How Dybantsa finds answers to coaches adjusting to his game will play the biggest role in where he gets picked. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s at risk of falling below third \u2014 his tools are immense \u2014 but he does feel like the third guy in the conversation right now.<\/p>\n
4. Indiana PacersCaleb Wilson | 6-10 wing | 19 years old | North Carolina<\/p>\n
Wilson\u2019s athleticism and production have popped in a big way this season, as the power forward has averaged nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds while flying around the court for the Tar Heels. Simply put, he\u2019s an imposing athletic presence with serious vertical explosion and speed who is extremely difficult to stay in front of. Wilson\u2019s motor also runs extremely hot, and he consistently seems to find the ball.<\/p>\n
The numbers would say that Wilson should probably be in contention with the top trio, but scouts haven\u2019t placed him there yet because of some concerns about his finishing and defense. The good news for Wilson is that he is an elite dunker and plays consistently above the rim. But as Michigan State showed, when you can provide bodies for him that he has to navigate at the rim, things get tougher. Overall, Wilson is shooting just 8 of 29 on layup attempts. He\u2019s also just 2-of-10 from 3. He has displayed touch from the midrange and from the foul line, so all is not lost here by any stretch. But Wilson has also not been as impressive on defense as expected, showcasing some positive switching possessions on the ball but struggling with his engagement and awareness off the ball. Scouts will want to see the latter improve throughout the season. But when you ask folks around the league, Wilson is pretty clearly the fourth player who comes up.<\/p>\n
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\n Louisville\u2019s Mikel Brown Jr. has shown off elite explosiveness and passing as a freshman. (Matt Stone \/ USA Today via Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
5. Sacramento KingsMikel Brown Jr. | 6-4 guard | 20 years old | Louisville<\/p>\n
Brown\u2019s best flashes have been those of a top-five pick, and it helps that his best game came against Kentucky in front of numerous scouts; he dropped 29 points and dished out five assists versus only one turnover in that Nov. 11 win. Over his last five games, the results have been murkier, as he\u2019s shot just 34 percent from the field and made only 26 percent of his 3s. He went just 2 of 13 on 3s in Wednesday\u2019s loss at Arkansas. Still, Brown\u2019s blend of passing and shooting is seen as elite among the draft class, and his name comes up most often as the No. 5 player behind what seems to be a consensus top four. Scouts love Brown\u2019s blend of explosiveness going toward the rim mixed with his skill level and live-dribble passing ability. He will need to iron out his efficiency going toward the rim, though.<\/p>\n
On the Kings\u2019 front, league sources say the team is quite active in perusing the trade market for many of its veterans. Whatever the roster looks like right now, it feels reasonable to say it won\u2019t look the same in eight months, making a best-player-available draft strategy their most likely move.<\/p>\n
6. Oklahoma City Thunder (via LAC)Nate Ament | 6-10 wing\/forward | 19 years old | Tennessee<\/p>\n
Ament is almost a surefire bet to go in the top 10, but scouts aren\u2019t excited by his upside as a scorer. They consistently note that he looks like he\u2019s grown in height, that he\u2019s definitely filled out physically and that the intel on his personality and work ethic is impressive. They also love the way that he plays off the ball. He\u2019s rebounding well, moving the ball well and defending both on and off the ball at a high level.<\/p>\n
But scouts wonder what he can create on the ball. His finishing in half-court settings has been messy \u2014 although he is drawing a lot of fouls \u2014 and he\u2019s shooting just 38.5 percent from the field. On top of that, his jumper looks off in its rhythm, and he\u2019s made only 31 percent of his 3s. And yet, it\u2019s clear that he\u2019s going to be an effective NBA player because of his size, athletic fluidity and everything else that he brings to the table off the ball.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City receives the Clippers\u2019 unprotected first-round pick this season, and it looks enticing after a truly catastrophic start for LA. The last thing the rest of the league wants is the Thunder getting access to a pick near the top of this draft.<\/p>\n
7. Dallas MavericksKingston Flemings | 6-4 guard | 19 years old | Houston<\/p>\n
Flemings is the big riser in this class through one month. He\u2019s long been seen as an extremely talented player, but questions about his role within the Houston scheme and his skill level as a scorer made scouts wonder what he\u2019d look like this season. It\u2019s clear that he\u2019s going to be a one-and-done player. He\u2019s averaging 15.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and five assists while shooting 61 percent from the field, 52 percent from 3 and 71 percent from the line. The 3-point accuracy will come down at some point, as will the field goal percentage.<\/p>\n
However, Flemings\u2019 speed has been wildly impressive. He looks like he\u2019s in fast-forward while other players are in regular speed. Scouts want to see more of him playing and making decisions out of ball screens, as many of his best moments have come attacking closeouts off the ball. His willingness to jump before making decisions as a passer has raised concerns. But his tools are real and exciting.<\/p>\n
8. Utah JazzKoa Peat | 6-7 wing | 19 years old | Arizona<\/p>\n
Peat has had an outstanding start, averaging 16 points, six rebounds and three assists for a terrific Arizona team. He\u2019s a big-bodied wing who is tough and physical, and he can create his own shot as a mismatch nightmare. He\u2019s explosive vertically and can handle the basketball, plus he\u2019s extremely strong and bumps defenders out of his pathway well. However, he struggles to shoot from distance, even if he is a confident midrange shooter. His free-throw percentage in high school was in the same 66 percent range that it is for the Wildcats.<\/p>\n
Scouts view Peat as a top-10 pick in the class, with his performances against Florida and Connecticut standing out.<\/p>\n
9. Charlotte HornetsJayden Quaintance | 6-8 big | 18 years old | Kentucky<\/p>\n
Quaintance has yet to play this season while recovering from a torn ACL he suffered late in February. Scouts who have talked to the Kentucky staff indicate he\u2019s not far off from his debut, but front offices will want to get a closer look at the injury during the pre-draft process.<\/p>\n
Still, scouts remain enthusiastic about Quaintance, who was an All-Defense selection in the Big 12 as a 17-year-old freshman. When he\u2019s on the court, he\u2019s an anchor on the interior defensively. The name that comes to mind the most as a comparison is Robert Williams III, who has been one of the best defensive players in the NBA when healthy. Both Williams and Quaintance have a tremendous blend of length and fluid athleticism that allows them to be proactive on defense as opposed to reactive.<\/p>\n
Quaintance also shows some flashes on offense as a passer and can handle the ball a bit, but there are questions about his scoring. He likes to shoot but hasn\u2019t proven he can do so. And his finishing around the rim is limited by a lack of vertical pop. He is a potential All-Defense guy if things go right. But his range remains hard to pin down because of the injury.<\/p>\n
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\n Baylor\u2019s Cameron Carr has been one of the 2026 draft\u2019s big early risers. (Chris Jones \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
10. Portland Trail BlazersCameron Carr\u00a0| 6-6 guard | 21 years old | Baylor<\/p>\n
Carr is another player who has emerged as a breakout star, averaging 22.7 points and nearly six rebounds while blocking 1.5 shots and getting 0.7 steals per game. The 6-6 wing with a wingspan well over 7 feet is using that length wonderfully, drilling 57 percent of his shots from the field and 55.2 percent from 3 with a beautiful high release point and nice elevation from the midrange and on his floater game. He\u2019s only averaging 1.3 assists, but that undervalues what I think is his true passing ability; I counted five potential assists in his 27-point showcase against St. John\u2019s at the Players Era Festival that his teammates just missed. Defensively, there are some flaws in his attention to detail, but he\u2019s shown some switchability when engaged on the ball.<\/p>\n
It helped him that he performed exceedingly well in front of nearly the entire NBA at the Players Era Festival in Vegas, one of the most well-attended scouting events of the last decade. But it\u2019s really hard to find players who are this big, this long, possess real, fluid athleticism and can really shoot it. Those guys have a long track record of not failing in the NBA. Scouts are still scrambling to gather intel and learn as much as possible about why Carr\u2019s two years at Tennessee were not successful, but he and Flemings are the two hot names. Carr\u2019s range right now is somewhere in the 10-to-25 area, but my guess is it ends up on the higher end.<\/p>\n
11. Milwaukee BucksBraylon Mullins | 6-5 wing | 20 years old | Connecticut<\/p>\n
Mullins impressed Connecticut\u2019s staff in the preseason, as he\u2019s a serious marksman from deep. No freshman in this class can match his mix of volume and percentage from distance; he drilled 41.7 percent of his 3s on the Adidas circuit last summer on about nine 3-point attempts per game. Defensively, he has incredibly reactive hands and is a playmaker. The thing that stands out most, though, is that he plays at top speed all the time. He plays fast while processing the game very quickly.<\/p>\n
Scouts still want to see how he adjusts to playing against physicality for the first time consistently this season. Mullins didn\u2019t play at a particularly athletic level of high school basketball in Indiana and is still quite skinny. But scouts look for the intersection of shooting, defensive IQ and quick decision-making, and Mullins has that in a big way.<\/p>\n
As promised, did a Braylon Mullins breakdown on his first full game for UConn. 17 points, five rebounds in 23 minutes in a big road win vs. Kansas.<\/p>\n
The off-ball movement, the ability to play and think at speed simultaneously, the shooting. I\u2019m a huge Mullins fan. pic.twitter.com\/0CrRtDhed3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) December 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Mullins missed the first month of the season with an ankle injury but returned briefly against Illinois and exploded Tuesday against Kansas for 17 points and five rebounds on the road in what was essentially his first full college game. He looked like a one-and-done in that victory and already has scouts excited.<\/p>\n 12. Memphis GrizzliesThomas Haugh | 6-9 wing | 22 years old | Florida<\/p>\n Haugh has taken the momentum he built during Florida\u2019s national-title sprint and run with it. He continues to be a massive mismatch problem because he\u2019s such a well-rounded player at 6-9 with athleticism and skill. He\u2019s averaging 18.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists and has been the least of the Gators\u2019 problems on the defensive end.<\/p>\n Scouts consistently say that he looks like a player typically taken between No. 10 and No. 20. Why? They see a player who knows how to play off the ball in a highly effective manner and doesn\u2019t need many touches to score. He\u2019s dynamic in transition, filling lanes and even occasionally leading the break while covering ground quickly with long strides. He\u2019s a sharp relocator around the court, drifting and sliding along the 3-point line to create open looks. The shooting has been up-and-down, and he\u2019s only making 31.8 percent from 3 this season. Over his last 42 games, Haugh has made 34.1 percent from 3 on his three attempts per game. If he improves that, he\u2019ll be right in this mid-first-round ballpark.<\/p>\n 13. Chicago BullsLabaron Philon | 6-3 guard | 20 years old | Alabama<\/p>\n Philon was the last player to withdraw from the 2025 NBA Draft and has taken his opportunity to play more with the ball in his hands without Mark Sears around and run with it. He entered Wednesday averaging 20.6 points and 5.6 assists while shooting 56 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3. He\u2019s also had massive games against Gonzaga, Illinois and St. John\u2019s, scoring 24-plus points in each game, and he tied a season high in points with 29 against Clemson on Wednesday. At 6-3 with a skinny frame, Philon showed last season that he can be a very high-level defender, and he throws impressively quick passing reads, too. He\u2019s done everything he has been supposed to do this season to help himself.<\/p>\n 14. Oklahoma City Thunder (via PHI)Hannes Steinbach | 6-11 big | 20 years old | Washington<\/p>\n Steinbach has only played in four games but has been wildly productive, averaging 14.5 points, 12.8 points and 2.5 assists while shooting 56 percent from the field. He dominates the glass and has from a young age, plus he has good touch around the rim. Scouts think he\u2019s likely to be selected in the top 20. Three scouts who saw him both in Germany and in the U.S. have said that he\u2019s bigger and much more mobile than they thought he was, noting that his arms look long as well.<\/p>\n Steinbach sprained his ankle in a game against Washington State and missed the team\u2019s next three games. However, he\u2019s back at practice and just played against UCLA during the Big Ten\u2019s early-season set of games.<\/p>\n 15. Golden State WarriorsYaxel Lendeborg | 6-9 big | 23 years old | Michigan<\/p>\n Lendeborg started the season with a couple of strange performances against TCU and Wake Forest while he adjusted to playing the three next to Morez Johnson and Aday Mara. However, at Players Era, things came together for the Wolverines. They won the event while winning all three games by at least 30 points. It was a dominant showcase for Lendeborg, who is averaging 16 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists with 61\/39\/82 shooting splits. The Wolverines have a top-10 nonconference strength of schedule, too. He\u2019s been everything Michigan could have hoped for after he decided to transfer to Ann Arbor from UAB after flirting with the NBA Draft. At over 6-8 without shoes and a 7-4 wingspan, teams are less worried about Lendeborg\u2019s age in comparison to the rest of the class because of his immense tools and his skill level. He\u2019s seen as a likely first-round pick.<\/p>\n 16. Boston CelticsDarius Acuff Jr. | 6-2 guard | 19 years old | Arkansas<\/p>\n Acuff has been very effective as a shot creator for the Razorbacks. He entered Wednesday averaging 17 points and four assists while shooting a respectable 47 percent from the field and a terrific 45 percent from 3 that I expect to come down at some point. The most important part of Acuff\u2019s game has been the way that he gets into the paint. Acuff\u2019s ability in both ball screens and in isolation switch situations has been extremely impressive, and he\u2019s showcased a high-level floater game that should be translatable to the NBA. Scouts would still like to see more attention to detail on defense and also are skeptical about how effective his ball-dominant style would be at the next level. Overall, though, Acuff\u2019s start has been impressive.<\/p>\n 17. Atlanta Hawks (via CLE)Dash Daniels | 6-6 wing | 18 years old | Melbourne United<\/p>\n Daniels has carved out a strong role with Melbourne United, the best team in the Australian NBL by a substantial margin. He\u2019s coming off the bench and shooting 45 percent from the field and 35 percent from 3 while averaging six points per game, but it\u2019s much more about Daniels\u2019 defense. The brother of Atlanta Hawks\u2019 defensive dynamo Dyson Daniels, Dash is similarly impactful on that end, even though they do it in different ways. Whereas Dyson is much more of a ball hawk, Dash is more of an elite on-ball defender who has already erased several impressive pros this season, including New Orleans Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears in a preseason game. Daniels needs to keep proving that he can make an impact on offense as a playmaker and shooter. But at 6-6 with a powerful, physical frame, he has scouts excited.<\/p>\n 18. Memphis Grizzlies (via PHX)Chris Cenac Jr. | 6-10 big | 19 years old | Houston<\/p>\n Cenac came into the season as a serious swing guy in the 2026 class, and he remains that way after an uneven start. On the plus side, he has tremendous physical tools as a fluid, athletic big man who can bend and move his feet well. He also possesses a very perimeter-based offensive game, something Houston has leaned into largely by having him camp out regularly in the corner as a floor-spacer and baseline cutter. There have been positive moments, like his 18-point, nine-rebound game against Auburn. But overall, it\u2019s been much more hit or miss. He fouled out against Tennessee and only played 15 minutes against Notre Dame. The good news is that he has been rebounding consistently, averaging eight in 24 minutes per game. However, his defensive production has been inconsistent, and his rotational awareness around the court is still a work in progress. There are moments where he seems to disengage, too.<\/p>\n Cenac looks like a great candidate to return for a sophomore season, and he might be significantly helped by it. But scouts still have an immense amount of interest in him because of his physical tools. This feels like a wait-and-see situation.<\/p>\n 19. Minnesota TimberwolvesPatrick Ngongba II | 6-11 big | 20 years old | Duke<\/p>\n Ngongba has been terrific as a rim protector to start the season. Per CBB Analytics, when Ngongba is on the floor, Duke is 16.5 points per 100 possessions better. Opposing teams are shooting just 52 percent at the rim and 30.8 percent in the paint with Ngongba on the court. Offensively, he\u2019s drilled a few 3s already, and his ability to initiate sets at the top of the key with his passing and comfort level with the ball have also stood out. The main worry with Ngongba is his athleticism and ability to control the glass. He\u2019s largely a below-the-rim finisher for a big man (albeit one with touch), and Duke\u2019s game against Florida raised some alarm bells about how effectively he can end possessions, as the Gators swarmed for 20 offensive rebounds. Still, it\u2019s hard to find players who are as big and as skilled as Ngongba, and scouts have been impressed with how fluidly he moves when they see him live.<\/p>\n Ngongba\u2019s history of foot injuries has given scouts pause, however, as he missed his senior high school season with a right foot injury and had a left foot injury last fall.<\/p>\n \n Scouts wonder how Iowa\u2019s Bennett Stirtz will translate his game to the next level. (Julia Hansen \/ USA Today via Imagn Images)<\/p>\n 20. Charlotte Hornets (via ORL)Bennett Stirtz | 6-4 guard | 22 years old | Iowa<\/p>\n Here\u2019s another polarizing player for scouts. There might not be a higher basketball IQ bet in the draft than Stirtz, a consummate floor general who knows how to make plays at a high level for his teammates and is an extension of his coach, Ben McCollum, on the floor. He\u2019s also a knockdown shooter from distance.<\/p>\n Scouts still worry whether Stirtz can get by anyone, even using the threat of his shot. He\u2019s not overly quick and seems to struggle to even maintain advantages when attacking closeouts. The good news is that he can make stepback jumpers going to both his right and his left. But the game against Michigan State was a real eye-opener for scouts, as he struggled to get any paint touches against one of the best defenses in college hoops. One final note that has been brought up to me is that McCollum\u2019s intricate offensive scheme and system is about as well-respected among the scouting community as you\u2019ll find. There is a worry that Stirtz might be a product of how well McCollum\u2019s offense spaces the floor and drills his actions. He\u2019ll be one of the most evaluated players in the country over the rest of the season as everyone tries to figure out his game.<\/p>\n 21. San Antonio Spurs (via ATL)Tounde Yessoufou | 6-5 wing | 20 years old | Baylor<\/p>\n Yessoufou is a powerful, physical wing athlete who plays with about as strong a motor as you\u2019ll find. He\u2019s aggressive on defense and loves to get out in transition. He\u2019s strong at the point of attack and can slide his feet, although his ability to turn and flip his hips can leave something to be desired on the defensive end, particularly in closeout situations. The bigger issues for Yessoufou, though, have come on offense, where his finishing ability has been pretty rough to this point. He starts his gathers much too far from the basket and leaves himself in no-man\u2019s land with tough attempts, then also isn\u2019t much of a passer or playmaker for others. His jumper also hasn\u2019t shown enough improvement yet, as he\u2019s making under 30 percent from 3.<\/p>\n Did a Tounde Yessoufou video earlier, too. I love, love, love the Baylor wing\u2019s motor and activity. Love his energy, love how physical he is.<\/p>\n Man, do I have some half-court offensive polish questions on the passing, where he starts his gathers from, and way more. pic.twitter.com\/K3KpplI1r5<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bennett-scaled.jpeg\")
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