May 27 – As the 2026 NBA Draft decision deadline approaches, measurements and scrimmages at the Chicago scouting combine have shifted teams’ evaluations across lottery and beyond—while prospects weigh whether to withdraw or keep their collegiate eligibility through May
In Chicago. the drills ended and the numbers started doing what they always do in draft season: separating a “maybe” from a “lock.” For a growing list of early entry candidates in the 2026 class. the combine’s athletic testing and five-on-five pre-draft scrimmages have already rewritten internal rankings.
Talent evaluators watched 75 total players participate in the combine drills, with dozens more taking part in the G League Combine. For some prospects, the new data was confirmation. For others. it was a late push—showing up where workouts are supposed to matter most right before the first major decision deadline.
Players can remain as early entry draft candidates through 11:59 p.m. ET on May 27 if they want to maintain their collegiate eligibility or can return to college. With that clock running, here are the latest combine takeaways that have teams paying attention to specific names.
The Washington Wizards. coming off the worst record in the NBA and a lottery win. have an obvious fit in AJ Dybantsa. Draft age 19, the Massachusetts wing measured 6-9 with a 7-1 wingspan (+4). The Wizards also finished with the second-worst offense in the league. and their appeal to Dybantsa is tied to what he did before the combine—scoring 35 points and 10 rebounds in one game for BYU in March Madness. Dybantsa was the NCAA scoring champion and the Julius Erving Award winner. and he led the nation in unassisted points scored with 680 by a wide margin this season. per CBB Analytics. He scored 40 points against Kansas State in the Big 12 Tournament on March 10 and averaged 28.8 points per game over his final 17 appearances.
The Utah Jazz, meanwhile, are dealing with a decision that’s less tidy on paper. Utah has Cameron Boozer on the radar as a potential No. 2 overall target. A Duke forward from Florida. Boozer is draft age 18. measured 6-8 with a 7-2 wingspan (+5). and he earned national collegiate player of the year honors during his first NCAA season. He also came through athletic testing in Chicago. and the pitch for Utah is consistency and a diverse skill set. backed by winning culture from high school championships and an elite Duke team that made the Sweet 16. Utah also has an added wrinkle: Boozer’s father, former Jazz player Carlos Boozer, works as a scout for Utah. Even with the positional fit questioned, the Jazz are building a stronger core after trading for Jaren Jackson Jr. and drafting Ace Bailey.
Still, some executives see the top of the board changing shape. One general manager told Jake Fischer that “every team” is going to have North Carolina freshman Caleb Wilson over either Dybantsa. Boozer. or Darryn Peterson. Yahoo’s Kevin O’Connor reported that some front office executives view Wilson with “similarly high upside” as Darryn Peterson. but with “dramatically lower downsides” than the guard. The Memphis Grizzlies are unafraid to draft away from consensus and tend to like analytically-friendly prospects. making them a potential match for that thinking.
Wilson’s own case is rooted in production before injury. North Carolina’s big (draft age 19) from Georgia measured 6-9 with a 7-0 wingspan (+3). According to Bart Torvik. before the injury. the All-ACC big man led the nation with 67 dunks and tested as one of the best vertical athletes at the combine in Chicago. He was also the only player under 20 years old to reach specific thresholds for both block. steal. and defensive rebound percentage.
In the Kansas slot. the decision framework remains simple—Bryson Graham’s job. as newly hired executive vice president of basketball operations for the Bulls. is to pick the best player among four options still on the board. Darryn Peterson is still viewed by many scouts as the most talented in the class. even if he’s no longer treated as a near-certain No. 1 overall. ESPN’s Jeremy Woo said Peterson has received “largely positive” feedback and was “quiet but serious” during the pre-draft interview process of the combine. Peterson’s appeal is efficiency paired with high usage; it’s described as rare to find a prospect who scores as efficiently as he did while maintaining the usage rate he posted this season.
Further down, the early entry market is showing how quickly measurement and scrimmage performance can make a difference. The Los Angeles Clippers, holding the No. 5 overall pick after receiving it from the Indiana Pacers, are looking at Kingston Flemings as a potential call. Flemings is a Houston freshman guard (draft age 19) from Texas, measured 6-3 with a 6-4 wingspan (+1). He has games with at least three steals, including eight against Arizona State earlier this season. He scored 42 points against No. 11 Texas Tech on Jan. 24, and helped lead Houston to the Sweet 16. His combine testing included a 40.5-inch max vertical and elite speed across all his agility work.
The Brooklyn Nets, in a rebuilding chapter, are the kind of team that values production that can translate quickly. Keaton Wagler, the Illinois guard (draft age 19), measured 6-5 with a 6-6 wingspan (+1). Wagler played a crucial role in earning a Final Four spot. where he recorded 20 points and 8 rebounds against UConn in the national semifinals. and he also dropped 25 points in the Elite Eight. He projects as one of the best 3-point shooters in the class. shooting 39.7 percent from beyond the arc as a freshman. including games with as many as nine 3-pointers. The Big Ten Rookie of the Year averaged 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. with the caveat that his athletic limitations exist.
At No. 7, the Sacramento Kings are being discussed as actively targeting Darius Acuff Jr. Yahoo’s Kevin O’Connor reported that league circles “widely believe” the Kings are targeting Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr. Acuff Jr., a guard from Michigan (draft age 19), measured 6-2 with a 6-7 wingspan (+5). The SEC Player of the Year led the nation for points created. totaling 1. 394 either by himself or through an assist. per CBB Analytics. He also led freshmen for field goals made in transition (72) and field goals made from both the left and right side of the court. and he ranked among the freshmen leaders in alley-oop assists with 17. Defensive issues are a noted concern. but his offensive upside is presented as one of the most exciting in recent memory. Kings executive Scott Perry also coached Acuff’s father in college.
The draft picture extends beyond guards and into fit questions that teams will try to answer with testing. The Atlanta Hawks, picking at No. 8 via the New Orleans Pelicans, have Brayden Burries in their range. Burries, an Arizona wing (draft age 20) from California, measured 6-4 with a 6-6 wingspan (+2). His combine push is framed by Big Dance moments: he made the Final Four and dropped 23 points against Arkansas. He had two breakout games in January and solidified his draft stock after. March production followed—he scored 31 points with seven rebounds and five steals against Colorado on March 7. and he put up 20 points with 12 rebounds and five assists in a win over No. 14 Kansas on Feb. 28. The description of his skill set includes defense, relocation, ball movement, and 3-pointers off the dribble.
In Dallas, the story centers on team needs that don’t hide. The Mavericks had the worst offensive rating in the Western Conference. After hiring Masai Ujiri, they could benefit from Yaxel Lendeborg, a Michigan forward from New Jersey. Lendeborg is listed as a forward (draft age 23) measured 6-9 with a 7-3 wingspan (+7). He’s described as possibly the most NBA-ready player in the class after showing his value on the way to a national championship. Michigan’s Big Ten Player of the Year offers a blend on both ends. with “stocks” production (steals plus blocks) and a plus wingspan—traits Ujiri is said to love. He is also older than many first-round projections, but his college impact is presented as undeniable.
The Milwaukee Bucks at No. 10 are being linked to Mikel Brown Jr., a Louisville guard (draft age 20) from Florida, measured 6-4 with a 6-8 wingspan (+4). The connection is straightforward: Milwaukee “must simply draft the best player available,” and Brown Jr. is highlighted on the team’s big board. He has deep shooting range and ranked among freshmen leaders in 3-pointers made from beyond 25 feet (27) this season. per CBB Analytics. Brown averaged 29.2 points per game over his last five appearances, including a 45-point game against NC State on Feb. 9 with 10 makes from beyond the arc. An injury on Feb. 28 forced him to miss March Madness. ESPN’s Jeremy Woo said some scouts feel Brown has the highest “upside” of the guards in this range.
Across the international pipeline, the Golden State Warriors are looking at Karim López as the No. 11 target. The Warriors’ prospect is a Mexico-born forward (draft age 19) playing in Australia, measured 6-8 with a 7-0 wingspan (+3). His profile is tied to production despite low usage. He was playing for the NBL Next Stars program and is described as universally seen as the top overseas prospect in this class. His standout game came against Melbourne on Jan. 30: 32 points on 11-of-13 shooting, with eight rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. Despite his age. López played a large defensive role for a team that won the NBL Ignite Cup. with a listed weight just shy of 222 pounds and a 38-inch max vertical.
The Oklahoma City Thunder at No. 12 have their own big-man philosophy. After winning the 2025 NBA Finals, OKC could add another lottery-caliber option like Michigan center Aday Mara. Mara is a 7-foot-3 center (draft age 21) from Spain, measured 7-3 with a 7-6 wingspan (+3). OKC is described as tending to like low-usage big men with high assist percentages alongside high block and steal percentages. Mara’s rim protection is framed with a specific number: opponents attempted 20.4 percent of their field goals at the rim when he was on the court. per CBB Analytics. which ranks near the lowest among all NCAA players. He transferred from UCLA. helped lead his team to an NCAA championship. and is listed as measuring a 9-foot-9 standing reach—something teams could look at when considering the positioning of Victor Wembanyama.
The early entry debate also includes prospects who are signaling how final their decisions are. At No. 20, San Antonio Spurs (via Hawks) have Ebuka Okorie from Stanford. Okorie is a guard (draft age 19) born in New Hampshire, measured 6-1 with a 6-8 wingspan (+7). He is described as an early entry candidate for the 2026 NBA Draft. a first-team All-ACC guard and a day-one starter in the NCAA. The profile notes he could earn rotation minutes for a team like the 76ers. Okorie averaged 23.2 points per game and recorded 40 points against conference rival Virginia Tech. plus seven other games with at least 30 points. His assist-to-turnover ratio is cited as 2.3. The most concrete signal in the material is what he told reporters: “no chance” he is returning to school next season.
All of these cases share a common thread: the deadline is close, and teams are trying to avoid guessing. A sequence emerges when the combine’s testing and scrimmage moments are placed beside roster needs—Washington’s offense. Utah’s search for consistency. and Dallas’s offensive rating all show how the draft is being treated like a timing problem as much as a talent problem.
Some prospects are already stepping away from the idea of returning. Dailyn Swain, listed at No. 22 for the Philadelphia 76ers (via Rockets). told reporters he is “two feet in” about turning pro and decided to withdraw from the second day of pre-draft scrimmages. Swain transferred from Xavier to Texas during the offseason. led his team to the Sweet 16. is a wing (draft age 20) from Ohio. measured 6-7 with a 6-10 wingspan (+4). and is described as versatile with production on both sides of the ball. scoring well in the paint and on fastbreaks. The material also emphasizes his one-on-one efficiency in isolation and his 81.5 percent free-throw percentage.
At No. 23 for the Atlanta Hawks (via Cavaliers), Chris Cenac Jr. is a Houston big (draft age 19) born in Louisiana, measured 6-10 with a 7-5 wingspan (+7). Cenac had an up-and-down season but got hot at the right time: he recorded 18 rebounds in his first game in the Big Dance. plus a 3-pointer and a steal. In the Round of 32, he had 17 points against Texas A&M, and in the Sweet 16 he managed 10 rebounds. He told reporters he is “fully committed” to the NBA Draft. and the combine measurements included a 37-inch max vertical and impressive agility.
In the later picks, more prospects are balancing draft readiness with the possibility of going back to school. Allen Graves, at No. 24 for the New York Knicks, is Santa Clara forward from Louisiana (draft age 20), measured 6-8 with a 7-0 wingspan (+4). He declared early entry for the 2026 NBA Draft but also entered his name in the transfer portal. with a possibility of returning to college. If he returns. he is reportedly most seriously considering LSU and Duke. and the material adds that Kentucky also reached out to his agents.
Health and uncertainty remain part of the equation too. Jayden Quaintance, at No. 25 for the Los Angeles Lakers, is a Kentucky big (draft age 18) born in Ohio, measured 6-9 with a 7-5 wingspan (+8). The material says he recorded just one start during his sophomore campaign after recovering from a torn ACL. meniscus. and fractured knee. Evaluators also focus on the talent when he’s healthy—he’s described as arguably the most talented defender in the draft class—but his availability is clearly a question.
By the time May 27 arrives at 11:59 p.m. ET, each of these prospects will have to decide how to treat their college eligibility and their leverage. The combine didn’t settle everything, but it narrowed what teams feel comfortable with. In draft rooms, comfort matters—especially when the first withdrawals start ticking in the background.
2026 NBA Draft NBA Combine early entry deadline May 27 2026 AJ Dybantsa Cameron Boozer Darryn Peterson Caleb Wilson draft prospects