The 2026 NBA Draft begins Tuesday evening from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban—both former UConn stars—set for major next steps after trades finalized from earlier selections. Reed has moved through a chain that traces ba
The clock starts ticking at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and for two former UConn stars, the waiting has already turned into paperwork.
The NBA Draft is set to begin Tuesday evening from the Barclays Center. and the first names expected to surface across the next two nights belong to forward Alex Karaban and center Tarris Reed Jr. Both are coming off careers defined by UConn’s big-stage reach—Karaban completing four historic seasons in Storrs that included three Final Four appearances. Reed climbing NBA Draft boards after a dominant senior year.
Reed’s path, though, is already a lesson in how fast draft night can move. He was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers at No. 29 overall, but his draft rights were traded to the Sacramento Kings.
That connection matters because it follows what NBA front offices have been weighing for months: not just what Reed showed on the court, but what his measurements and production promise at the next level.
Before the board starts filling in around them, the draft’s early pick landscape is already populated. The first round, by the time the spotlight turns toward the mid-to-late picks, includes an expected front-loaded run of other names:
Washington Wizards — AJ Dybantsa Utah Jazz — Darryn Peterson Memphis Grizzlies — Cameron Boozer Chicago Bulls — Caleb Wilson Los Angeles Clippers — Keaton Wagler Brooklyn Nets — Mikel Brown Jr. Sacramento Kings — Darius Acuff Jr. Atlanta Hawks — Kingston Flemings Dallas Mavericks — Morez Johnson Jr. Milwaukee Bucks — Brayden Burries Golden State Warriors — Yaxel Lendeborg Oklahoma City Thunder — Aday Mara Miami Heat (traded to MIL) — Nate Ament Charlotte
Hornets — Hannes Steinbach Chicago Bulls — Dailyn Swain Memphis Grizzlies (traded to OKC) — Bennett Stirtz Oklahoma City Thunder (traded to DET) — Ebuka Okorie Charlotte Hornets — Christian Anderson Toronto Raptors — Allen Graves San Antonio Spurs — Jayden Quaintance Detroit Pistons (traded to MEM) — Karim Lopez Philadelphia 76ers — Labaron Philon Atlanta Hawks — Zuby Ejiofor New York Knicks (traded to LAL) — Cameron Carr Los Angeles Lakers (traded to NYK)
— Sergio de Larrea Denver Nuggets (traded to SAS) — Tarris Reed Jr. Boston Celtics — Chris Cenac Jr. Minnesota Timberwolves — Joshua Jefferson Cleveland Cavaliers (traded to SAC) — Alex Karaban.
The UConn story has become impossible to miss. and even the numbers from the college postseason are part of how teams are talking about Reed. Former Duke and NBA star Jay Bilas—who said he was just four years old the last time any player recorded 30 points and 25 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game—offered praise after Reed accomplished the feat against Furman in March.
Bilas described Reed in physical terms and in basketball terms at once: “He’s 6-foot-10. he’s got a 7-foot-4 wingspan. and he’s really strong and athletic. ” Bilas said on ESPN. “He scores mostly on the block, where he shot 60% from the field on post moves. He’s good in pick-and-roll situations, and really physical at the rim.”.
Reed was drafted No. 26 overall by Denver, but his draft rights were immediately traded to San Antonio. The UConn center will now team up with another former Husky in Stephon Castle and compete with fellow 2026 draft pick Jayden Quaintance to back up Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.
Even with the Reed trade details already in motion, the board is still full of moving parts. The first UConn player is officially off the board as the Denver Nuggets snagged Tarris Reed Jr. late in the first round.
Karaban’s moment is just as tightly tied to trade logic. The UConn forward is moving on after four historic seasons in Storrs. ESPN’s final mock draft had him projected to join the Sacramento Kings with the No. 34 overall pick, but the pick-and-trade chain on draft night kept changing what “likely” meant.
Karaban was set to land with the Kings as the Cleveland Cavaliers traded to Sacramento. The draft-night decisions are already reshaping how teams are filling needs—and how they’re balancing proven college production with what NBA athletic testing says about fit.
That balancing act is central to ESPN’s scouting framing on Reed and Karaban. ESPN wrote about Reed that “After making a strong case for himself by putting up three 20-plus-point games in the NCAA tournament. Reed has built momentum on the workout circuit and is trending toward the late first round. ” adding that his “mix of length. physical heft. rebounding instincts and offensive skill make him an appealing plug-and-play role player.” ESPN also said the Knicks were in search of frontcourt depth. with Mitchell Robinson a pending free agent. and that Reed’s “toughness would slot right in.”.
For Karaban, ESPN’s scouting profile emphasizes how teams will weigh his strengths and questions. ESPN wrote that teams must balance his proven 3-point shooting and “unparalleled collegiate success” against his age relative to other prospects and questions about his athleticism.
UConn coach Dan Hurley pushed back on those concerns with a builder’s argument: Karaban’s “championship pedigree” and willingness to embrace a role. Hurley’s quote landed on the kind of question teams face when they’re picking late in the first round: “If I’m a team in the top 20 and I’ve got a choice between a moderately more talented player that has questionable makeup in terms of building a championship or winning organization. ” Hurley said. “how do you pass on Karaban in the 20s if you have a chance to bring a grown-up. a professional. a championship-level player. a Cam Spencer-type of guy who’s 6-8. into your organization?. If you’re picking late in the first round, how do you not pick him?”.
The numbers Karaban brings to the table aren’t just reputation—they’re the measurable kind that NBA teams look for at the combine. The draft combine evaluation in May listed Karaban at 6 feet, 6.75 inches without shoes, 225.2 lbs, with a wingspan of 6-11. His vertical jump was measured at 28 inches.
For Reed, the combine measurements came with a different kind of weight and reach. Reed’s height was listed at 6 feet, 9.75 inches, his weight at 263.6 lbs, his wingspan at 7 feet, 4.25 inches, and his standing reach at 9 feet, 2 inches.
As the night moves forward. the rest of the Big East picture is already affecting what’s left on the board. The Hawks grabbed the conference’s player of the year in Zuby Ejiofor from St. John’s—an outcome that knocks another post player off the board. while potentially opening the door for Reed in the first round.
At the 10-pick mark, the draft had already left neither Reed nor Karaban selected yet. As the draft heads into the mid-to-late first round, the former UConn stars may start hearing their names called.
The draft is also pulling at another UConn decision that fans debated weeks ago. Possibly the most sought-after NBA prospect from last year’s UConn team, Braylon Mullins, opted not to enter the 2026 draft. He returned to Storrs for a second season instead. Mullins joined Dan Hurley’s program as a McDonald’s All-American and was widely expected to become a first-round pick. but the 6-foot-6 wing believed he needed another season of development.
“I think he already had his mind made up of what he had to do,” Mullins’ father, Josh, told CTInsider in April about his son’s decision. “It wasn’t anything I had to talk him into. He just said, ‘I kinda think I need another year.’”
That choice reshapes what teams are chasing this year—and it sits alongside how UConn has continued to produce draft-night volume. Hurley’s rebuilding of the program into a pipeline is reflected in numbers the article laid out: nine players to the draft over the previous five years. and 55 former Huskies selected in the NBA and ABA drafts since 1947. Centers Emeka Okafor and Hasheem Thabeet were listed as the highest-selected players to come from UConn, picked No. 2 overall in 2003 and 2007, respectively.
Here’s the list of every UConn player selected in the NBA Draft since Hurley took over the program in 2018:
Liam McNeeley — 2025 — 29 (1)
Stephon Castle — 2024 — 4 (1)
Donovan Clingan — 2024 — 7 (1)
Tristen Newton — 2024 — 49 (1)
Cam Spencer — 2024 — 53 (2)
Jordan Hawkins — 2023 — 14 (1)
Andre Jackson Jr. — 2023 — 36 (2)
Tyrese Martin — 2022 — 51 (2)
James Bouknight — 2021 — 11 (1)
Back on draft night, the timing stays sharp. The first round of the 2026 NBA Draft will begin on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET, airing on ABC and ESPN. The second round will be held on Wednesday with the same start time and broadcast information.
From here, the board still has plenty to fill. A full list of upcoming picks set to be made in the first round includes:
26. Denver Nuggets
27. Boston Celtics
28. Minnesota Timberwolves (from Detroit) (reportedly traded to Brooklyn)
29. Cleveland Cavaliers (from San Antonio via Atlanta)
30. Dallas Mavericks (from Oklahoma City via Washington and Philadelphia)
And as the Wizards stay on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick, the UConn thread remains the kind fans follow all the way through the confetti—because even when the draft rights change hands, the names that started it still carry the same question: who will land, and how quickly will they fit?
NBA Draft 2026 Tarris Reed Jr. Alex Karaban UConn Huskies Barclays Center live draft tracker Spurs Kings Cleveland Cavaliers Dan Hurley Jay Bilas