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The 2026 NBA championship race is shaping up to be a thrilling, wide open chase between emergent young teams and established juggernauts, yet somehow it feels like the bottom of the league is getting more attention. The 2026 NBA Draft class is so strong that commissioner Adam Silver is in the process of rushing through lottery reform in an attempt to solve a purported tanking crisis. The fact that teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons quickly went from worst-to-first after landing the No. 1 pick in the draft in recent years makes the stakes even higher when the ping-pong balls bounce on May 10.
The NBA’s decision to flatten the lottery odds ahead of the 2019 draft has opened up the tank race to even more teams and resulted in some surprising winners in recent years. It happened again in our latest mock draft.
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We simulated the lottery with one spin of Tankathon to get the first-round order, and there were some major surprises. Three teams moved up at least six spots in the order. Seven teams fell at least two spots from their starting lottery position. Imagine the chaos if this is how the draft actually breaks.
After the lottery results shook up the order, the picks in this mock draft were based on how I think things will actually go, not necessarily what I would do. Let’s hit on some key themes after the jump.
Pick
Team
Player
Position
School
Age
1
Atlanta Hawks (via Pelicans)
AJ Dybantsa
Wing
BYU
Freshman
2
Brooklyn Nets
Darryn Peterson
Guard
Kansas
Freshman
3
Milwaukee Bucks
Cameron Boozer
Forward
Duke
Freshman
4
Golden State Warriors
Caleb Wilson
Forward
North Carolina
Freshman
5
Washington Wizards
Keaton Wagler
Guard
Illinois
Freshman
6
Los Angeles Clippers (via Pacers)
Yaxel Lendeborg
Forward
Michigan
Senior
7
Sacramento Kings
Kingston Flemings
Guard
Houston
Freshman
8
Utah Jazz
Brayden Burries
Guard
Arizona
Freshman
9
Dallas Mavericks
Darius Acuff
Guard
Arkansas
Freshman
10
Memphis Grizzlies
Jayden Quaintance
Center/Forward
Kentucky
Sophomore
11
Chicago Bulls
Mikel Brown Jr.
Guard
Louisville
Freshman
12
Portland Trail Blazers
Nate Ament
Wing
Tennessee
Freshman
13
Charlotte Hornets
Koa Peat
Forward
Arizona
Freshman
14
Miami Heat
Karim Lopez
Forward
NZ…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nba-mock-draft-2-recent-120000599.html
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Publish date : 2026-04-02 12:00:00
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