Underdog NBA Mock Draft Show

Hey everybody and welcome to the 2026 NBA Live Mock Draft Show Version 2. I'm your Draft Master Chris Horvidell, this, I love it, it's one of my favorite things we do all year because look anybody can sit there and read a mock draft. Anybody can say this player goes here, that player goes there, and then pretend like they didn't have something wildly wrong three days later. That's the entire draft industrial complex. That's the game. We're all just confidently wrong until we're accidentally right. But I think you know what we do here is a little bit different than that. Along with me I've got a group of the finest basketball minds underdog podcasts had available at this time and they're going to be joining me. They're going to be the ones making the selection. I'm looking at a giant zoom call here with six screens in front of me. Each of them will rotate making picks. I'm not going to make the Philadelphia 76ers pick this time. I'm solely going to be here as the Draft Master and you know these are people who you should take their opinion seriously. These are people who know basketball, they watch the league, they know the draft, they care about it, they care about upside and oftentimes they're going to make a pick that makes me want to walk into the ocean fully clothed. But that's really what makes it fun. Getting exasperated, being shocked, surprised, outraged, all of that. As usual we'll be using Lucky Rebel for the draft odds, pick markets, top five markets, top ten markets, and anything else we can find that helps us understand how the board is actually being priced. And I'm going to tell you right now this draft is fascinating because the top four does feel pretty clean. I think there could be some arguments about who goes what in some of those orders but I think we know who the top four picks are going to be. But after that man it gets weird fast. So like I said here is the setup. We're going to be going pick by pick through the first round. Each person is going to be making their selection. We're going to be taking team needs, roster context, rumors, all of that into consideration and we're going to make the picks. This is our mock draft. This is the room. These are our selections. I'm just your draft master which does sound like a made-up title and it is but I'm going to keep saying it until somebody stops me. Let's get into it. The Washington Wizards are on the clock with the number one pick and this selection has been up for a while. With the first pick in the 2026 NBA Draft the Washington Wizards select A.J. DiBanca, 6'9 forward from BYU. DiBanca is the obvious choice here. I don't I don't mean obvious in a boring way. I mean obvious in a way that if you're Washington and you've been this bad for this long I don't think you can overlook the best wing scorer in the draft. Are there questions about everything that's going on right now with Aaron Peterson? Maybe he doesn't want to be in Utah. Maybe he believes he's genuinely the best player in the draft and that's why he's canceling stuff. But considering there's the whole Trae Young situation hanging over everybody's head here he's allegedly going to re-sign with the team after opting out a three or four-year max contract. Peterson just doesn't make sense. The Wizards went 17-65 last season. It's kind of record where it's not an end to the season it's a mercy killing and now they're just sitting there with the number one pick. Anthony Davis is on the roster like I said Trae Young who knows what's going to happen there. Washington has has pieces so if this does happen and it is a big if if you're talking about a core of Trae Young and Anthony Davis and Sarr and Trae Johnson and Bilal Kulibaly and Keyshawn Georgia now AJ Dibanza it's weird but that team sounds pretty interesting. Dibanza is exactly the kind of player that Washington needs. At BYU we average 25.5 points 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He led the country in scoring he's not just a standstill shooter he's not just a transition athlete he can create and I think there's more defensive upside than than we think there. He gets to his spots he's a generationally talented driver he can score through contact he has the size he has the star ability this is to me it's a no-brainer. I mean if there was an alternate reality where the Darren Peterson thing went differently at Kansas and he averaged 22.5 points a game and shot 40 percent from three and you know looked like he was interested in passing the ball once in a while which is the crazy part by the way about him allegedly wanting to be a point guard. 1.6 assists but we'll talk about that talk about that in a minute just getting frustrated here this the pick makes sense. Dibanza is minus 500 at Lucky Rebel to go number one with Peterson plus 400 and Cam Boozer plus 1100. I get why you know like we said there is that Peterson argument there's even there's even a Boozer argument if you want the safest basketball player in this draft but with Washington you have to take the star swing and I'm taking the wing with number one upside every single time I'm taking the guy who gives the fan base an actual reason to watch games. The Wizards don't need a nice piece they need the guy on the billboard they need somebody who you can say okay this is the start of whatever the next thing is and I think Dibanza is that I really do. At number two Utah Jazz are up and I'm being shown the card it's actually been shown to me for quite a while as people tried to get me to stop talking about AJ Dibanza and the Washington Wizards but I'm the draft master I'm your captain now you can't control me none of them can I'm just gonna sit here and keep doing this and it's gonna make them mad I love I love all you guys. The number two pick the Utah Jazz select Darren Peterson from Kansas this despite whatever is going on with Peterson and his camp I love this fit I think this is by far the cleanest fit for Utah he is not I don't know if he's not the point guard in Utah you can put him and Keontae George in the backcourt together and call them both point guards for all I care and probably for all Utah cares that Jazz team went 22 and 60 last season they haven't made the playoffs since 2022 you know that's not the end of the world when you're rebuilding but at some point you need to rebuild and become something more than a collection of interesting names and future second round picks Utah's frontcourt talent they boy do they have frontcourt talent uh although the Walker Kessler thing is interesting they offered him 5 140 allegedly and he doesn't seem to think that's anywhere close to being the right number you have Jackson who played like three games after they traded for him from uh from Memphis last year so along with marketing they're gonna be huge in the frontcourt and that's gonna allow Peterson and George a lot of a lot of freedom in in the backcourt but Utah has a lot the Ace Bailey's there too they've got young pieces they've got options but you need somebody who you can put the ball in his hands and he changes the geometry of the floor and that's what Darren Peterson does Peterson averaged 20.2 points 4.2 rebounds in the aforementioned 1.6 assist to Kansas last year and yeah the assist number is the one that people are going to point to is he a point guard is he a two is he a combo guard is he more scorer than organizer the answer is yeah probably I don't think that's a joke I think he's a you know best case scenario for him I think he's a combo guard I think he's wired to score first and as someone who's played basketball for a very long time I think it's very difficult to reroute that wiring when that's how you think I do think long term best case for Utah is for him to play the two and just go score 25 or 30 points a game just worry about putting the ball in the hoop he's too talented with the ball just call him a two and move on as far as I'm concerned but the injuries matter he's missed time he had that cramping issue and I guess we're gonna believe that's what it is he was taking too much creatine I don't I don't know any better people seem to believe it so we'll say that's it and the injury thing is not something that we're going to be worried about long term but this is a high level shot maker profile that bad teams absolutely need Peterson is minus 170 at lucky rebel to go number two cam boozers plus 200 divances plus 400 if he somehow isn't the first pick Caleb Wilson also by the way plus 2200 so the market is basically saying yeah this is probably Peterson but it's not as locked in as Dibanza at one I think I think the pick's right Utah needs creation Peterson gives them creation he gives them a star to build around and if he hits the jazz finally have somebody who can be the offensive engine instead of just another talented piece in a rebuild that this team so absolutely desperately positively needs at number three the Memphis Grizzlies are up the card is in and their selection is cam boozer from Duke this might be the cleanest pick of the draft the jazz went 25 and 57 last year it was a lost weird depressing season Memphis has been a playoff team he's just last year was weird Memphis they've been fun they've had an identity but last year it felt like everything was just off they made the bane trade early on got five unrestricted unprotected first round picks which crazy uh injuries roster balance inconsistency all of that when a team like that lands at number three there's no reason to get cute you take cam boozer he's the safest player in the draft boozer averaged 22 and a half points 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists at duke two and a half assists a game more than point guard want to be darren peterson i don't hate darren peterson by the way i don't want anybody to think that i hate darren peterson i think he is an incredibly talented offensive player i think he is one of the better shooting guard prospects if not the best shooting guard prospect that we've had in quite a long time i just don't think he's a point guard that's all i'm point guard stop and i don't think dp is a point guard uh but boozer back to boozer had a 65 true shooting number he was one of the best players in college basketball basically from day one yeah he's not the twitchiest athlete in the class he's not going to win a dunk contest but he's a basketball player man i know it it sounds simple but it matters cam boozer is a pure basketball player he knows where to be he rebounds he passes he makes the right play he scores he has the touch he processes the game quickly i know he's a guy who gives you 18 and 9 before you even realize he's done anything dramatic it's it's not boring it's winning basketball is what cam boozer brings to a team and that is invaluable he could very well end up being the long-term best player in this draft and i don't think anybody would be surprised by that lucky rebel has boozer to go number three at minus 225 with caleb wilson at 350 and peterson at 400 that feels right to me if uh boozer is on the board at three memphis should take i think they should take about six seconds to turn that card in but i do wonder if they're going to think about caleb wilson more than they should not to not to take anything away from wilson he's he's an incredibly talented dude who's got a bright future but cam boozers just plug and play look if you're memphis let's go i like the memphis fit because boozer doesn't have to be a savior he can be a stabilizer he can just do what he's going to do on that team he can help the front court that needs reliability he can let memphis get back to being physical annoying and difficult to play against i mean that is a compliment to memphis basketball is at its best when other teams are just quietly irritated by halftime at number four the chicago bulls are on the board the pick is in and the pick is caleb wilson from north carolina this is exactly the kind of swing chicago has to take when they moved up hopping into that top four was such a gigantic thing for them because it it guaranteed they would have one of these four guys to build around moving forward didn't even matter who was left it just mattered that they were in that four and and here they are the bulls went 20 and 62 last season it's not like they were unlucky uh they were just what a weird team that basically traded their entire roster away to get out of contracts at the trade deadline they weren't like they were not they weren't like a piece away they were just bad they knew it this is a full-scale rebuild and when you are bad like that you need to think bigger than fit you need to think upside you need to think talent you need somebody who might be able to become one of the best two players on your next really good team and wilson gives them that he averaged 19.8 points 9.4 rebounds 2.7 assists 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks at north carolina last year while shooting almost 58 from the field the big question is the jumper he shot under 30 from three and the the frame's still gonna need some work but luckily basketball is moving in a direction where the free matters less and less if cam boozer came along in 1995 i'm not sure what he'd look like as a draft prospect and honestly he might be a big three at that point but it's not where we are right now he's gonna pair really nicely with the players on that team with booze alice with josh giddy moving forward and you know whoever else they uh they deem worthy to to keep around whether tiago splitter is the right head coach for that team or not we'll see uh but he has athleticism he has the feel the transition ability he has the touch inside the arc i think the jump shot's gonna come along i really do he's got the defensive tools he gets sean kemp comms and if if sean kemp ever had a jump shot at me boy one of the most dangerous players in nba history lucky rebel as wilson at minus 300 to go number four boozers plus 375 peterson is plus a thousand we're gonna hear some other names here acoff is a plus 1100 kingston fleming's plus 3500 that tells you this is wilson unless unless chicago does something unexpected i mean that would not be the most unexpected thing from chicago as it were but let's hope that's not the case as for the bulls yeah i like it i love this pick they don't need to polish the edges of a contender here they're trying to find a centerpiece and wilson might not be ready right away but he might turn into that centerpiece in the long term the rumor is they think they already have a star in the building and booze alice i would put my long-term money on wilson over booze alice and that's not a shot at modest that is how much i like caleb wilson it's also worth pointing out chicago picks again at 15 which does matter they don't have to try and solve everything here take the upside swing at four and come back later with with something a little more specific that's how you rebuild or at least how you try to rebuild at number five the los angeles clippers are up the selection is in and it is no surprise keaton wagler from illinois even though there are rumors out there right now that they are not in love with wagler and maybe this pick ends up moved as part of a bigger trade but for now the clippers own it and wagler is the guy this is where the draft starts to open up in my mind the clippers get this pick through indiana and that matters because you got to remember the clippers themselves are a playing level team they're not a total disaster they went 42 and 40 they were fine and you know there is an argument to be made that fine in the nba is probably the most dangerous place to be it gets you the 11th pick fine gets you an expensive roster and a team that loses in the first round but this pick allows them to add another high upside guy who knows what's going to happen with kawai so potentially even a guy who could be the guy at some point in his clippers tenure that team needs youth they need shooting they need size of the guard position and long-term stability wagler gives a lot of that at illinois he averaged 17.9 points 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists he's 6-6 he can shoot he can pass he's a little unconventional but there's nothing wrong with that it's even kind of en vogue in the nba right now he's not just the tiny little guard that you're gonna have to hide in every playoff series and unfortunately those guys you're gonna see one of them maybe coming up pretty soon that matters in the nba if you're building a backcourt player the first question is can he survive defensively when other teams start hunting wagler can and that's important lucky rebel has wagler plus 200 to go five michael brown's plus 275 acos is plus 290 a day mara is next at plus 700 and kingston flemings who sort of fell out of that little that little foursome of point guard prospects a little bit with a poorish combine performance in terms of size and arm arm strength whatever is plus 1 000 so the market's telling you there's a three guard race here at five i do like wagler for the clippers he's less dramatic than a cuff maybe less pure point guard than brown but there's a cleaner two-way fit he can play with the stars he can scale it up a little he can be the secondary creator he can be the guy he can shoot off the catch he gives them options and the clippers right now very much need options the roster has sort of lived too long in the world of if healthy let me tell you if healthy is not a plan if healthy is hoping and praying and they need to stop that they need to stop with well as long as kawai is healthy for the playoffs it'll be fine keaton wagler a los angeles clipper clipper the number six pick is held by the brooklyn nets oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy um i'm looking at the card and this is the first shocker here so i'll get to that in just a second brooklyn went in 1963 last season they're one of the teams that seems to have the least to build around moving forward they were bad and unlike some bad teams they don't even have control of all their future draft equity it changes the pressure for them and that's oh man that's why i'm shocked by this the brooklyn nets select michigan center a day mara here wow um okay the obvious pick on the lucky rebel board would have been a cuff he's plus 175 to go number six wagler and brown are plus 300 mars plus a thousand so this is a little bit of a board breaker here but i guess there's logic look i'm not candidly a big a day mara fan i i'm worried about what he's gonna be in the nba i like the tools i but i'm terrified by the fact that it took this long to put together an adequate season in college basketball for a guy who was seven three and theoretically so talented he averaged 12.1 points 6.8 rebounds 2.4 assists and 2.6 blocks while shooting almost 67 from the field now there's a little national title bump here he did help michigan win it all gives you size he gives you structure but i'm worried about the mobility the nba is a brutal place for bigs who can't move we talk about hunting guards big guys the center switches get haunted in the playoffs constantly as well if he can't guard in space it gets hard if teams drag him into pick and rolls and he's playing on roller skates and suddenly that's seven three frame is more it's more of a logistic problem than a superpower ah man it but i guess if he can hold up this is a real center there's real tools the passing the the flashes of shooting it's somebody who can anchor a team if everything goes right and we've talked about how dangerous that phrase is for brooklyn i i probably would have leaned guard but i guess i understand the swing on size and feel sometimes you draft the player that's harder to draft the player that's harder to find they're definitely guards every year there are definitely more guards in this draft but there aren't that many seven foot three guys who can block shots and pass the ball okay at number seven the sacramento this is another surprise boy the sacramento kings select from houston guard kingston flemings all right i like this i can get behind this because i do think we're a little bit too worried about the measurements for flemings and we forget the player he is on the court sacramento went 22 and 60 and again when you're a 22 win team the answer isn't let's draft a role player you need to find talent you need to find creation and you need to find somebody who can do it on both sides who can do it on both sides of the ball flemings gives you that at houston he averaged 16.1 points 5.2 assists 4.1 rebounds 1.5 steals he shot 47.6 from the field 38.7 from three 84.5 from the line and you have to factor in that he came out of that kelvin sampson system i like that it means he's probably been yelled at about defensive positioning in ways that would make us reconsider our life choices if it was us the guy knows what he's doing defensively he's gonna hold up he isn't huge he measured right around six two and a half barefoot but he's pretty explosive he's pretty smart plays with his kind of his own pace and for sacramento that that matters because the kings they need a reset in the backcourt they need somebody who can be more than just a scorer who can organize possessions and defend enough to stay on the floor so he'll be good uh just they're going for the guy who's definitely going to be good instead of a couple of guys who could potentially be great and i mean fair enough it's their pick lucky rebel ed wagler the favorite to go number seven plus 200 a cuff was plus 250 brown was plus 350 and flemings was plus 500 so not the favorite here but very much in the mix and you know whatever i'll say this i like him more for sacramento than a couple of those other guys one of those other guys but this is a fine pick not the biggest name not the loudest name but it makes basketball sense and that's allowed that's fine with the number eight oh my goodness oh my goodness oh my goodness this draft has gone off of a ledge and i'm wondering if there's some secret conspiracy to just make this absolutely crazy that i i'm not aware about the hawks are up at eight the pick i like this guy i just did not think he'd be the eighth pick in the draft kareem lopez from new new zealand played with the breakers this year cream loca lopez is actually one of my favorite you know players in this draft and i actually like the fit in atlanta it's not where the odds go but i like the fit atlanta is kind of picking here because of the uh the norleans trade and the hawks are in an interesting spot because now the trey young era is over he's in washington for the moment i guess atlanta needs to reshape itself a little bit and they prioritize size defense versatility and you know whatever that next offensive identity becomes i guess so lopez gives you a lot of tools the hawks went 46 and 36 last year they were a playoff team but admittedly a flawed playoff team when you're atlanta you do have to ask yourself do we need another small guard or do we want a player who fits the modern wing forward mold that is definitely lopez he played professionally in the nbl with the new zealand breakers averaging 11.9 points six rebounds 1.9 assists 11 1.1 steals and about a block of game as a teenager he's 6 8 2 22 6 11 wingspan the three-point shot is a work in progress but the touch is clearly there he's crafty he's got size he's got professional experience all right whatever i i don't i guess we're really buying into knowledge the starting guard boy all right fair enough lucky rebel has a day mara plus 250 i am still shook to go number eight flemings is plus 330 wagler and brown are plus 600 braden burry's at eight lopez sits at plus 3500 so this is another spot where if this happens you can make quite a bit of money you're gonna you're gonna you're gonna be a rich man if uh if you take lopez and he's to pick your date i guess i do like it because atlanta doesn't purely have to pick for immediate guard creation they do need wings they need players who can defend and pass a little bit cut play off other guys get easy hoops from jaylen johnson makes sense in a playoff lineup he might not be a star right away but he's gonna be a useful player i i yeah i this definitely means the end for resha who i still think has upside by the way but the show's already getting too long sometimes the six eight guy who knows how to play is just he's the right pick so we shall see with the number nine pick and this one has been rumored for uh for a while now the dallas mavericks select from arizona guard braden burry's good pick feels like a dallas pick they went 26 and 56 last year which does it feels a little bit strange to say but the franchise now has cooper flag and that changes the entire conversation when you have flag the question becomes what fits around and what helps him what gives him spacing defense athleticism somebody who doesn't need 25 touches a game to matter that makes sense for braden burry's i guess at arizona he averaged 16.1 points 4.9 rebounds 2.4 assists while shooting 49 from the field 39 from 381 from the line it's a good clean wing guard profile he can shoot he can defend he can run the floor doesn't need the ball to dominate fair enough lucky rebel has buries it plus 175 to go number nine um so it's actually where the the market lines up pretty nicely the he's the favorite it makes sense and it's a good pick i'll tell you what i like this better for dallas than chasing a pure point guard here you can find ball handling in a lot of places but a 6-4-6-5 guard who can shoot defend and play next to flag is pretty valuable so i'm i'm in this dallas that they have to build the functional ecosystem now it's burry's is gonna burry's is gonna be good for them at 10 the milwaukee bucks are on the board and finally one of the guards comes off the board the milwaukee bucks select from arkansas darius haycuff jr this is the value pick of the lottery so far haycuff does slide a little bit here but i'd imagine if he's sitting there at 10 milwaukee has to be thrilled the bucks are what 32 and 50 last year it's uh and yannis is going to be traded they they they're looking for the next version of this bucks team and haycuff gives them juice he averaged over 20 points and six assists at arkansas he won the bob koozie award as the nation's top point guard he's aggressive he's creative and he has the kind of confidence that is either you're going to fall in love with it or he's going to drive you absolutely up a wall also there's the defensive issues because he is one of the least engaged defenders i've ever seen at the college level so was that was that an arkansas thing or is that an a cuff thing we're going to find out in milwaukee next season lucky rebel as a cuff priced aggressively at six and seven he's one of those players who you know the draft range can swing depending on how teams view his efficiency and decision making and if they care about defense but if i'm a 10 i'm definitely taking this pick no question about that number 11 the golden state warriors are up and their selection is le baron phylon guard alabama this is a very interesting warriors pick probably not where i would have gone but case or us or i guess i yeah there's players on the board who i think make more sense for golden state right now but the draft is weird golden state went 37 and 45 made the play-in and you know they're in that uncomfortable place trying to maximize whatever's left in the steph curry era while not completely ignoring the future it's a hard line to walk and it's one that they're gonna have to figure out on the fly here phylon average 22 points five assists 3.5 rebounds at alabama shot over 50 from the field he's really fast he can handle the ball he's got creativity and golden state can use another guard who can put pressure on the rim and create when curry uh you know or the offense gets stuck so le baron phylon number 11 the number 12 pick is up and boy this shouldn't be allowed okc selects because of course they do from louisville guard michael brown jr they just got a replacement for aj mitchell when they eventually moved him along you just have to start laughing here because of course okc gets michael brown at 12 of course they do the thunder went 64 and 18 they had the best record in the league and they still have the number 12 pick and more coming up it is organizational gluttony sam presti has treated first round picks like guy prepping for the winter that never ends he's 13 in the next six years i believe wild brown averaged 18.2 points 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds at louisville he shot 84 from the line took a ton of threes even if the even if the the average isn't quite what you wanted the shot looks good he has real off the dribble shooting ability does have a little turnover issue right now but that's fine because shade gilders alexander is going to have the ball a lot so it'll be okay the the efficiency isn't perfect but the shot making is real this is uh very interesting and where the lucky rebel market is interesting because brown's draft position over under is six and a half with the over at plus 165 the under minus 220 the market thinks he's more likely going before pick seven than after pick seven and in this mock he goes to 12 it's a fall it's value it has sam presti ladies and gentlemen for okc it's uh it's a luxury fall brown doesn't have to run the franchise he doesn't have to be the guy he can just come in learn score and eventually become a you know a bench weapon and then more for this team moving forward and he can be hell he can be the fifth player in a trade package that returns another all-star and three more draft picks the concern is roster math for okc they can't keep everybody forever but like i said this this allows them a solution for aj mitchell and a couple of those guys so michael brown at 12 is it's great annoyingly great thunder fans should be thrilled everybody else irritated at number 13 the miami heat select this is okay and it starts from iowa this okay this is such a heat pick that you almost don't have to explain it and he'll make a really fun backward with with tyler hero if if it's tyler hero and you know not yannis but if this is yannis then those picks probably milwaukee but in this world it's not um yes thirds average 19.8 4.4 assists 1.4 steals at iowa shot it really well the especially from the line he's historically been a very very good three-point shooter and he plays with pace and processing that miami seems to value one of the best passers in the draft he is a little bit older he's not the elitist of elite athletes but you know he he's safe he's gonna be really good miami if miami does move forward with sturtz and norman powell and hero and hakez with bam and kellel they they are one one good trade away from being something really really interesting they went 43 and 39 last year they're not terrible they're never really terrible they just didn't quite do enough that's that's the miami cycle they float around everybody else says they don't have enough and then they randomly beat somebody in the playoffs and everybody's like oh well i never doubted him i was always i always believed starts gives him guard depth he gives him shooting and decision making you run the second unit right away if that's the case he can he can play off stars he's not going to be overwhelmed by the speed of the game and that's a really good pick at number 14 interesting at number 14 the charlotte hornets select from tennessee nata meant it's a big swing for charlotte charlotte went a little unexpectedly went 37 and 45 it was good progress not like we're here progress but you know for charlotte that's pretty real now they're sitting on two first round picks i will 14 and 18 they have flexibility they can take a big swing here and immense probably the big swing left in the draft at this point there are only so many skilled 6 foot 10 forwards around and he averaged what 16.7 6.3 rebounds 2.3 assists the shot making is interesting the handle is interesting the body is a question the shooting percentage is a question the three-point shooting is a question but it looks good he is he's skinny right now and the nba is in a gentle place for the thinnest of forwards but there's a lot of talent here lucky rebel has a meant minus 130 to be a top 10 pick which does make the fall to 14 notable for charlotte yeah i get it maybe he's the miles bridges replacement uh at some point you're not asking him to save you right now you're you're asking him to develop into a skilled forward and play next to the pieces you already have if that if the body comes if the shot translates if he gets stronger it could be a very good pick at number 15 the chicago bulls are back on the board and love this pick from washington center hannes steinbeck he's one of those prospects that i think people are going to talk themselves more and more into as the draft gets closer he averaged 18.5 and 11.8 rebounds of washington last year and you know rebounding numbers can be a little bit noisy depending on team context but he led the country that you know leading the country type production on the glass is not nothing he's probably the best rebounder in this draft rebounding's effort positioning size and you know stubbornness steinbeck has all of those things he could teach victor wyman yama a few of those things and actually considering that you took a little bit more of a project at four in caleb wilson this is a really good pairing wilson gives them upside steinbeck gives them a physical frontcourt player right away they get younger bigger and more purposeful in the same round i guess the question is spacing a little bit if you're going to build around wilson you need to be careful not to clog the floor but steinbeck's he's a useful player i wouldn't turn down a useful piece right now if i was the bulls they need identity maybe that becomes size and rebounding and physicality who knows number 16 the memphis grizzlies were up and the pick cam car cameron car from baylor good fit i like this uh car averaged 18.9 last year at baylor he shot 37 from three 37 from three and he had a really good really good pre-draft process including a 30 point combine scrimmage that got people talking he's a six five athletic guard who can score in a bunch of ways and they pair him with cam boozer who they took at three and memphis is better they're a hell of a lot better than they were when they started the day for memphis after a you know a 25 win season adding boozer and car in the same draft is a really strong start you get a frontcourt stabilizer and a scoring wing that's how you start to turn a weird season into something you can live with at 17 the oklahoma city are back up and the pick is another guy who could replace a guy merez johnson jr from michigan another guy who i'm gonna guess he's not on the board when the draft comes around at 17 picking twice in the top 17 after winning 64 games should be illegal um but i know it doesn't violate any nba law it just violates something that feels wrong johnson averaged 13.1.7.3 rebounds at michigan while shooting 62 from the field he physically rebounds he defends he has been coming along he doesn't need plays called for him it's kind of big that good teams love oklahoma city hits a second absolute home run here so you know cool it's fun and number 18 the charlotte hornets are up and they take a guy who who slid a little bit yaxel lendeborg from michigan yaxel is a little bit older but he is productive and exactly the kind of player that charlotte should be going after after taking a an upside swing on a ment at 14 he's the guy who's more plug and play he averaged 15.1 points 6.8 rebounds 3.2 assists for michigan he won big 10 player of the year helped to win a national title he's not the upside swing he is he's the adult in the room and that matters the hornets have taken a lot of swings over the last handful of years some have worked some have not but this is this is a nice pick with these two first rounders i like i like the balance of the two of them even if long term if they both work out you have to wonder who is going to play um yeah he can pass he can defend he can rebound i would have thought he would have been in the conversation for golden state many many picks ago every young team needs somebody like this because young rosters can turn chaotic really quickly everybody wants the ball nobody wants to rotate on defense and you're down 14 all of a sudden because three guys thought they were the star lendborg helps with that and this is a good pick at number 19 the raptors take jayden quaintance from kentucky this is a swing this is a real this is a real swing quaintance is still only 18 he's 6 foot 9 253 pounds he's played two seasons of college basketball now because he was too young to declare for the draft last year the defensive tools are outrageous the issue is the sample size is as small as we've seen for a player like this in quite a long time he barely played for kentucky this year you're not drafting college production you're drafting the body the movement the shot blocking upside the idea that if the medicals are right there might be a monster defensive player here but god somebody teach this guy how to land on two legs the whole landing on one leg every single time i just he's gonna get hurt again and i hate it um toronto went 46 and 36 last year they were the five seed in the east and it does give them the ability to take a swing that maybe a worse team can't if you're desperate for offense maybe you can wait on quaintance if if you're toronto with a really good team in place you could be patient and that's fine i like to fit enough uh quaintance and and cmb would be an interesting pairing at some point we'll see if it works out if he hits this is a steal if he doesn't you know he was available at 19 you took your shot not a big deal at number 20 the san antonio spurs are on the board in the selection okay the card is finally turned is oh this is one i wanted to last a couple more picks one of my favorite players in the draft in this area of the draft galen swain from texas absolutely one of my favorite picks in the back half of the first round san antonio went 62 and 20 they made the nba finals that was a frustrating experience for everybody except nix fans now they're adding a 67 wing who averaged 17.3.7.5 rebounds 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals at texas come on man that's unfair he really fits into this team nicely too oh man i wonder if they would have been if they would have thought quaintance that you have to think that the last two picks hurt them with lend a board quaintance coming off the board because they could use an upgrade at the four but that's not a knock on swain who is a really really talented guy and if the jumper comes along he is there's all-star upside there i really i really do he led texas in basically everything that mattered scoring rebounding assist steals a super duper all-around productive guy and this is kind of what makes san antonio scary they don't need a miracle here they don't need to hit a home run they just have to keep adding smart long functional players who make sense around webby like i said if the if the jumper becomes reliable boy he's going to be so good he's going to be so so so this is all really all-star upside at number 21 the detroit pistons are up in the pick henry vissar north carolina pistons were the best team in the east in terms of record in the regular season it's 60 and 22 um kind of feels weird to say given where this franchise was a little bit ago but it did happen even if it was a down east it still counts and when you're a team like that picking in the 20s you're not looking for a savior you're looking for a depth piece that makes you better vessar is a 611 skilled dude who can pass and really shoot the ball you know he's not a bruiser but detroit has those guys already he gives them something else a backup who can think the game who moves the ball he can stretch the court plays within structure not the sexiest pick in the world but i know this year's a good player and he will help the all right sorry i just saw the next pick he will uh he'll help this detroit team the 22 is the sixers like i said i've i just saw the card turned i'm fine with it i think i made this selection for them in the previous mock draft alan graves from santa clara this this team's 40 and 42 last year they're in a weird spot they still have star level talent you know maxi's a star there's pieces there but there's uncertainty there's age there's health money issues and the general sixers feeling that something is going to go wrong in the most creatively painful way possible so what do i do at 22 yeah i want a big wing or a forward who can shoot and defend and has instincts has actual upside and graves gives them that he's 68 225 at santa clara small sample size but was an analytical darling 11.8.6.5 rebounds 1.8 assists by the way have we talked about a player who averaged fewer assists than point guard darren peterson wow 1.9 steals almost a block a game he shot over 40 from three granted like i said smaller sample size on that didn't take a bunch of shots from outside but big selling point if the shots really is interesting uh it'll be a valuable four for this team and i'm perfectly fine with it we can use lucky rebel top 10 odds here they're helpful for context graves is minus 8 000 or pardon for minus 8 000 plus 8 000 to go in the top 10 so this isn't a player the market expects to crash the lottery but for 22 for philly i don't care about that i don't whatever i'm just looking for a guy who fits and i think that works here at number 23 the atlanta falcons select select from arkansas malik thomas another guy i like fun pick because the atlanta took cream lopez at eight now they come back with their guard thomas is 63 640 190 and you know he's not in that top 10 level of guard in the class but he's a real scorer and has real shot making chops the hawks need more creation after the trey young trade and thomas gives them another backcourt swing at that he'll put the ball in the hoop for this team i don't think there's any question about that and it's also good use of the team's second first round pick take take the bigger forward early and then get your guard later you know if you're if you flip that and you think about what the options were it could look very different uh the big question for me with thomas is is he a true lead guard or is he more of a scoring guard i tend to think the latter that does matter for me because if he is a scoring guard he has to shoot it well enough and defend well enough if he's a point guard he has to organize the offense those are different jobs at 23 i'll take the talent i have no problem with that number 24 the reigning nba champion new york knicks congratulations proud of you select joshua jefferson from iowa state yeah picking at 24 the knicks win the title jalen brunson is the finals mvp and now they're drafting a senior forward who can pass rebound and fix lineups a little bit this is a sensible pick for new york it's a fine pick they're gonna have to replace some guys on the bench they're gonna have second apron problems so justin jeff or justin jefferson josh jefferson iowa state to the champs at 25 the lakers take parse reid jr from uconn uconn this is a very lakers pick in the best and worst ways reid is 6'10 260 huge wingspan averaged about nine rebounds in two blocks a game he's a dirty work guy screen setter rebounder interior defender physical presence but he's not by any stretch of the imagination a floor spacer he's not going to come in and run inverted pick and rolls he's not yeah he he is what he is he knows what he is he's a big he's a real big and yeah the lakers can use that i guess at this point in the draft getting a guy who is going to be in the nba for a while is probably good value that the team went 53 and 29 last year they're still trying to contend around luca and the roster just needs functional frontcourt depth reid gives them somebody who can protect the rim he can rebound play a simple role it's fine i think the bigger question is what you know allegedly the lakers are negotiating with lebron right now point of point of order we're recording this on thursday the 18th so things could change between now and when this is released on monday but they're negotiating with lebron austin reeves is allegedly drawing a lot of interest from the nets i don't know what this lakers team is going to look like next year but reid will help him as you know and he'll be a fan favorite like two weeks in because he's gonna set hard screens and lakers twitter is going to decide that he's the missing piece just like dalton connect and so so so many others at number 26 the denver nuggets are up and the selection is from houston chris synak jr classic upside swing for denver you're gonna say they could have used a wing as they could have used scoring guards christian brown should not be a starter payton watson is a free agent but they really needed somebody who can play when yokich wasn't on the court synak should give him that denver went 54 and 28 last year and they're in a really interesting place because they have yokich which means everything's it kind of begins at a position of competence but it's not clear who else is going to be around them synak is a 611 athlete he's raw he's interesting you know he didn't have the major production some of the older bigs in this class did but the tools are there size mobility finishing potential defensive upside defensive upside and yeah the nuggets can be they can afford to be patient in a way that some teams can't they need athleticism they need front court depth they get that in synak here at number 27 the celtics are up and the selection okay okay this pick makes more sense to me if other trades are made but the pick is from duke guard isaiah evans um evans averaged what 15 points a game at duke he shot 38 from three i thought it was good i thought he was going to shoot better from three candidly but the shot just looks absolutely beautiful in the ncaa tournament he did bump that up to almost 19 a game he's six six he's long kind of skinny like kind of skinny i mean really really skinny but you know this the the calling card here is very simple it's shooting boston went 56 and 26 uh with tatum's healthy again they're they're a title contender they don't they don't need evans to create offense they just need him to stand in the corner move off the ball make shots and defend enough to stay on the court it's enough who uh especially if by the way if they end up with mr antonacumpa playing up front adding another floor spacer is going to be incredibly valuable there though they might not have this pick so who knows at 28 the minnesota timberwolves select from yukon alex caravan another it's another sensible pick he's 6 7 he's 225 he's older he's experienced he can shoot it guys one he knows what he's doing he is not going to come in and look overwhelmed by you know anything that happens on the court at any given time you like the you like the shooting with him and eventually divincenzo back off the bench i get it minnesota went 49 and 33 last year they're still trying to maximize anthony edwards and the easiest way to help a star wing is to put shooting in size around him and caravan does both of those things not a big-time athlete but should be a functional enough defender because of his basketball iq good pick 29 the cleveland cavaliers are on the board and the pick i like it zoobie zoobie edge of four from saint john's he gives cleveland another physical frontcourt piece uh he won the carl malone award as the nation's top power forward and was part of the naismith starting five he's six eight he's 245 he's physical he's tough he plays with a lot of energy and that is something cleveland can use off the bench for sure fits pretty well though there are spacing issues when you're talking about adding a guy who's a non-shooter right now but i think he i think it's a good bet and finally at number 30 okay uh our final pick and we're going to learn a little bit here apparently and i paused this recording for just a moment so i could learn a little bit quite frankly the pick for the dallas mavericks jack hale from germany kael fun pick at the end of the fun pick at the end of the first round he's six five he played at alba berlin which i guess gives dallas a stash option should they want him here at 30. uh the team did already take brayden burries at nine they come back with kael and you know that tells you they're looking to add perimeter shooting and just keep adding shooter or shooting around flag and i like that he's not going to be expected and to come in and run a team right away he's a developmental guard who can handle he has he has been playing in a professional environment that helps not just the mystery high school kid you're drafting somebody who at least has played grown-up basketball that helps jack hale ladies and gentlemen uh yeah for dallas it's the kind of pick you make at the end of the first round upside international experience a guy who might develop on a different timeline and if it doesn't work out fine pick 30. if it does suddenly you have another big guard on a cheap contract next cooper flag and berries i like that idea so that is it we're gonna come in just under the hour mark here which i didn't think we were gonna do at the beginning like 28 minutes in and pick six or something like that i love these uh i have so much fun with these this one was wild thank you so much to the people on my screen who made this possible who made this fun you are all heroes in my book as are all you the listeners this has been the final episode of the 2026 nba live mock draft season for us we'll be back to talk 2027 draft before you know it i've been your draft master chris horvidell thank you so much enjoy the draft we'll see you back here next draft season