June 20, 2026, 5:06 a.m. ET
Alabama basketball is set to have its first player taken in the NBA draft since 2023.
Former Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon was one of 14 players this week who received an official green room invitation and will be in attendance at the 2026 NBA Draft at Barclays Center in New York.
Philon was a two-year starter at Alabama who initially declared for the draft in 2025 before withdrawing and returning to Tuscaloosa for his sophomore season.
He led Alabama in scoring last season with 22 points per game, which placed third overall in the SEC. Actually it was a virtual tie for second place with Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard at 22.1 PPG.
Philon also averaged five assists and 3.5 rebounds a night for the Crimson Tide in 2025-26. He shot 50.1 percent from the field and made 39.9 percent of shots from beyond the arc.
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With the NBA draft less than a week away, here’s where Philon lands in the latest mock drafts from national outlets.
Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports has Philon going to the Detroit Pistons with the 21st overall pick on draft night. The Pistons finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference (60-22) during the regular season.
With former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham leading the way with 23.9 points per game, Philon even drew a faint comparison to the Pistons’ franchise player.
“This is a choice between Philon or Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie. I lean Philon, although it’s a lot closer than one might initially think. Philon is just so good at basketball. Philon slithers to his spots at will, and there’s not much you can do to stop it. The Alabama guard showed vast improvement with his pull-up jumper and proved he can get buckets in his sleep. He was one of the most dangerous isolation bucket-getters in all of college basketball last season, making even the most mobile defensive bigs so uncomfortable with his barrage of in-and-out dribbles to set up a stepback J or a knockdown floater. The challenge will be finding ways to blend all the delightful role-player traits that he showcased as a freshman back into his game. Philon has more in the tank defensively. He has more in the tank as a connect-the-dots role player who can smash advantages created by a true alpha guard … like Cade Cunningham.” –Isaac Trotter, CBS Sports.
This team would be ‘ecstatic’ to nab Labaron Philon at NBA draft 2026
Trotter isn’t the only ones who sees a fit between Philon and the Pistons. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic (subscription required for full access) also sees the two-year SEC starter going to Detroit on Night 1 at No. 21.
“The Pistons would be ecstatic with this outcome… We saw Cade Cunningham work exceedingly well with a smaller guard next to him during the 2025 playoff run, as Dennis Schröder was a terrific running mate for him. Philon brings similar attributes, while also being able to shoot and get in transition with speed. Finding another playmaking guard to lessen Cunningham’s burden is seen as a major priority for the Pistons this summer.”
‘One of the best point guards in the draft’: NBA mock draft lists Labaron Philon as top-15 pick
Another mock draft from CBS Sports, this one from analyst Cameron Salerno on Thursday, sees Philon going to the Chicago Bulls with the 15th overall selection.
Salerno forecasts the Bulls selecting North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson with the fourth pick overall before grabbing Philon later in the first round:
“After taking Wilson at No. 4, Chicago lands one of the best point guards in the draft at No. 15. Philon’s stock boomed during his sophomore season at Alabama where he improved in almost every facet.”
ESPN thinks Labaron Philon is ‘acquired taste’ for some teams in 2026 NBA draft
ESPN has Philon going to the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 17th overall selection on Night 1 at Barclays Center, but NBA analyst Jeremy Woo cautions:
“Philon didn’t test well at the combine and is more scoring-focused than the other guards in this tier of the draft, making him a bit of an acquired taste for teams, but his ability to create his own shot and shoot from range remains attractive.
“This pick is viewed by teams as one of the most likely in the first round to change hands, as it’s anticipated that the Thunder will make moves around the draft.”
Alabama’s Labaron Philon listed among top 20 NBA Draft selections
Yahoo Sports’ senior NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor makes the argument for Philon and the NBA’s lone team north of the border, the Toronto Raptors, with the 19th overall pick.
“The Raptors clearly needed two things after their Game 7 loss to the Cavaliers: A point guard and a center. Here, they get a point guard. Philon is a shifty, score-first point guard who blossomed into one of the best guards in college basketball as a sophomore. He doubled his scoring output with buttery floaters, a deceptive handle, and a feel for running an offense, while also beginning to shore up the shooting questions that once clouded his projection. But Philon is also a below-the-rim athlete and listed under 180 pounds, so his slight frame remains the one thing standing between him and stardom.”
Bleacher Report mock draft sees Labaron Philon going to nearby NBA team in 2026 draft
Geographically, only one city (Atlanta) is as close to Tuscaloosa in the NBA’s geographic footprint as Memphis. That clearly won’t matter to NBA teams, but Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report sees the Grizzlies taking the former Alabama guard with the 16th overall pick, the highest possible selection
Murray said of Philon:
“Like the Bucks with Giannis, it almost feels like the Grizzlies are in a bit of a holding pattern till they trade Ja Morant. In the meantime, and after taking a big earlier in the first, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see them look for a potential Ja replacement here … Philon, who averaged 22.0 points and 5.0 assists in 2025-26, could have an outside shot with his crafty offensive game.”
When is 2026 NBA Draft?
The 2026 NBA Draft is June 23-24 at Barclays Center in New York. Round 1 begins Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT and will be televised on ABC and ESPN. Round 2 begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.
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