ago. But don’t let them gaslight you: Teams at the top are splitting hairs among four players, and strong arguments can be made for each.
Rumor-mongering wasn’t all that went on this week. There was actual information gleaned, in the form of measurements, athletic testing and five-on-five games. Let’s talk about what we learned over the past three days.
Tales of the tape
Most of the first-round talent in this draft didn’t play in the scrimmages, but they still did measurements that, in some cases, were revealing.
While some of the athletic testing historically has near-zero predictive value, and the shooting drills are a small-sample data point for scouts who have seen prospects take 100 pregame shots multiple times this season, data like wingspan, standing reach and standing vertical typically has some useful signal. And of course, knowing somebody’s true height makes for a much more reliable data point than “I’m not sure he’s really 6-foot-10.”
• Dybantsa measured 6-8 1/2 inches in socks with a desirable “plus-4” wingspan of 7-0 1/2 and weighed in at 217 pounds. A 33.5-inch no-step vertical confirmed the in-season eye test on his elevation.
• Peterson was 6-4 1/2 in socks with a 6-9 3/4 wingspan, long even for an NBA wing at plus-5.25.
• Boozer didn’t exactly alleviate concerns about his elevation with a 28.5-inch standing vertical, but he measured “plus-5.25” with a 7-1 1/2 wingspan on his 6-8 1/4 frame; additionally, his 9-foot standing reach just clears the unofficial bar that many teams and scouts use as a cutoff for the “can he play center?” question.
• Wilson won’t be playing any center at just 210 pounds, but he had a 9-foot standing reach on his 6-9 1/4 frame; he also uncorked a 34.5-inch standing vertical, tied for the fifth-best of the combine.
Outside of the top four, here are the measurements that caught my eye the most:
• Houston’s Kingston Flemings fared the best of the five guards who are likely to be picked in rapid succession after the four names above come off the board (Illinois’ Keaton Wagler, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Arizona’s Brayden Burries and Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. are the others).
While none of the five registered impressive wingspan or reach measurements, they did get off the floor: Flemings jumped 33.5 inches, Wagler 33 and Burries a brow-raising 35. Additionally, while straight-line speed hasn’t correlated much with performance, it does have a bit of predictive value for smaller guards. The fact that Acuff and Flemings ripped off sub-3.1 sprints is helpful.
Flemings also earned plaudits from his upperclassmen Houston teammates who were in Chicago (four Cougars were invited).
“He is really unselfish,” Houston guard Emanuel Sharp said. “He’s very humble, that’s probably my favorite part about him. He’s not an airhead; he’s a great kid. He’s a better person than he is player. You know a lot of teams value that, so you know, whatever team can get him is getting a star.”
“Super athletic, crazy speed, very high IQ,” fellow Cougars teammate Milos Uzan said. “It’s very hard to stop him, and he has a great midrange pull-up. He just plays the right way. He makes everybody better around him. And that’s what makes him so special.”
• Baylor guard Cameron Carr only measured 6-4 1/2 in socks but with an enormous 7-0 3/4 wingspan that makes him a wingspan unicorn at plus-8.25. Carr also uncorked a 33.5-inch no-step jump and confirmed that observation with a monstrous poster dunk in Wednesday’s scrimmage.
“I was like, don’t get rim-stuffed!” Carr said about seeing the lane open up for him in transition and then loading up for the soaring stuff; he got extra style points with a full chin-up on the rim.
Carr dominated his one day on the court, with 30 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, including several deep 3-pointers and three dunks. He was, by a wide margin, the best player on the court this week.
“I’m a competitor — basketball’s basketball,” Carr said of his decision to scrimmage, something few projected first-rounders do.
“It’s supposed to be fun, and I don’t know, in my head I feel like I’ve been overlooked, especially for some of these spots. Of course, I’m not paying attention to the draft stock and all that stuff, but when I hear someone’s better than me, I feel I’ve got to go in and show them who’s really the best. So that’s all I can do. I can just step on the court and give y’all my best, and that’s what I did today.”
• Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile was the measurement monster of the likely second-rounders, with a 7-3 3/4 wingspan on his 6-9 1/2 frame (plus-6.25!), a 9-1 standing reach and a 36-inch no-step jump. His name hasn’t received a ton of attention, but between these measurables and two solid scrimmages (25 points and 15 boards total), don’t be shocked to see him move up boards into the early second round.
Way back when, Brazile had first-round buzz after a strong freshman year at Missouri before injuries sidetracked him. He went to the combine in 2024, but the feedback he received was … not so encouraging. He only averaged 6.8 points in 2024-25 but re-emerged in his last season of eligibility at Arkansas.
“It was definitely tough, you know, there’s no secret,” Brazile said. “The year after I tore my ACL, I struggled, and I also had to miss some time.
“It’s tough having to go to the combine and basically (have) teams telling me, ‘You’re not good enough yet.’ So you really have to take a step back and re-evaluate, and that’s what I did. It wasn’t just me, though. I had a lot of help — family, friends keeping me grounded, keeping me humble.”
Don’t be shocked to see Trevon Brazile move up some draft boards. (Johnnie Izquierdo / Getty Images)
• Michigan’s frontcourt was just as huge as you thought. Center Aday Mara measured a gigantic 7-3 in socks, with a 9-9 wingspan. His frontcourt partner, Morez Johnson Jr., stands 6-9 with a 7-3 1/2 wingspan, and while his 8-11 standing reach was a bit short for a center, his 33.5-inch jump was impressive; only four other players taller than 6-8 jumped 33 inches or more. And if you think Yaxel Lendeborg can also play some five at 6-8 3/4 in socks, you might be right: He has a 9-0 1/4 standing reach and a plus-6.5 wingspan. Lendeborg’s 25.5-inch jump, alas, was quite unimpressive.
• Houston center Chris Cenac Jr.’s hugeness may keep him in the first round. He had a 7-5 wingspan, a 9-0 1/2 wingspan and jumped 33 inches. As I mentioned in Johnson’s comment above, only five players taller than 6-8 jumped at least 33 inches. Wilson, Brazile and Dybantsa were the other three.
• Finally, St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor likely helped his “just a basketball player” label with a 34-inch jump and a giant 7-2 1/2 wingspan on his 6-7 1/2 body (plus-7).
• As for measurement disappointments, Purdue’s Braden Smith and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner both came in even smaller than hoped, at 5-10 1/4 in socks for Smith and 5-10 3/4 for Tanner. Sub-6-foot guards struggle to get their foot in the NBA door, and neither did enough in the scrimmages to shake the “too small” label. Smith is out of eligibility and will be in the draft, but Tanner likely is headed back to school for his junior season.
• Duke’s Isaiah Evans only jumped 27 inches and weighed in at a mere 186 pounds on a 6-5 1/2 frame. All that may go out the window once teams see his feathery stroke in workouts, but the measurements didn’t help him.
• Finally, the only “alligator arms” player this year — taller than his wingspan — was Wisconsin guard John Blackwell, who is likely pulling out of the draft and headed to Duke. I’ll note that a few recent players tagged with this label turned into draft-day steals, including Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks.
The mystery man
If there’s a mystery man among the American college players at this year’s combine, it’s Santa Clara redshirt freshman forward Allen Graves.
While virtually every other draftable player was in a power conference this year, Graves plied his trade for the third-place team in the West Coast Conference. Most national TV viewers only saw him in the Broncos’ first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Kentucky, when Graves’ “One Shining Moment” (a go-ahead 3 with 2.4 seconds left) was erased by a miracle half-court shot from Kentucky’s Otega Oweh.
Graves didn’t even start for Santa Clara, but he blew up analytical models with his odd combination of steals, offensive rebounds and 3-pointers. Despite a 6-8 frame, he led the conference in steal rate by a wide margin, not to mention his PER and BPM. As a result, he’s showing up on draft boards as a potential first-rounder and came to the combine weighing a decision to stay in the draft versus a lucrative name, image and likeness offer from LSU.
This was all quite a shock; Graves wasn’t a high recruit and sat out a redshirt year before he erupted this season. The Louisiana native told me that overcoming his native cuisine was half the battle in that redshirt year.
“Definitely just developing my body,” Graves said. “Diet habits, coming from Louisiana, a lot of good food down there, so staying away from certain foods, fried foods, stuff like that — bread, a lot a bread — and then just making sure my diet’s right.
“And then also the experience part of it, that redshirt year, I was 17 going into college. So just being able to have the experience of practicing with those guys, seeing them play on the court and just developing.”
For those who haven’t seen him, I’ll let Graves give you the self-scout:
“I’d say I’m a very high-IQ player. I’d like to say I have a good feel for the game. My knowledge of basketball has been pretty good. Just being able to grow up around it, grow up in the environment like my brother played in. My sister played at Auburn. Just being able to be around the environment my whole life has been great.”
As for next steps in his game, Graves is trying to become a more reliable floor-spacer and perimeter defender; a monstrously high foul rate was his most notable negative during the season.
“Just getting my shot quicker, making sure that it’s an NBA-level shot … and then also showcasing I can guard. A lot of our coverages this year were plugs, not switching, but being able to show that I can play the four position.”
On the court
For those interested in playing, two days of scrimmages followed Tuesday’s measurements and drills. Generally, these were the likely second-rounders, although two likely first-rounders deigned to join them for a day on Wednesday.
In addition to Carr, above, possible later lottery pick Dailyn Swain of Texas shockingly played on Wednesday. However, he didn’t stand out, with eight points, five boards and two steals.
“Knowing that I was in the combine, whatever was on the schedule was what I was going to do,” he said. “It wasn’t really an up-in-the-air thing for me. It’s been a while since I got up and down (played full court), but I know it’ll be a great opportunity to play with some of these guys. We’ve never played with each other before. It’s not really any chemistry, not a lot of structure, and that’s not the way I play, but I think it’s just a great opportunity to showcase what I can do.”
While those two did what was expected, perhaps no player helped his stock more than Ja’Kobi Gillespie. The Tennessee guard seemed a likely two-way player when the week started as a fifth-year senior standing just 6-0, but he might be this combine’s version of Andrew Nembhard. After Gillespie torched the nets for 43 combined points in two games, including eight high-arching 3-point makes, he’s a possible top-40 pick.
“Just knowing how to play the game the right way,” Gillespie said of his game. “I can cause turnovers on defense. I like to get in passing lanes, get my hands on a lot of balls and also (have) the ability to shoot it really deep and play advantage basketball.
“I feel like I’ve always been overlooked as a prospect just because (of) where I’m from and also being a small guard. It’s something I’ve kind of just grown to get used to. I like being in that role and proving people wrong.”
Gillespie has taken the long road, starting at Belmont after turning down Power-5 offers to play football (wide receiver and defensive back) and then transferring to Maryland and then Tennessee this year. The East Tennessee native told me his first love was Volunteer football.
Three other seniors deserve a mention, although all three have shooting questions that could limit their stock.
Cincinnati’s Baba Miller has always intrigued scouts with his size and ballhandling at 6-11; the Mallorcan forward had two strong days with a combined 33 points, 15 rebounds and five boards; that figure included three 3-point makes after he shot just 10 of 52 for the Bearcats this year.
Kentucky’s Oweh showed off his ability to score in transition and get downhill in the half court, racking up 41 points in two games. However, he made only one of his eight 3-point tries, with several low-liners coming up way short.
Similarly, St. Johns’ forward Dillon Mitchell, coming off a year in which he shot 1 of 15 from 3, nonetheless finished the two games with 20 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists; he’s a high-wire athlete whose burgeoning feel as a passer (6.0 assists per 100 possessions last year) could help him overcome some of the shooting limitations.
You again?
Let’s exit with a moment of levity, as the four players from Houston shared tales of the legendary tough love of coach Kelvin Sampson.
“Worse than you can imagine,” Cenac said. “But he gets you better, so can’t complain.”
“Absolutely,” Uzan said. “He does it for the right reasons, though, man. He knows how to get all of his guys to play to his standard.”
The Cougars also had a moment of deep familiarity in the scrimmages. When it came time to tip off their first scrimmage on Wednesday, Uzan and Sharp discovered they were matched up against each other, just like they’d been doing in practice for the last two years.
“That was dope, man,” Uzan said. “That’s my guy, been my backcourt man for the past two years now, so it’s exciting just to see him out here playing. And I feel like he’s a perfect fit in the league as well, a great 3-and-D guy, the best perimeter defender in the country, and he can shoot the ball from deep.”
“I was excited,” Sharp said. “No matter what side of the ball we’re on, that’s my guy. But it’s competition. It’s not like I haven’t played him before. So I was ready to compete.”
As for Sampson? He lived up to his rep after the game, texting Sharp after his impressive 17-point effort on Wednesday to tell him that he needed to rebound, or Sampson would make him run (Sharp had no rebounds).
“He’s not somebody that’s gonna blow you up,” Sharp said. “He’s gonna tell you the real and what you need to hear.”