New NBA Mock Draft 2026 Drops from AP, How Does It Compare to B/R's Ahead of Round 1?

The Associated Press dropped its final NBA mock draft on Tuesday, one day after the Milwaukee Bucks traded two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat for a monster package that included the No. 13 overall pick in the 2026 draft.

Here's a look at how the AP's first round compares to the final Bleacher Report mock draft, via Jonathan Wasserman.

Team	Associated Press	Bleacher Report
1. Washington Wizards	BYU SF AJ Dybantsa	BYU SF AJ Dybantsa
2. Utah Jazz	Kansas SG Darryn Peterson	Kansas SG Darryn Peterson
3. Memphis Grizzlies	Duke PF Cameron Boozer	Duke PF Cameron Boozer
4. Chicago Bulls	UNC PF Caleb Wilson	UNC PF Caleb Wilson
5. Los Angeles Clippers	Illinois PG/SG Keaton Wagler	Illinois PG/SG Keaton Wagler
6. Brooklyn Nets	Louisville PG/SG Mikel Brown Jr.	Louisville PG/SG Mikel Brown Jr.
7. Sacramento Kings	Arkansas PG/SG Darius Acuff Jr.	Arkansas PG/SG Darius Acuff Jr.
8. Atlanta Hawks (via NOP)	Houston PG Kingston Flemings	Houston PG Kingston Flemings
9. Dallas Mavericks	Arizona SG Brayden Burries	Arizona SG Brayden Burries
10. Milwaukee Bucks	Tennessee SF Nate Ament	Tennessee SF Nate Ament
11. Golden State Warriors	Michigan C Aday Mara	Michigan PF Yaxel Lendeborg
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via LAC)	Michigan PF Yaxel Lendeborg	Michigan C Aday Mara
13. Milwaukee Bucks (via MIA)	Alabama PG Labaron Philon Jr.	New Zealand Breakers PF Karim Lopez
14. Charlotte Hornets	Michigan PF Morez Johnson Jr.	Michigan PF Morez Johnson Jr.
15. Chicago Bulls (via POR)	New Zealand Breakers PF Karim Lopez	Baylor SG Cameron Carr
16. Memphis Grizzlies (via PHX)	Baylor SG Cameron Carr	Iowa PG Bennett Stirtz
17. Oklahoma City Thunder (via PHI)	Washington C Hannes Steinbach	Texas PG Dailyn Swain
18. Charlotte Hornets (via ORL)	Texas PG Dailyn Swain	Texas Tech PG Christian Anderson
19. Toronto Raptors	Texas Tech PG Christian Anderson	Alabama PG Labaron Philon Jr.
20. San Antonio Spurs (via ATL)	Houston PF Chris Cenac Jr.	Santa Clara PF Allen Graves
21. Detroit Pistons (via MIN)	Iowa PG Bennett Stirtz	Stanford PG Ebuka Okorie
22. Philadelphia 76ers (via HOU)	Kentucky PF Jayden Quaintance	Houston PF Chris Cenac Jr.
23. Atlanta Hawks	Stanford PG Ebuka Okorie	Washington C Hannes Steinbach
24. New York Knicks	Santa Clara F Allen Graves	Arkansas PG/SG Meleek Thomas
25. Los Angeles Lakers	Arizona F Koa Peat	Duke SF Isaiah Evans
26. Denver Nuggets	Arkansas PG/SG Meleek Thomas	UConn C Tarris Reed Jr.
27. Boston Celtics	UNC C Henri Veesaar	St. John's PF/C Zuby Ejiofor
28. Brooklyn Nets (via MIN)	Duke SF Isaiah Evans	Kentucky PF Jayden Quaintance
29. Cleveland Cavaliers (via SAS)	UConn C Tarris Reed Jr.	UNC C Henri Veesaar
30. Dallas Mavericks (via OKC)	St. John's PF/C Zuby Ejiofor	Iowa State PF Joshua Jefferson

Of note, the lottery portion (top 14) is nearly identical. The top 10 is exactly the same, with BYU forward AJ Dybantsa leading the way at first overall to the Washington Wizards.

That seems like the consensus view at this point, with Kansas guard Darryn Peterson going second to the Utah Jazz and Duke forward/center Cameron Boozer slotting third to the Memphis Grizzlies.

The first discrepancy occurs at 11th overall. The AP has Michigan C Aday Mara going to the Golden State Warriors, while Wasserman put Michigan power forward Yaxel Lendeborg there.

Those two are flip-flopped on each other's mock drafts, though, with Lendeborg going to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the B/R draft and Mara headed to OKC per the AP.

Both have Michigan power forward Montez Johnson Jr. going 14th to the Charlotte Hornets.

The big difference is at No. 13, where the AP has Alabama point guard Labaron Philon Jr. going to the Milwaukee Bucks, who now own the 13th pick after receiving it in their trade of Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat.

Elsewhere, the AP and B/R have 29 of the same players going in the first round. The AP notably has Arizona forward Koa Peat going to the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 25. B/R doesn't have Peat in the first round, but Wasserman didn't make him wait long, as he's slotted at No. 32 overall to the Memphis Grizzlies.

The only player that Wasserman has in the first round that the AP doesn't is Iowa State power forward Justin Jefferson, who went 30th to the Dallas Mavericks.

The NBA draft begins Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.