2026 NBA Draft: 5 first-round sleepers to watch

We spend all year debating the can’t-miss guys at the top of the NBA draft, and then a decade later we look up and realize so many of the players actually leading contenders were the prospects that don’t draw clicks. So here are five players that could become the 2026 version of the guy who slid too far:

Ebuka Okorie, 6-1, Stanford freshman guard

Okorie is the best driving guard in the class, a 6-foot-1 jitterbug who manipulates defenders with a tight handle, sudden changes of speed, and an advanced feel for the game. But in a loaded class of guards, Okorie is often projected to get picked last of the bunch — somewhere in the 20s. He has a lower draft stock in part because he’s not an above-the-rim athlete and he’s less proven as a shooter after making just 35% of his 3-pointers. Okorie also didn’t face the same level of competition as his peers.

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Not long ago, Okorie was a kid from New Hampshire who ranked outside the top 100 and committed to Harvard. Then Stanford found him, he flipped his commitment, and he proceeded to lead the ACC in scoring with eight 30-point games and a habit for hitting clutch shots. Teams will have to decide whether what carved up a less competitive conference will survive against the NBA. And against the competition he did face, he shined.

Stanford had an 11.9% turnover rate with Okorie on the floor and 20.5% with him off, the largest drop off in the entire nation, per CBB Analytics. He was a score-first player who took care of the ball and was the engine of the team. There are also plenty of indicators that he’ll figure out his jumper since he made over 80% of his free throws and over 50% of his floaters. Even without an elite jumper, he lived at the rim. Imagine what happens if defenses someday can’t dare him to shoot.

Allen Graves, 6-9, Santa Clara freshman forward

Graves was a point guard before a late growth spurt, and the floor skills carried over when he sprouted to 6-9. He came off the bench at Santa Clara as a…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/2026-nba-draft-5-first-round-sleepers-to-watch-174949797.html

Author : Kevin O'Connor

Publish date : 2026-06-01 17:49:00

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