2026 NBA Mock Draft: Kansas’ Darryn Peterson ahead of BYU’s AJ Dybantsa in way-too-early look at next year

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The 2025 NBA Draft is now officially in the books and so it’s never too early to start thinking about next year.

And this isn’t just for the draft fans out there. NBA front offices are in the business of forecasting future drafts as well, not so much about which players project to what spots, but more about the collective strength of the total class, so as to help them better manage their long-term assets.

The early perception of 2026 is that it is a very strong class, not just at the very top where names like Dybantsa, Peterson and Boozer are already well known to NBA decision-makers, but also with the total depth of the class, after several fringe first-rounders returned to the college ranks in this cycle because of the allure of NIL.

Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel lead five Duke players picked in 2025 NBA Draft; SEC has 13 stars selected

David Cobb

Here’s a lottery-inspired look at 14 prospects that already have the attention of NBA decision makers with a way-too-early draft order using the latest Sports line projections for the 2025-26 season.

Darryn Peterson, Kansas

Peterson finished as the top ranked prospect in high school basketball this season and will have the ball in his hands from Day 1 next season at Kansas. He’s a big lead guard who measured at over 6-foot-5 with a 6-10 wingspan. He’s an alpha type scorer and playmaker with a natural instinct for getting to his spots, scoring within the flow at various spots on the floor, creating for others and even getting to the free-throw line. 

We’ve even seen his explosiveness continue to ascend within the last year as he has brought his fitness and conditioning to unprecedented levels. In short, among the three players at the top of the class, he was the one who showed the most growth as a high school senior.

AJ Dybantsa, BYU

Pick acquired via trade with New Orleans Pelicans

Dybantsa is the most naturally talented prospect in the class. A 6-9 jumbo wing with an elastic body type and extreme court coverage, he’s the prototype of a modern NBA wing. While the talent and scoring prowess has been glaring since he was an underclassman, he seemed to plateau just a bit during his senior year of high school. More recently, he has impressed with the USA Basketball U19 team that will now travel to Switzerland to compete in the FIBA World Cup next week. 

Scouts will be out in full force and if he can convince them that he is again competing at the highest level and making strides in his game, it’s very possible he is back in the driver’s seat as the odds-on favorite to be the top pick once the college season rolls around.

Cameron Boozer, Duke

Cameron Boozer may not have the same glaring upside as Peterson or Dybantsa, but he is a virtual can’t miss prospect. He just wrapped up the most successful high school career in recent history, having won every single major competition he competed in – including four Florida state championships, three Nike EYBL championships, multiple gold medals with USA basketball and the Chipotle Nationals title as the unofficial national champions. 

At 6-9 with shoes and a 7-1 wingspan, he is powerful and fundamentally sound with an inside-out skill set. His hands, rebounding and passing ability are all truly exceptional. He’s not an alpha type creator just yet, but he may not have to be to drive winning at the highest levels for a long time.

Nate Ament, Tennessee

Ament is a late-blooming, skilled big forward who now measures above 6-10, has incredibly soft natural touch and is just beginning to tap into his upside. He showed extreme growth throughout the course of his last year in high school, going from a player who barely got minutes on the USA Basketball U18 team to one who became one of the most undeniably gifted in the class. 

His hands are as soft as his natural touch. He’s a versatile scoring threat with the high release to score over top of smaller defenders, graceful fluidity and tremendous dexterity around the paint. He still needs to build up his body and continue to get more assertive, but his sheer tools combined with his recent rate of improvement is very compelling.

Darius Acuff, Arkansas

Acuff was high school basketball’s most impressive scoring lead guard for the last two years. He burst onto the national scene in the spring of 2023 by putting up huge numbers in the Nike EYBL. Since then, he’s only continued to sculpt his frame and assert his playmaking prowess. He was arguably as good as anyone in the country at putting his team on his back and creating offense on demand last year at IMG Academy. 

At Arkansas, he looks like the next dynamic guard to star for John Calipari and while they return D.J. Wagner and add another five-star freshman guard in Meleek Thomas, the expectation is that Acuff will have every opportunity to standout.

Mikel Brown, Louisville

Brown finished as the No. 6 ranked high school basketball prospect in the country last year and probably the best pure point guard. Just this month though, it was clear at the USA Basketball U19 trials that he had already taken his game to new levels. After sprouting up more than five inches during high school, Brown is now showing newfound explosiveness. 

When you add that to his highly advanced skillset with the ball in his hands and now good positional size for a pure point guard and he looked tremendously impressive. If he looks just as good next week in Switzerland, expect extreme draft buzz to start his freshman season in Louisville.

Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky

Quaintance reclassified up to head to college a year early last year, even though it meant that he would be too young to be eligible for the NBA Draft. He went on to average 9 points and 8 rebounds per game for Arizona State, while also recording 2.6 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. While his athleticism, nearly 7-foot-5 wingspan, powerful frame and offensive tools are intriguing, it was those defensive instincts that were glaring. 

If we see those offensive tools turn into more consistent production this year at Kentucky, especially beyond the finishing he’s already proven, he should be one of the very top frontcourt names in the field.

Koa Peat, Arizona

Peat finished as the No. 11 ranked prospect in the country last year and had one of the most consistently productive four-year careers of anyone in the class. He also is playing on the USA Basketball U19 team that will compete in the FIBA World Cup beginning next week and if what we saw in the trials continues in Switzerland, his stock will only rise. 

Coming from a family of football players, Peat was always powerfully and physically mature in high school. Now though, he looks sculpted and more explosive than ever. With mismatch type scoring ability, if he can utilize those physical gains defensively and address questions about his shooting, he’s a name to watch.

Karim Lopez, Mexico

Lopez is arguably the top international prospect who will not play college basketball next season. The 6-foot-9 forward from Mexico spent this past year competing in the NBL Next Star program with the New Zealand Breakers. He’s known for being physically strong, skilled for his size and having a terrific motor. 

He’s physical, aggressive and full of competitive energy. While the long-range shooting is still a work in progress and an important variable for scouts to monitor this year, he puts the ball on the floor well to both sides, is a hard straight-line driver and has good touch around the rim.

10.  Atlanta Hawks 

Dame Sarr, Duke

Sarr just turned 19 years old and so he was old enough to declare for this year’s NBA Draft. Instead, he’ll head to college basketball in hopes of playing his way into the lottery at Duke. A jumbo wing in the making, he stands at 6-8 and has a nearly 7-foot wingspan, but will need to work on filling out his frame in the next year. Beyond his physical tools, he’s known for his defensive potential, passing flashes and high-energy, but has to work to get more consistent with his shooting and overall decision-making with the ball.

Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan

Of all the players who opted to return to college basketball this year, Lendeborg may have had the best chance to end up in the first-round. Instead, he’ll become a focal point for Michigan, reportedly for a steep NIL package. He’ll step into the role vacated by Danny Wolf, enabling him to show his versatility and playmaking at his size, which could catapult him to the lottery if everything goes just right. 

Lendeborg will turn 23 next September, so his age is relevant, but at 6-9 with a 7-4 wingspan and an almost unique combination of tools, numerous people in the NBA are extremely high on his upside.  

Caleb Wilson, North Carolina

Wilson is going to be a very interesting prospect to watch this season at North Carolina. On one hand, it may be unlikely that he becomes the offensive alpha he has publicly claimed he will be. On the other hand, that’s not his best pathway to the league. If he buys into being an ultra-versatile defender, defensive playmaker and plays within himself offensively as a hybrid four, that is a very translatable role that should get the attention of NBA evaluators. He’s 6-9 with a 7-foot wingspan, very mobile and bouncy.

Chris Cenac, Houston

Cenac finished as the No. 6 overall prospect in high school basketball last year, in large part based on his untapped upside. He’s over 6-10 with shoes on, has a better than 7-4 wingspan, a good athlete and has the foundation for inside-out skill. However, he hasn’t yet put all the pieces together yet and that was recently glaring at the USA Basketball U19 trials, where he was ultimately cut from the team. Now, if that means he can spend more time at Houston, that may be a blessing in disguise as there is optimism that a year with Kelvin Sampson could be just the thing to get him on the right trajectory.

Bennett Stirtz, Iowa

The former Division II point guard will be following coach Ben McCollum to his third school next year and it’s very possible Stirtz establishes himself as college basketball’s pre-eminent point guard in the process. He’s not going to win any combine contests and he’ll be 22 when next season opens, but Stritz has NBA caliber positional size, an exceptionally advanced skill-set and an equally sharp mind for the game. 

He’s coming off a year at Drake in which he averaged 19 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds per game on 50/40/79 shooting and there’s optimism he could produce at a similar level next season in the Big Ten. 

This news was originally published on this post .

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