Winners and Losers from 2026 NBA Combine So Far
The NBA combine kicked off on Monday with measurements, shooting drills and athletic tests.
These activities are mandatory and represent smaller data points NBA teams use in their evaluations. Coming in, scouts were eager to learn official heights, weights and lengths for a number of specific prospects. And many of the results were quite revealing and both helpful and worrisome for a select few players.
Scrimmages will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, and those will be important for the underclassmen who are still weighing whether to stay in the draft or return to school.
Meanwhile, while the on-court stuff remains fun to watch, and scouts have true takeaways from what they see, closed-door interviews are still the most important part of the NBA combine.
Winner: Morez Johnson Jr. (Michigan)
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Height (no shoes): 6'9"
Weight: 250.6 lbs
Wingspan: 7'3ยฝ"
Standing reach: 8'11"
Not that teams needed to see Morez Johnson Jr.'s measurements and athletic tests to recognize outstanding physical tools and movement, but his results in Chicago backed up the tape.
His size, weight, length and reach mirror players like Naz Reid, Wendell Carter Jr. and Bobby Portis. Only Johnson shows far more functional athletic traits, which were confirmed by his 39" max vertical and second-fastest pro lane time.
He also came out and drilled 17-of-25 threes during the star-shooting drill, a promising development after he took 35 threes this season at Michigan.
Loser: Amari Allen (Alabama)
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Height (no shoes): 6'5ยผ"
Weight: 204.6 lbs
Wingspan: 6'8"
Standing reach: 8'3ยฝ"
Positional size has been considered a significant selling point to Amari Allen. But there was a noticeable discrepancy between his listed NCAA measurements at 6'8" and his official NBA measurements, which came in at just 6'5.25".
Even with it being known or assumed Alabama measured him in shoes, the near three-inch difference was unusual and disappointing. His 6'8" wingspan isn't overwhelming, either, coming in just one to two inches longer than point guards like Darius Acuff Jr. and Christian Anderson.
Winner: Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas)
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Height (no shoes): 6'2"
Weight: 185.8 lbs
Wingspan: 6'7"
Standing reach: 8'2ยฝ"
Learning Darius Acuff Jr.'s measurements was a top priority for lottery teams in Chicago. Seeing 6'2", 185.8 pounds and a 6'7" wingspan should be very assuring and comforting for the teams that were disappointed after missing out on a top three pick.
Acuff's size, weight and length very closely mirror Damian Lillard's from the 2012 NBA combine, when the nine-time All-Star came in at 6'1ยพ", 188 pounds with a 6'7ยพ" wingspan. Immanuel Quickley is a more recent guard with similar measurements who hasn't necessarily been restricted by his tools at either end.
While there has been conversation and concerns over the value of smaller guards who get targeted defensively, Acuff may now look special enough offensively and strong enough physically to avoid teams red-flagging his size.
This should put him firmly in play for the Los Angeles Clippers at No. 5 and certainly the Brooklyn Nets at No. 6, assuming AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson go top four in some order. Other point-guard needy teams may also have more confidence in making Acuff a trade-up target.
Loser: Koa Peat (Arizona)
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Height (no shoes):ย 6'7"
Weight:ย 245 lbs
Wingspan:ย 6'11ยผ"
Standing reach:ย 8'8"
Scouts have had trouble identifying pathways to upside for Koa Peat. Monday's results didn't present any new possibilities, with him measuring 6'7" and struggling in shooting drills.
Peat shot 6-of-25 in spot-up threes (last at combine), 7-of-25 at the three-point star drill (third to last) and just 10-of-25 on mid-range jumpers.
Despite some strong athletic-testing numbers, including a top-three standing vertical, NBA teams don't sound excited about a forward with wing height who doesn't create, shoot or possess big-man defensive traits.
Winner: Alex Karaban (Connecticut)
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Height (no shoes): 6'6ยพ"
Weight: 225.2 lbs
Wingspan: 6'11"
Standing reach: 8'8ยฝ"
Alex Karaban's measurements look strong for a wing or small-ball 4, and they mostly aligned with the listings we saw from the 2024 NBA combine. He has a solid 225-pound frame with the length of a power forward.
The biggest difference was his standing vertical, as he got up 5.5 inches higher this week than he did two years ago.
That's an incredible difference and a potentially meaningful one for a player whose lack of explosiveness has been a negative.
Unsurprising, Karaban also shot extremely well during drills, leading the combine in mid-range shooting and the three-point star drill.
Winner: Kingston Flemings (Houston)
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Height (no shoes):ย 6'2ยฝ"
Weight:ย 183.4 lbs
Wingspan:ย 6'3ยฝ"
Standing reach:ย 8'2ยฝ"
Kingston Flemings made up for some average measurements on Monday with one of the best all-around showings during athletic testing and shooting drills.
He surprised by leading the NBA combine in the three-point star drill (overtaking Alex Karaban) by making 19-of-25 shots. He also hit 15-of-25 spot-ups threes, a reassuring number. Flemings then finished top five in the max vertical (40.5"), pro lane agility test, shuttle run and sprint time.
His all-around performance on Tuesday seemingly mirrored his game and scouting profile, reinforcing the idea that he's simply a very complete player, regardless of how his upside is perceived.
Loser: Tyler Tanner (Vanderbilt)
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Height (no shoes):ย 5'10ยพ"
Weight:ย 166 lbs
Wingspan:ย 6'4ยผ"
Standing reach:ย 7'9"
Labeling Tyler Tanner as a Day 1-2 NBA combine loser seems harsh, but measuring under 5'11" won't help his cause. The optics just aren't great, even with strong athletic testing numbers. There are also only five NBA players under 166 pounds, with Trae Young being the sole star outlier of the group.
Tanner has outlier potential himself, which his unique dunk and block rates hint at for a guard his size. He'll also have an opportunity to sway teams to look further past his measurements during scrimmages on Wednesday and Thursday.
Regardless, Tanner is still looking like a fringe first-round pick, which may not be comforting enough to stay in the draft when he presumably has a big offer from Vanderbilt to return.
Winner: Chris Cenac (Houston)
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Height (no shoes):ย 6'10ยผ"
Weight:ย 239.6 lbs
Wingspan:ย 7'5"
Standing reach:ย 9'ยฝ"
Chris Cenac's size, weight, length and reach measured very closely to Jaren Jackson Jr.'s.
Those measurements are going to look very enticing for a player with his shotmaking confidence and motor.
Winner: Aday Mara (Michigan)
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Height (no shoes):ย 7'3"
Weight:ย 259.8 lbs
Wingspan:ย 7'6"
Standing reach:ย 9'9"
Aday Mara put up cartoonish measurements, coming in at 7'3" in socks and a 9'9" reach, tied for the second-longest in NBA combine history.
Aside from offering incredible tools in rim protection, which he used to register a 12.0 block percentage, Mara possesses unusual passing and post skill for a player of his abnormal size.
He looks like one of the draft's most unique weapons that few NBA teams can evenly match.
Loser: Joshua Jefferson (Iowa State)
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Height (no shoes):ย 6'7ยพ"
Weight:ย 246.2 lbs
Wingspan:ย 6'10ยพ"
Standing reach:ย 8'8ยฝ"
Joshua Jefferson did not test well athletically, finishing with the slowest pro lane agility time, bottom-third verticals, sprint time and shuttle run.
Overall, he was middle-to-bottom-of-the-pack in shooting drills as well.
Realistically, Jefferson shouldn't have been expected to perform well on Monday or Tuesday. But he's also choosing to skip scrimmaging, and others helping themselves naturallyย makeย him more vulnerable as a prospect who had been considered a borderline, fringe first-rounder.
Winner: Cameron Carr (Baylor)
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Height (no shoes):ย 6'4ยฝ"
Weight:ย 184.4 lbs
Wingspan:ย 7'ยพ"
Standing reach:ย 8'8"
Teams interested in wings will be very enticed by Cameron Carr's measurements and athletic-testing results.
He measured a plus 8.5" wingspan, giving him 7'ยพ" of length at 6'4ยฝ" barefoot. Ideally he'd be a drop taller for a forward, but Carr also got up for a 42ยฝ" max vertical (tied for second best at combine) and finished with the fastest pro lane agility time.
Those types of tools, movement and defensive numbers (4.0 block percentage) for a shotmaker like Carr (77 3PTM, 37.4 percent) should lock him into the mid-first round.
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