Feb. 12, 2026, 7:05 p.m. ET

The Brooklyn Nets are still in the midst of the 2025-26 NBA season, but they are likely looking forward to getting the best pick possible in the 2026 NBA Draft. Brooklyn is trying to win as many games as possible before the end of the season, but as it stands, the Nets are looking to finish with one of the worst records. A potential draft pick is theirs suffered an injury, however.

“University of North Carolina freshman forward Caleb Wilson is out with a fracture in his left hand, an injury he suffered in the first half of Tuesday’s game at Miami,” the University of North Carolina announced on Thursday about forward Caleb Wilson. Wilson is one of the players expected to be selected early in the 2026 class and the Nets could be one of the teams in Wilson’s range, depending on how the Lottery turns out.

“Wilson’s NBA tools and athleticism, plus the outstanding production they’re consistently generating for North Carolina, point to a high floor and projectable role for Wilson,” Jonathan Wasserman recently wrote for Bleacher Report. “Wilson continues to lead the nation in dunks by tapping into his quick-twitch movement, effortless bounce and motor.”

In Wasserman’s latest mock draft for Bleacher Report, he projected that Brooklyn would select Wilson with the fourth overall pick, after the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, and Indiana Pacers. If the Nets end up with the fourth pick, that means that they wouldn’t be able to take Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, or Duke forward Cameron Boozer since they’re expected to be the top-3 players in the class.

Wilson, 19, is averaging 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 57.8% from the field and 25.9% from three-point land in 24 games played for North Carolina this season. As of this writing, the Nets are projected to end up with the fifth overall pick so time will tell if they will be able to draft Wilson. Either way, it will be interesting to see how his stock is affected with his left hand injury.

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