2026 NBA Draft Recap: Wizards Take Dybantsa No. 1
The Washington Wizards selected BYU freshman forward AJ Dybantsa with the first overall pick, headlining a draft class considered rich in talent with a consensus top tier of four prospects.
The 2026 NBA Draft took place over two days, June 23 (first round) and June 24 (second round), at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft featured a deep pool of guards and versatile forwards throughout the first round.
Draft Lottery and Order
The Washington Wizards won the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on May 18, 2026, at Navy Pier in Chicago. The Wizards, Brooklyn Nets, and Indiana Pacers each had a 14% chance of receiving the top pick.
The final draft order placed the Wizards first, followed by the Utah Jazz second, Memphis Grizzlies third, and Chicago Bulls fourth. The Los Angeles Clippers acquired the fifth pick from the Pacers as part of a trade for Ivica Zubac.
First Round Draft Results
Picks 1-10
Pick Team Player Position School Age Height 1 Washington Wizards AJ Dybantsa F BYU 19 6'9" 2 Utah Jazz Darryn Peterson G Kansas 19 6'5" 3 Memphis Grizzlies Cameron Boozer F Duke 18 6'8" 4 Chicago Bulls Caleb Wilson F North Carolina 19 6'9" 5 LA Clippers Keaton Wagler G Illinois 19 6'5" 6 Brooklyn Nets Mikel Brown Jr. G Louisville 20 6'4" 7 Sacramento Kings Darius Acuff Jr. G Arkansas 19 6'2" 8 Atlanta Hawks Kingston Flemings G Houston 19 6'3" 9 Dallas Mavericks Morez Johnson Jr. F Michigan 20 6'9" 10 Milwaukee Bucks Brayden Burries G Arizona 20 6'4"Picks 11-20
Pick Team Player Position School Age 11 Golden State Warriors Yaxel Lendeborg F Michigan 23 12 Oklahoma City Thunder Aday Mara C Michigan 21 13 Milwaukee Bucks Nate Ament F Tennessee 19 14 Charlotte Hornets Hannes Steinbach C Washington 20 15 Chicago Bulls Dailyn Swain F Texas 20 16 Oklahoma City Thunder Bennett Stirtz G Iowa 22 17 Detroit Pistons Ebuka Okorie G Stanford 19 18 Charlotte Hornets Christian Anderson G Texas Tech 20 19 Toronto Raptors Allen Graves F Santa Clara 19 20 San Antonio Spurs Jayden Quaintance C Kentucky 18Picks 21-30
Pick Team Player Position School/Team Age 21 Memphis Grizzlies Karim Lopez F New Zealand Breakers 19 22 Philadelphia 76ers Labaron Philon G Alabama 20 23 Atlanta Hawks Zuby Ejiofor C St. John's 22 24 Los Angeles Lakers Cameron Carr G Baylor 21 25 Dallas Mavericks Sergio De Larrea G Valencia (Spain) 20 26 San Antonio Spurs Tarris Reed Jr. C UConn 22 27 Boston Celtics Chris Cenac Jr. C Houston 19 28 Brooklyn Nets Joshua Jefferson F Iowa State 23 29 Cleveland Cavaliers Meleek Thomas G Arkansas 20 30 Phoenix Suns Koa Peat F Arizona 19Top Prospect Profiles
AJ Dybantsa — No. 1 Overall, Washington Wizards
Dybantsa (6'9", 217 lbs), a freshman at BYU, led Division I in scoring, averaging 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. He shot 51% from the field. Evaluators praised his physical tools, shot creation, and straight-line driving ability. Areas identified for development included three-point shooting (33%) and defensive consistency.
"Evaluators praised his physical tools, shot creation, and straight-line driving ability."
Darryn Peterson — No. 2 Overall, Utah Jazz
Peterson (6'5"), a guard from Kansas, averaged 20.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game, shooting 43.8% from the field. He was described as a three-level scorer with defensive potential. He missed 11 games during the season due to cramping, attributed to high doses of creatine supplements.
Cameron Boozer — No. 3 Overall, Memphis Grizzlies
Boozer (6'8", 253 lbs), a freshman forward at Duke, was named the Naismith National Player of the Year. He averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, shooting 55.6% from the field and 40% from three-point range. Concerns cited included a lack of vertical athleticism and defensive versatility.
Caleb Wilson — No. 4 Overall, Chicago Bulls
Wilson (6'10", 215 lbs), a forward from North Carolina, was noted as the most athletic prospect in the class. He averaged 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. His season was cut short by a left hand fracture and a broken right thumb. An inconsistent jump shot was identified as a weakness.
Notable Draft Combine Measurements
The NBA Draft Combine took place on May 11, 2026, at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Key measurements included:
Player Height (socks) Wingspan Weight Standing Reach Standing Vertical AJ Dybantsa 6'8.5" 7'0.5" 217 lbs — 33.5" Darryn Peterson 6'4.5" 6'9.75" — — — Cameron Boozer 6'8.25" 7'1.5" 253 lbs 9'0" — Caleb Wilson 6'9.25" — — 9'0" 34.5" Aday Mara 7'3" — — 9'9" — Chris Cenac Jr. 6'10.25" 7'5" 240 lbs — —Academic, International, and NBL Prospects
Several notable prospects from outside the traditional college pipeline were selected in the first round:
- Karim Lopez (New Zealand Breakers) became the first Mexican-born player selected in the first round, drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies at No. 21.
- Center Aday Mara (Michigan), originally from Spain, was selected No. 12 by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
- Sergio De Larrea (Valencia, Spain) was selected No. 25 by the Dallas Mavericks.
- Guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee) was selected No. 42 by the San Antonio Spurs.
- Several projected first-round picks returned to college, including Braylon Mullins (UConn), Patrick Ngongba (Duke), and Thomas Haugh (Florida).
Pre-Draft Context
The NBA is introducing a new "3-2-1" lottery system starting with the 2027 draft, expanding the lottery to 16 teams. The 2026 draft was the last under the previous system.
In the weeks leading up to the draft, a multi-team trade sent four-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Miami Heat.
Team Grades (Summary)
Post-draft analysis from multiple outlets assigned grades to teams based on their selections:
Team Grade Key Selections Memphis Grizzlies A+ Cameron Boozer (No. 3), Karim Lopez (No. 21) Utah Jazz A+ Darryn Peterson (No. 2) Washington Wizards A AJ Dybantsa (No. 1) Oklahoma City Thunder A+ Aday Mara (No. 12), Bennett Stirtz (No. 16) Chicago Bulls A Caleb Wilson (No. 4), Dailyn Swain (No. 15) Atlanta Hawks A Kingston Flemings (No. 8), Zuby Ejiofor (No. 23) Charlotte Hornets A Hannes Steinbach (No. 14), Christian Anderson (No. 18)