NBA Draft Basketball Wiretap

University of Michigan center Aday Mara has declared as an Early Entry Candidate for the 2026 NBA Draft. Mara was joined by forward Morez Johnson Jr. and guard Elliot Cadeau in declaring for the draft. Senior forward Yaxel Lendeborg is also headed to the draft from Michigan's 2026 NCAA championship team.

Mara started in 39 of the 40 games he played for the Wolverines as a junior. The 7-foot-3 center averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.6 blocks per game.

Johnson started in all 40 games he played as a sophomore. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks for the Wolverines.

Cadeau also started all 40 games for the Wolverines. The 6-foot-1 point guard averaged 10.5 points, 5.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds for Michigan after transferring from North Carolina.

Lendeborg, Mara and Johnson rate as first-round picks. ESPN ranks that trio at 12, 13 and 24 on their Top 100 prospects list. Cadeau comes in at 68 on the ESPN list.

Duke freshman Cameron Boozer declared for the NBA Draft on social media on Friday.

Boozer was the fifth freshman to win the Associated Press men's college basketball Player of the Year this season. 

Boozer averaged 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per game while shooting 55.6 percent overall and 39.1 percent from three.

Duke went 35-3 on the year.

Scouts believe that Boozer has the highest floor in the draft, while being mixed on his upside potential. 

Darryn Peterson has declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, leaving Kansas after his freshman season. Peterson is a projected top-3 pick and was the consensus top prospect in the class before injury concerns tempered expectations amongst team evaluators. Peterson said he wasn't really himself until late in the season.

"After much reflection and prayer, I am proud to announce my decision to declare for the NBA draft," Peterson wrote in his announcement on Instagram. "This has been my lifelong dream, and I am excited for the future. Rock chalk forever!"

Peterson averaged 20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 29.1 minutes across 24 games. 

Peterson currently has the second best odds to be the first overall pick in the draft behind AJ Dybantsa.

AJ Dybantsa has declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, leaving BYU after his freshman season.

Dybantsa is one of the leading candidates to be selected with the No. 1 overall pick. Dybantsa is believed to have surpassed Darryn Peterson atop the big boards of many NBA teams due to his higher floor. Oddmakers currently give Dybantsa an implied probability of 70 percent of being the No. 1 pick. 

Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 34.8 minutes across 35 games for BYU.

Dybantsa was a Consensus All-American First Team selection and the Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. announced Wednesday on ESPN's "NBA Today" that he is entering the 2026 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-3 point guard is currently ranked the sixth-best prospect available, per ESPN's Jeremy Woo.

"With that being said, I'm going to be declaring for the 2026 NBA draft," Acuff said.

Acuff had a record-setting freshman campaign with the Razorbacks, earning SEC Player of the Year honors and a spot on the Associated Press All-America first team. He averaged 23.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists while shooting 44% from three-point range, leading Arkansas to the Sweet 16.

The announcement continues a notable pattern under coach John Calipari. Derrick Rose, John Wall, De'Aaron Fox, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are among the lottery picks who developed under Calipari at Memphis and Kentucky. Acuff cited that track record as a factor in his decision to sign with Arkansas.

NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson also played a formative role in Acuff's development and style of play. The two have built a relationship in recent months.

"We've got a lot of similarities. He's one of the reasons I got cornrows, so he inspired me a lot," Acuff said. "He always told me to just play every game like it's your last."

Acuff said watching Tuesday's Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets playoff game reinforced his ambitions at the next level.

"I see myself there, for sure. That's one of my goals," he said.

University of Alabama forward Amari Allen announced that he's declaring as an Early Entry Candidate for the 2026 NBA Draft. Allen is leaving the Crimson Tide after his freshman season.

The 6-foot-8 forward appeared in 32 games for Alabama as a freshman. Allen averaged 11.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a steal per game. He shot 44.6% from the field and 73.8% on free throws.

ESPN ranks Allen as their 29th best prospect for the 2026 NBA Draft.

University of Houston guard Kingston Flemings has declared as an Early Entry Candidate for the 2026 NBA Draft. Flemings is declaring after his freshman season with the Cougars.

ESPN has Flemings ranked as the seventh-best prospect in their Top 100 for the 2026 draft. He's the fourth-ranked guard behind Darryn Peterson, Keaton Wagler and Darius Acuff Jr.

In his lone season with the Cougars, the 6-foot-3 guard averaged 16.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.5 steals. Flemings shot 47.6% from the field, including 38.7% on three-pointers. 

Illinois guard Keaton Wagler has declared as an Early Entry Candidate for the 2026 NBA Draft. Wagler is currently ranked fifth on ESPN's Top 100 prospects for this year's draft.

Wagler played in 37 games in his lone season for the Fighting Illini. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists as a freshman. Wagler also put up 44.5/39.7/79.6 shooting splits.

Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie announced Thursday he will enter the NBA Draft following a record-breaking freshman season in which he led the ACC in scoring and established himself as one of the top prospects in the country.

Okorie, who arrived at Stanford with no high-major scholarship offers out of New Hampshire, averaged 23.2 points per game to finish eighth nationally in scoring. The only freshmen ahead of him were projected lottery picks AJ Dybantsa of BYU and Darius Acuff Jr. of Arkansas.

"A year ago you guys took a chance on a kid from New Hampshire with zero high major offers, welcoming me with open arms and allowing me to be the best version of myself on and off the court," Okorie said in a social media post thanking coach Kyle Smith and the Stanford staff.

Okorie made an immediate impact, scoring 26 points in his debut against Portland State before breaking out with a 36-point effort in an upset win over North Carolina in January. He scored 40 points in a home victory over Georgia Tech and finished with eight 30-point games on the season, breaking the ACC freshman record previously held by Duke's Marvin Bagley III.

His 719 total points rank third in Stanford history for a single season, trailing only Adam Keefe's 734 in 1991-92 and Chasson Randle's 724 in 2014-15.

Okorie earned first-team All-ACC honors and honorable mention AP All-American recognition, adding 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. The last player to reach those combined per-game marks was Ja Morant at Murray State in 2018-19.

His perimeter shooting also improved significantly as the season progressed, connecting on 46.9% of his three-point attempts over his final 12 games. He is projected as a late first-round selection.

Louisville freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. has announced his intention to enter the 2026 NBA Draft, ESPN Andscape reported. ESPN's Jeremy Woo currently projects the 6-foot-5 guard as the seventh overall selection.

Brown averaged 18.2 points, 4.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds across 21 games this season before a lower back injury ended his year. Brown had a PER of 20.8. He missed 14 games, including both the ACC and NCAA tournaments.

"Obviously, it's just been a dream of mine to be able to be in this position," Brown said. "The little kid in me would freaking scream just to know that I have an opportunity to play at the highest level, which has been a dream of mine since I started picking up a basketball."

Brown delivered one of Louisville's most memorable individual performances on February 9, scoring 45 points against NC State. The effort tied Wes Unseld's 1967 program record and set a new ACC freshman scoring mark. Still, Brown considers his 29-point effort in a November victory over rival Kentucky his true breakout moment.

"That Kentucky game is when I felt like I just made a statement like, 'Hey, I'm here. I'm here to stay,'" Brown said.

Health remains the central question surrounding his draft stock. Brown said his back is improving with daily treatment and he expects to participate in predraft workouts and NBA Summer League in July. One NBA scout said Brown remains a projected top-10 pick despite the injury concern.

Brown consulted with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, a Louisville alumnus and seven-time All-Star, before declaring. Mitchell has served as a mentor since the two connected during Brown's junior year of high school. Brown will be represented by Seros Partners.