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The first round of the 2026 NBA Draft is in the books, and SB Nation draft expert Ricky O’Donnell graded every pick from the first round. A total of eight teams managed to nail the first round in his eyes, earning an A-grade or higher for their selections.
Grading was a blend of two factors: Where the player was on the NBA big board ahead of the draft, as well as the team fit. The perfect storm is this coming together to lead to an elite fit, which we saw last year as Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, and Kon Knueppel all earned A-grades a year ago, and turned into being pivotal players for their teams. So let’s dive into this year’s top picks and see if they can continue their path to NBA stardom.
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Cameron Boozer to the Memphis Grizzlies, No. 3 overall
Ricky’s take:
Grade A+
Best player in the draft. Boozer lacks vertical explosiveness and some shake in the middle of the floor, but he’s excellent at just about every aspect of basketball. He was unanimously considered the best player in college hoops, despite also being one of the youngest, which is the ultimate sign of star potential. This is reminiscent of Luka Dončić slipping to the third pick in 2018, though in this case, Dybantsa and Peterson are much better than DeAndre Ayton and Marvin Bagley. I still think Boozer was in a class of his own at this draft because of his special processing, knockdown three-point shooting, monster rebounding, powerful isolation driving, and ability to find open teammates as a passer all over the floor.
It’s astonishing that such a brilliant, do-everything facilitator from a proven Duke program fell to No. 3 overall solely because of a perceived lack of upside. This was a home-run pick for the Grizzlies, who not only get the best player in this class — but someone who can be a culture-shaping player in Memphis.
Caleb Wilson to the Chicago Bulls, No. 4 overall
Ricky’s take
Grade: A
This was the easiest pick in the draft. Wilson turned the big three into a big four during an electric freshman year at North Carolina, where he established himself as the draft’s most explosive athlete. Wilson dunked the hell out…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nba-draft-grades-8-picks-184913128.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-24 18:49:00
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