2027 NBA – With the 2026 NBA Draft now behind them, scouts are shifting to the 2027 class. A DraftKings- and RealGM-based order highlights a wide spread of prospects across lottery-level teams, with Caleb Holt, Bruce Branch III, and other early movers already capturing a
Scouts and front offices have hardly cooled off after the 2026 NBA Draft ended. Now, attention is moving to the 2027 class—right when it feels almost pointless to guess who will truly stand out.
Twelve months before these prospects will hear their names called, nobody can say for sure who will be “the top of the next class.” The gap between potential and the draft night reality is exactly why the forecast matters less than the shape of the race itself.
The early sense among experts is that the upcoming class isn’t nearly as stacked at the top as the 2026 group was. which featured AJ Dybantsa. Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer. Even so. there are still plenty of players who could soon become household names—on college courts. and eventually in the NBA.
Heading into the next season, here’s a quick look at the players to know across the lottery-order landscape, based on projected championship odds via DraftKings and accounting for trades and swaps via RealGM:
Sacramento Kings: Jordan Smith Jr. (Arkansas. Guard) Chicago Bulls: Bruce Branch III (BYU. Wing) Memphis Grizzlies: Caleb Holt (Arizona. Guard) New Orleans Pelicans (from MIL): Tyran Stokes (Kansas. Wing) Houston Rockets (from BKN): Braylon Mullins (UConn. Guard) Atlanta Hawks (from NOP): Cameron Williams (Duke. Big) Memphis Grizzlies (from UTA): Amari Allen (Alabama. Wing) Charlotte Hornets: Anthony Thompson (Ohio State. Forward) Washington Wizards: Alijah Arenas (USC. Guard) Houston Rockets (from PHX): Dylan Mingo (Baylor. Guard) Charlotte
Hornets (from DAL): Motiejus Krivas (Arizona. Big) Toronto Raptors: Stefan Joksimovic (Baskonia. Guard) San Antonio Spurs (from ATL): Hugo Yimga-Moukouri (Nanterre. Forward) Portland Trail Blazers: Thomas Haugh (Florida. Forward) Orlando Magic: Abdou Toure (Arkansas. Wing) Oklahoma City Thunder (from LAC): Miikka Muurinen (Arkansas. Forward) Golden State Warriors: Patrick Ngongba II (Duke. Big) Philadelphia 76ers: Jason Crowe (Missouri. Guard) Brooklyn Nets (from HOU): Brandon McCoy (Michigan. Guard) Utah Jazz (from CLE): Caleb Gaskins (Miami. Forward) Indiana
Pacers: Matt Able (North Carolina. Guard) Memphis Grizzlies (from LAL): Tyler Tanner (Vanderbilt. Guard) Detroit Pistons: Billy Richmond (Arkansas. Wing) Oklahoma City Thunder (from DEN): David Mirkovic (Illinois. Forward) Phoenix Suns (from MIN): Ivan Kharchenkov (Arizona. Wing) Charlotte Hornets (from MIA): Matas Vokietaitis (Texas. Big) Brooklyn Nets (from NYK): Luigi Suigo (Villanova. Big) Boston Celtics: Christian Collins (USC. Forward) Oklahoma City Thunder (from SAS): Cameron Houindo (Cedevita. Big) Los Angeles Clippers (from OKC): Tounde Yessoufou
(St. John’s, Wing).
The picture is wide: the draft order here stretches across guards. wings and big men. and it’s shaped by how teams could be positioned in the lottery—plus the way trades and swaps can reshuffle everything before selection night. Still. even with only one year to go. the names at the top of these projections give fans and evaluators a place to start watching now.
And for players, that early attention isn’t just buzz. It’s the beginning of a longer stretch of pressure—one that runs from college basketball and overseas opportunities to the day the draft clock finally starts counting down in real time.
2027 NBA Draft Caleb Holt Bruce Branch III DraftKings RealGM NBA prospects NBA scouts lottery projections