Final 2026 NBA Mock Draft: AJ Dybantsa to Wizards, Boozer and Peterson Battle for No. 2
With the 2026 NBA Draft set for June 23 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the mock drafts are finally narrowing into something resembling consensus. The Washington Wizards are taking AJ Dybantsa with the first overall pick. After that, things get messy.
Dybantsa is the easy call at No. 1. The BYU forward is a 6-foot-9 athlete with shooting range, defensive versatility, and the kind of off-ball gravity that translates immediately in the NBA. Wizards sources have not committed publicly, but every executive surveyed by ESPN and CBS Sports believes Washington takes him. The pick checks the high-floor and high-ceiling boxes that small market rebuilds need.
The Utah Jazz at No. 2 is where the consensus breaks down. Most mocks have them taking Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, who is the cleanest scoring guard prospect since Anthony Edwards. Peterson averaged just under 18 points per game as a freshman and showed the kind of three-level scoring that becomes a foundational piece. Some mocks have shifted to Cameron Boozer from Duke, the son of former NBA forward Carlos Boozer, who put up monster freshman numbers and projects as an instant-impact big man.
The Memphis Grizzlies at No. 3 are reportedly choosing between Boozer and Caleb Wilson, the North Carolina wing whose stock has risen steadily since the NBA Combine. Wilson is a long, switchable defender with developing playmaking, and Memphis already has Ja Morant in the backcourt. The fit makes sense.
The Chicago Bulls at No. 4 reportedly love Wilson but will not get to choose. They are likely to land whoever falls from the top three.
The biggest wildcard in the lottery is the Brooklyn Nets at No. 5. Sources have described their war room as full of contradictory information, which is league speak for there is genuine internal disagreement about how to use the pick. The Nets are reportedly fielding trade calls and could try to move up if Boozer falls.
One name to watch later in the first round is Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., who declared after averaging 18.2 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.3 rebounds as a freshman. Brown was a borderline lottery prospect entering the year and has worked himself into the late first round at minimum.
The end of the first round is widely considered the weakest in years, mostly because NIL money has kept marginal prospects in college. That makes the top six picks the entire show, and the Wizards just happen to be sitting at the top of it.
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.
