Aday Mara’s path to minutes in OKC, Spurs get Wemby some help and more fantasy basketball takeaways from the 2026 NBA Draft

The 2026 NBA Draft is in the books — if you missed my winners and losers breakdown from Round 1, go check that out. Now that the second round is complete and the full picture is clear, here are my overarching fantasy basketball takeaways across both nights of the 2026 NBA Draft.

Grabbing Kingston Flemings at No. 8 and Zuby Ejiofor at No. 23 overall gave the Hawks two players who can crack the rotation right away. Then they came back in Night 2, adding Henri Veesaar at 52nd overall. A 7-footer out of UNC who gives them additional center depth that many thought they would address with their first two picks. Stack that on top of the Aaron Wiggins trade, and you have a franchise that added four legitimate pieces to a playoff-caliber roster. From a fantasy perspective, Flemings is the priority target in dynasty drafts, but the depth Atlanta built could give them less incentive to bring back Jonathan Kuminga and former number one overall pick, Zaccharie Risacher.

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Aday Mara’s path to minutes could come sooner than we think

Mara landing in Oklahoma City alongside Chet Holmgren is already a scary defensive proposition. But the real fantasy intrigue is what happens with Isaiah Hartenstein’s contract this summer. With the Thunder in cost-cutting mode to duck the aprons, bringing in Mara could lessen the blow if they decide not to exercise their $28.5M team option for Hartenstein. Should they move on from Hartenstein, Mara’s path to meaningful minutes accelerates dramatically.

Hometown bias aside, I watched Philon tape all day and I’m sold on their choice at 22nd overall. Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe played the most minutes of any backcourt in the league last season — a workload that’s not sustainable long-term. The Jared McCain trade was under a different regime, led by Daryl Morey, so while I get the criticisms of getting an undersized, smaller-framed guard, the current front office recognized the need and addressed it. Philon was one of the best players, not just guards, in the NCAA at finishing near the rim, consistently kept defenders off balance and could walk into a sixth-man role immediately on a…

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Author : Dan Titus

Publish date : 2026-06-25 03:29:00

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