Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie is declaring for the 2026 NBA draft, agents CJ Ward and Mike Miller tell Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link).
Givony, who refers to the freshman as a projected first-round pick, says Okorie has “two feet in the draft,” but if the ACC’s leading scorer returns to college, it will be to Stanford.
Okorie confirmed the news on social media (Instagram link), and his announcement doesn’t say anything about maintaining his college eligibility, even though it sounds like he’ll be testing the draft waters.
A 6’2″ guard, Okorie had an incredibly productive freshman season for the Cardinal, averaging 23.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals on .465/.354/.832 shooting in 31 games (35.1 minutes per contest). He finished eighth in the country in scoring and only behind projected lottery picks AJ Dybantsa and Darius Acuff Jr. among freshman, writes Josh Dubow of The Associated Press.
“A year ago you guys took a chance on a kid from New Hampshire with zero high major offers, welcoming me with open arms and allowing me to be the best version of myself on and off the court,” Okorie wrote in thanking Stanford’s coaching staff.
Okorie comes in at No. 38 on ESPN’s latest big board, which would make him an early second-round pick, but he goes No. 21 overall in the latest mock draft from Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman, who says Okorie’s draft range appears to be wide, with a variety of opinions from scouts.