The NBA Draft is probably my favorite one of the four major American sports leagues, and Round 1 of the 2026 version is tonight from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. There may not be a Victor Wembanyama in this class, but there are thought to be at least four potential All-Stars. I have already looked at which players might go No. 5 to the LA Clippers and No. 4 to the Chicago Bulls and now examine the first three picks overall.
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The consensus is that it will be BYU forward AJ Dybantsa at No. 1 to Washington, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson No. 2 to Utah and Duke forward Cameron Boozer No. 3 to Memphis. Then that fourth potential All-Star, North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson at 4 to Chicago. All of them entered the draft after their freshman seasons.
That Dybantsa goes first is -700 (-424 on Monday), that Peterson goes second is -250 (was -140) and Boozer third -260 (was -155) at DraftKings.
Utah is known to absolutely covet Dybantsa from his in-state ties. So the Jazz might make a Godfather offer to Washington to move up one spot and get the hometown star.
If they got Dybantsa, Utah would have a truly scary frontcourt of him, trade acquisition and former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson, acquired in trade from Memphis last season, and Walker Kessler.
Last season for the Cougars, Dybantsa became the first Division I freshman in history to average at least 25 points, six rebounds and three assists and third freshman to lead the country in scoring. Trae Young was the last. BYU has never had a No. 1 overall pick, with Shawn Bradley at No. 2 in 1993 as the highest.
For what it's worth, Peterson only worked out for the Wizards, so maybe he knows something. Peterson averaged 20.2 points at Kansas, best-ever by a KU freshman, but missed 11 games with various injuries. Those were the most missed games for a potential No. 1 pick coming out of college since Kyrie Irving was taken by Cleveland after playing 11 games for Duke in 2011.
Peterson won't even meet with other teams, but this happened last year with Utah and Ace Bailey of Rutgers. The Jazz still took him at No. 5 overall. You hear talk that Bailey might be included in the package to move up to No. 1. But if not, No. 2 would be the highest Utah has ever picked. The last Kansas players taken in the top three were Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid in 2014.
Boozer, the National Player of the Year, can become the 11th top-three pick from Duke since 2011. No other school has produced more than four in that span. Boozer joined Larry Bird in 1976-77 as the only freshmen or sophomores to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in Division I history.
Memphis picks in the top five for the first time since taking Ja Morant second in 2019, and I'm doubting that Morant is still on the Grizzlies when the 2026-27 season tips off in October. He might get traded tonight.
Only one current Grizzlies first-round pick since 2020 has played for the team. That was big man Zack Edey in 2024-25, but only 11 games this past season before going down injured. All other Grizzlies first-round picks in that span have been dealt.
It's quite possible all of the top 10 picks came out after their freshman seasons, which has never happened. The previous record is nine in 2017 and 2025. The most taken in the lottery is 11 in 2017 and last year. It may be the second consecutive NBA Draft without an international player selected in the top 10 after Wembanyama went first in 2023 and fellow Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher first in 2024.
The last NBA Draft without an international player in the lottery was 2019. The highest-ranked player on the CBS Sports Big Board who didn't play college basketball is Mexican power forward Karim Lopez at No. 15. He is +270 to go top 10 but is the favorite to land at No. 17 overall, a pick held by Oklahoma City.
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Remember, this is the last NBA Draft before the new "3-2-1" lottery system goes into effect, which is supposed to prevent tanking after an NBA-record eight teams had at least 55 losses this past season. Now, the teams with the three worst records will have no greater than an 8.1% chance at the No. 1 pick. I do think it's a chalk top four tonight.
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