Notable NBA Mock Draft 2026 Expert Picks for Bulls, 76ers, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, Knicks & More

With the 2026 NBA Finals in the books and the New York Knicks cemented as world champions, it's time to flip the calendar over to the NBA draft. Believe it or not, the draft will begin in just a few days.

Round 1 is set to take place on Tuesday, and while we know that there are several blue-chip prospects in the 2026 class, we don't know exactly where they'll land or how the first round will unfold.

The experts, though, have their thoughts. Here, we'll dive into some of the latest mocks from around the web, compare the early selections, and examine some of the more interesting predictions for late in Round 1.

Top 10 Comparisons

Soobum Im/Getty Images

AJ Dybantsa

Sam Vecenie, The Athletic

1. Washington Wizards: AJ Dybantsa (BYU)

2. Utah Jazz: Darryn Peterson (Kansas)

3. Memphis Grizzlies: Cameron Boozer (Duke)

4. Chicago Bulls: Caleb Wilson (North Carolina)

5. Clippers (from IND): Keaton Wagler (Illinois)

6. Nets: Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville)

7. Kings: Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas)

8. Hawks (from NO): Kingston Flemings (Houston)

9. Mavericks: Brayden Burries (Arizona)

10. Bucks: Nate Ament (Tennessee)

Adam Finkelstein, CBS Sports

1. Washington Wizards: AJ Dybantsa (BYU)

2. Utah Jazz: Darryn Peterson (Kansas)

3. Memphis Grizzlies: Cameron Boozer (Duke)

4. Chicago Bulls: Caleb Wilson (North Carolina)

5. Clippers (from IND): Keaton Wagler (Illinois)

6, Nets: Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas)

7. Kings: Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville)

8. Hawks (from NO): Kingston Flemings (Houston)

9. Mavericks: Brayden Burries (Arizona)

10. Bucks: Nate Ament (Tennessee)

Jeremy Woo, ESPN

1. Washington Wizards: AJ Dybantsa (BYU)

2. Utah Jazz: Darryn Peterson (Kansas)

3. Memphis Grizzlies: Cameron Boozer (Duke)

4. Chicago Bulls: Caleb Wilson (North Carolina)

5. Clippers (from IND): Keaton Wagler (Illinois)

6, Nets: Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas)

7. Kings: Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville)

8. Hawks (from NO): Kingston Flemings (Houston)

9. Mavericks: Brayden Burries (Arizona)

10. Bucks: Nate Ament (Tennessee)

Full First Round Mock from B/R's Jonathan Wasserman

Melissa Tamez/NBAE via Getty Images

Cameron Boozer

1. Washington Wizards: AJ Dybantsa (BYU)

2. Utah Jazz: Darryn Peterson (Kansas)

3. Memphis Grizzlies: Cameron Boozer (Duke)

4. Chicago Bulls: Caleb Wilson (North Carolina)

5. Los Angeles Clippers: Keaton Wagler (Illinois)

6. Brooklyn Nets: Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas)

7. Sacramento Kings: Kingston Flemings (Houston)

8. Atlanta Hawks: Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville)

9. Dallas Mavericks: Brayden Burries (Arizona)

10. Milwaukee Bucks: Nate Ament (Tennessee)

11. Golden State Warriors: Karim Lopez (New Zealand Breakers)

12. Oklahoma City Thunder: Aday Mara (Michigan)

13. Miami Heat: Cameron Carr (Baylor)

14. Charlotte Hornets: Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan)

15. Chicago Bulls: Christian Anderson (Texas Tech)

16. Memphis Grizzlies: Bennett Stirtz (Iowa)

17. Oklahoma City Thunder (via 76ers): Morez Johnson Jr. (Michigan)

18. Charlotte Hornets: Hannes Steinbach (Washington)

19. Toronto Raptors: Labaron Philon Jr. (Alabama)

20. San Antonio Spurs: Allen Graves (Santa Clara)

21. Detroit Pistons: Ebuka Okorie (Stanford)

22. Philadelphia 76ers: Chris Cenac Jr. (Houston)

23. Atlanta Hawks (via Cavaliers): Jayden Quaintance (Kentucky)

24. New York Knicks: Meleek Thomas (Arkansas)

25. Los Angeles Lakers: Dailyn Swain (Texas)

26. Denver Nuggets: Tarris Reed Jr. (Connecticut)

27. Boston Celtics: Koa Peat (Arizona)

28. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Pistons): Isaiah Evans (Duke)

29. Cleveland Cavaliers (via Spurs): Sergio de Larrea (Valencia)

30. Dallas Mavericks: Henri Veesaar (North Carolina)

*Complete two-round mock with analysis for every pick can be found here.

Things Will Get Interesting After the Top 10

Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

Karim Lopez

As you can see from the top-10-comparisons and the first-round mock from Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman, there may not be a ton of drama early in Round 1. Wasserman, The Athletic's Sam Vecenie, CBS Sports' Adam Finkelstein, and ESPN's Jeremy Woo all had the Washington Wizards taking AJ Dybantsa first overall.

In fact, all four mocks we examined had the same 10 prospects going in the top 10, albeit not all in the same order. Now, we're almost certain to see some surprises in the top 10, quite possibly via trades, but things will really get interesting as the round shifts to the middle portion.

The Golden State Warriors, for example, fell just outside of the top 10 as a play-in team last season. There's only a near consensus for their selection. While Vecenie, Finkelstein and Woo paired Golden State with Michigan's Aday Mara, Wasserman mocked NBL standout Karim Lopez to the Warriors.

Things get more unpredictable later into the draft. With the Bulls' second selection (15th overall), Finkelstein went with Kentucky's Jayden Quaintance, Vecenie went with Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg, Woo went with Washington's Hannes Steinbach, and Wasserman went with Texas Tech's Christian Anderson.

The Philadelphia 76ers—who own the Houston Rockets' 22nd pick—were paired with Arizona's Koa Peat by both Vecenie and Finkelstein. Wasserman went with Washington's Chris Cenac Jr., and Woo went with Texas' Dailyn Swan.

While things may be unpredictable in the middle-to-late portions of Round 1, playoff teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and the Knicks can still find good value and potential contributors.

For example, Wasserman mocked Peat to the Celtics at No. 27 as a potential bargain:

"While questions about shooting and fit have reduced interest around the freshman, they may have also helped turn Peat into a buy-low value pick for teams interested in adding a physical, interior scorer and frontcourt passing asset," Wasserman wrote.

Vecenie partnered the Lakers with a potential scheme fit in St. John's Zuby Ejiofor.

"I like them building their frontcourt with a versatile player in Ejiofor, a tough defender who can switch on the perimeter. He's long, athletic and protects the rim well for his size," Vecenie wrote.

Despite winning the title, even the Knicks can come away from Round 1 with a quality player. Woo, for example, mocked North Carolina's Henri Veesaar to New York at No. 24:

"Veesaar's perimeter shooting and sheer size should give him a path to rotation minutes relatively early and have put him in play for first-round teams that need depth at center. The Knicks are a team that probably will look at bigs, whether at this spot or later, with Mitchell Robinson a pending free agent."

Vecenie and Woo mocked Tarris Reed Jr. of Connecticut to the Knicks, while Wasserman went with Arkansas' Meleek Thomas.