The NBA Draft Combine is in the rearview mirror and the clock is now ticking on every college player who declared. NCAA players have until 11:59 p.m. ET on May 27 to withdraw their names from the 2026 NBA Draft if they want to keep their eligibility.
That deadline is going to reshape the entire first round. The combine ran May 10 through 17 in Chicago, and the message coming out of Wintrust Arena was clear. Most of the top names are staying in. A few mid-first prospects are heading back to school. The rest are walking the tightrope between projected pick and projected free agency.
Michigan big man Morez Johnson was the first major name to make it official. He declared his intentions to stay in the draft on Tuesday after a strong showing at the combine. Johnson is in the mid-first round conversation and projects as a switchable defender with stretch upside. The Wolverines just lost their best frontcourt player less than a month after winning the national title.
The combine itself did not change much at the top. AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson are still the consensus top two prospects, and the Washington Wizards have a decision to make with the No. 1 pick they won in the lottery. ESPN’s latest mock has Dybantsa to Washington and Peterson to Utah at No. 2.
Dybantsa measured 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot wingspan at the combine. He is a wing scorer with all of the physical tools and a guard’s handle. Peterson is the more polished shooter and the more natural lead guard. Either one would be a legitimate franchise reset for the Wizards, who are coming off the worst record in the league.
The case for Dybantsa over Peterson at No. 1 keeps getting stronger. Wings with that size and creation ability are the most valuable archetype in the NBA. Peterson is going to be a high-level starter for a long time. Dybantsa has a higher ceiling.
Cameron Carr was the breakout name of combine week. The Tennessee freshman shot the lights out in scrimmages and tested well in athletic drills. He has shot up boards into the late first-round conversation. If he stays in, his decision is going to make Tennessee’s offseason a lot harder than it already is.
Cameron Boozer, the projected top-five pick, did not work out at the combine but is staying in. That has been clear since the lottery. The Duke product is already locked into the top portion of the lottery and has nothing to prove against other prospects.
The draft itself runs June 23 and 24. Between now and then, expect 10 to 15 borderline first-round prospects to pull their names back. The cost of getting drafted in the second round and getting a two-way contract is too high when one more college year could move them into the lottery. The NIL economics also keep college as a competitive option for the first time in modern draft history.
The Wizards’ biggest decision is not who to pick. It is what to do with the rest of the roster around their new star. Washington has dead cap space, no clear veteran leader, and a long road back. Dybantsa or Peterson is the start. The rebuild is years from finished.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
