Cameron Boozer Declares For 2026 NBA Draft
Duke star forward Cameron Boozer has declared for the 2026 NBA draft, according to the school (Twitter link).
Boozer is generally considered a lock to go in the top four of a loaded class after putting together a dominant freshman season in Durham. He averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game on shooting splits of .556/.391/.789.
Boozer was second in the country in total points, third in total rebounds, and tied for first in double-doubles. Despite being a natural power forward, he showed himself to be one of the better passers in the draft class and was often used by Duke as a play-making hub, finding open shooters while facing double teams.
For his efforts, he was named Associated Press Player of the Year and Consensus All-American while winning the Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year award as well as the Karl Malone Award, which recognizes the best power forward in the country.
The top of the draft is still considered somewhat open and team-dependent, with BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson also jockeying for the top pick. Caleb Wilson, out of UNC, is generally seen as not far behind the top three options, and could play himself higher with strong pre-draft workouts. Boozer ranks third on ESPN’s big board and was the No. 3 pick in Jonathan Wasserman’s latest mock draft for Bleacher Report.
While Boozer had one of the more impressive statistical freshman seasons in recent memory, he will look to answer questions surrounding his athleticism, defensive fit, and reliance on bully-ball for his offense as he goes through pre-draft workouts with teams.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker Named Most Improved Player
Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker has been named the NBA’s Most Improved Player for the 2025/26 season, the league announced today (Twitter link). It’s the second consecutive year in which an Atlanta guard has won the award, with Alexander-Walker joining ’24/25 winner Dyson Daniels.
A quality reserve valued for his defense during his time in Minnesota, Alexander-Walker signed with the Hawks in free agency last summer and took on a much larger offensive role with his new team, as his usage rate increased from 16.0% to 23.9%. Despite taking on more offensive responsibilities, the 27-year-old actually increased his shooting efficiency, setting new career highs in field goal percentage (45.9%), three-point percentage (39.9%), and free throw percentage (90.2%).
Alexander-Walker also boosted his scoring average from 9.4 points per game during his final season in Minnesota to 20.8 PPG with the Hawks while contributing 3.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per night. He started 71 of 78 games and logged a career-high 33.4 minutes per contest.
According to the NBA (Twitter link), among qualified players, Alexander-Walker is just the fifth one in the last 35 seasons to increase his scoring average by 11 or more points from one season to the next. He’s also only the third player to claim a Most Improved Player award in his seven season or later, per the Hawks, joining Julius Randle (2021) and Hedo Turkoglu (2008).
“Nickeil’s dedication, continual work on his craft, and the ensuing results this season make him incredibly deserving of this award,” Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said in a statement. “He has a tireless work ethic and a focus on improving in every aspect of his game. His game continues to evolve, and his commitment and unselfish attitude as a teammate have also positively impacted the success of the team.”
Alexander-Walker beat out a pair of players who made the leap from quality starter to star in 2025/26 — Pistons center Jalen Duren and Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija finished second and third in Most Improved Player voting, respectively, after earning their first All-Star nods this season.
Duren increased his scoring average from 11.8 PPG to 19.5 PPG and was the second-best player on a Pistons team that won 60 games. Avdija, who went from 16.9 PPG to 24.2 PPG and handed out a career-high 6.7 APG, was the top scorer and play-maker for a Blazers squad that snapped a four-year playoff drought.
Alexander-Walker received 66 first-place votes and 396 total points, with Duren claiming 23 first-place votes and 254 total points and Avdija getting seven first-place votes and 135 points. Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (three) and Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (one) earned the other first-place votes, though Celtics big man Neemias Queta was the fourth-place finisher, coming in one spot ahead of Rollins due to his 23 third-place votes.
Rockets guard Reed Sheppard, Suns guard Collin Gillespie, Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, Spurs guard Stephon Castle, Mavericks forward Naji Marshall, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, Rockets guard Amen Thompson, and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama also each showed up on at least one ballot.
The full voting results can be found right here (Twitter link).
Immanuel Quickley Ruled Out For Remainer Of First Round
Immanuel Quickley has been ruled out for the rest of the Raptors‘ first-round series against the Cavaliers, the team announced (Twitter link via Marc Stein).
Quickley missed the first three games of the playoffs due to a right hamstring injury. According to the team, he re-injured that hamstring during the course of his ramp-up process.
The Raptors’ release doesn’t provide a timetable for Quickley’s recovery or indicate whether he might return if the Raptors win the series, which they currently trail 2-1. The club simply states that his status will be updated “as appropriate.”
After an injury plagued 2024/25 campaign, Quickley played 70 games this season, averaging 16.4 points and 5.9 assists per contest. In his absence, Jamal Shead has started two playoff games, while Ja’Kobe Walter started Game 3, a 126-104 victory.
It’s unclear who will start in Quickley’s place moving forward, with Shead, Walter, and rookie Collin Murray-Boyles all potentially in the mix. Murray-Boyles was very effective in Game 3, scoring 22 points and adding eight rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench.
Darryn Peterson Declares For 2026 NBA Draft
Ahead of Friday’s deadline for early entrants to declare for the 2026 NBA draft, Kansas star Darryn Peterson has formally announced that he’ll put his name in this year’s draft pool (Instagram link).
While Peterson is no longer widely viewed as a frontrunner to be selected first overall this June, he remains a strong candidate to be one of the first players off the board. The 6’6″ guard averaged 20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.4 steals in 29.0 minutes per game as a freshman for the Jayhawks in 2025/26, posting a .438/.382/.826 shooting line and earning a spot on the All-Big 12 second team.
Health issues, including hamstring and ankle injuries and severe full-body cramping, limited Peterson to 24 games during his first and only college season, which was a major reason why he wasn’t able to cement himself as the top prospect in this year’s class. The 19-year-old has also faced some questions about his competitiveness, according to Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 (Twitter link), and didn’t display much play-making for a lead guard during his freshman year.
Still, Peterson is the No. 2 prospect on ESPN’s big board and also went second overall in the most recent mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Jeremy Woo of ESPN refers to him as the “most gifted scorer and shot-maker” in the 2026 draft class, and both Woo and Wasserman suggest there’s reason to believe he has more upside as an on-ball creator and passer than he got a chance to show with Kansas.
The pre-draft process will be important for Peterson, Woo notes, since teams will get a chance to look at his medicals and talk to him about the health issues he battled at Kansas.
Devin Booker Fined $35K For Criticizing Officials
Suns star Devin Booker has been fined $35K for his public criticism of the Game 2 referee crew, the NBA announced (via Twitter).
Following Wednesday’s loss, Booker was not shy in expressing his displeasure about receiving a technical foul, which he claimed was prompted by the Thunder’s Alex Caruso telling the referee to call it. The technical foul was rescinded after the game.
“In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James (Williams) was terrible tonight, through and through,” Booker said. “It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as a WWE if they’re not held responsible.”
Suns owner Mat Ishbia backed Booker up following the game, taking to Twitter to say that while the officiating wasn’t the reason they lost, it was still unacceptable.
“If the referees are going to demand respect from the players — as they should — then the players should demand respect from the referees,” Ishbia said. “When a referee is missing calls and clearly disrespecting the players, almost mocking them, they must be held accountable.”
The league said that following video review and inquiries, they “found no basis to any claim of bias or misconduct by game officials.”
Game 3 of the first-round series between the Suns and Thunder will be Saturday.
Nate Ament Declares for 2026 NBA Draft
Projected lottery pick Nate Ament has declared for the 2026 NBA draft, the freshman forward announced on Instagram.
Ament averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game for Tennessee in 2025/26 and was named to the All-SEC second team. The 6’10” forward struggled with efficiency over the course of the season, shooting 39.9% from the field and 33.3% from three despite being a capable shot-maker.
Ament found his rhythm towards the end of the season, putting together a 10-game stretch from January to mid-February in which he averaged 23.4 PPG and 6.5 RPG while hitting 38.1% of his 4.2 three-point attempts per game.
Ament is ninth on Jeremy Woo’s mock draft for ESPN and comes in at No. 8 on his big board. According to Woo, the 19-year-old likely won’t be able to come in and immediately contribute to winning at the NBA level, but has an interesting mix of fluidity and skill for his size. Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has Ament at No. 13 on his mock draft, citing the contrast between his potential as a three-level scorer and concerns about his lack of burst or strength.
Early entrants who won’t be automatically eligible have until the end of the day on Friday to declare for the 2026 NBA draft.
Jalen Williams Out With Grade 1 Hamstring Strain
2:30 pm: Williams has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 hamstring strain and will be reevaluated on a weekly basis, the Thunder announced today.
While it sounds like Williams may not return during the team’s first-round series vs. Phoenix, the good news is that a Grade 1 strain is the mildest form of the injury — it’s less severe than Grade 2 (a partial tear) or Grade 3 (complete tear) and doesn’t require as lengthy a recovery period.
According to Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes (Twitter link), the average time lost due to a Grade 1 hamstring strain is approximately 12.4 days.
6:48 am: The Thunder beat the Suns on Wednesday by a score of 120-107 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round series, but a third quarter injury put a damper on the victory. As Tim MacMahon of ESPN details, star forward Jalen Williams left the game and didn’t return after suffering an apparent left hamstring injury.
Williams seemingly tweaked the hamstring when he landed after attempting a layup on a fast break (Twitter video link via ClutchPoints). According to MacMahon, it appeared that the 25-year-old mouthed the words, “Left hammy” before taking an intentional foul moments later so he could check out of the game. He didn’t return and didn’t speak to reporters after the win, but head coach Mark Daigneault provided a brief update during his post-game media session.
“We think he aggravated his left hamstring,” Daigneault said. “We’ll take a look at it in the next couple of days, and we’ll update you guys appropriately.”
After earning All-NBA and All-Defensive honors in 2024/25, Williams has been plagued by health issues in ’25/26. His season debut was delayed as he recovered from wrist surgery and he had a pair of lengthy absences later in the season due to right hamstring issues. Overall, he was limited to 33 regular season appearances.
The defending champion Thunder are one of the league’s deepest teams and did just fine in Williams’ absence, going 39-10 in the games he missed (they were 25-8 when he played). Still, he was off to a great start in the postseason prior to the injury, scoring 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting on Sunday and then pouring in 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting on Wednesday before going down in the third quarter.
Oklahoma City’s chances of defending its title could take a hit if Williams requires an extended recovery period, but it’s not clear yet how serious the injury is.
“Any assumption about time (missed) is just hypothetical at this point, so I’m not going to comment on that,” Daigneault said, per McMahon. “But I thought he was playing great obviously. He was on the gas. He had great force. He was hitting shots. Got really good shots for his teammates, especially early. So yeah, he was playing an outstanding game.”
Celtics’ Derrick White Wins 2025/26 Sportsmanship Award
Celtics guard Derrick White has won the Sportsmanship Award for the 2025/26 season, the league announced today (Twitter link). It marks the second straight year in which a Boston guard has claimed the award, with Jrue Holiday taking it home a year ago prior to being traded to Portland.
The NBA’s Sportsmanship Award has been presented annually since 1995/96 and “honors a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court.”
Each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner. The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard – and current Pelicans head of basketball operations – who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96.
In addition to White, this year’s other finalists were Heat big man Bam Adebayo, Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, Warriors big man Al Horford, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Pacers guard T.J. McConnell.
McConnell finished as the runner-up and actually earned the most first-place votes, receiving 83 to White’s 77. However, the Celtics guard had the significant edge in second-place votes (113) over McConnell (72) and finished with 2,827 total points, comfortably beating out McConnell’s 2,566.
The full voting results can be found here.
While White has never been an NBA All-Star, the 31-year-old has built a strong career résumé that includes an NBA championship in 2024, a pair of All-Defensive second team nods (2023 and 2024), an Olympic gold medal (Paris 2024), and now a Sportsmanship Award.
AJ Dybantsa Entering 2026 NBA Draft
Potential No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa has formally announced that he’ll be entering the 2026 NBA draft pool (YouTube link).
A 6’9″ forward who spent his freshman year at BYU, Dybantsa led the nation with 25.5 points per game and scored those points relatively efficiently, making 51.0% of his shots from the floor (including 33.1% of his three-pointers) and 77.4% from the free throw line.
Dybantsa also contributed 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals in 34.8 minutes per game across his 35 outings for the Cougars. He was named a consensus first-team All-American, earned a spot on the All-Big 12 first team, and won the Julius Erving award, which is handed out to college basketball’s top small forward.
Dybantsa is the No. 1 pick in the latest mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, and while Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com had the BYU star at No. 2 in his most recent mock, he has since moved him to the top of his big board of 2026 prospects. According to Woo, Dybantsa has emerged as the player that NBA executives most frequently project to be the first overall pick in this year’s draft.
While Dybantsa still has some work to do in some areas – such as ball-handling, outside shooting, and defense, per Woo – he’s an elite offensive prospect who has excellent positional size and superstar upside. Wasserman notes that teams also like his intangibles, including his intensity, professionalism, and “alpha mindset.”
Early entrants who won’t be automatically eligible have until the end of the day on Friday to declare for the 2026 NBA draft.
Spurs’ Keldon Johnson Named Sixth Man Of The Year
For the second time in three days, a Spurs player has won a major award. After Victor Wembanyama was named the 2025/26 Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, Keldon Johnson has earned Sixth Man of the Year honors, the NBA announced today (Twitter link).
Coming off the bench in all 82 games for the 62-20 Spurs, Johnson averaged 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 23.3 minutes per game, posting a shooting line of .519/.363/.794. According to the league (Twitter link), he set a single-season franchise record by scoring 1,081 bench points, surpassing the mark previously set by Manu Ginobili, the only other Sixth Man of the Year winner in Spurs history.
Johnson epitomized the sixth man role by becoming the only NBA player in 2025/26 who appeared in all 82 games without making a single start, per the team.
Johnson earned 63 first-place votes and showed up on 96 out of 100 total ballots, accumulating 404 total points to beat out Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nuggets wing Tim Hardaway Jr., his fellow finalists. They finished second and third in the voting, respectively, with Jaquez receiving 34 first-place votes and 331 points, while Hardaway was a distant third (no first-place votes, 45 points).
In 75 games for the Heat, including 74 as a reserve, Jaquez averaged 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in 28.3 minutes per game, making 50.7% of his shots from the floor.
It’s fair to wonder how big an impact the delay in award voting had on the Sixth Man of the Year race. Because a handful of stars appealed to be ruled award-eligible despite not meeting the 65-game criteria, the NBA needed a little extra time to make decisions on those cases. Ballots weren’t sent out until last Thursday and and had to be submitted by Friday evening.
By that time, the Heat had been eliminated in a play-in game that Jaquez didn’t play especially well in (he made 5-of-14 field goal attempts). That prompted at least one voter – Bill Simmons of The Ringer – to admit that he changed his vote from Jaquez to Johnson, despite the fact that Sixth Man is a regular season award.
Outside of the three finalists, nine more players received at least one vote. Timberwolves big man Naz Reid (42 points) and Thunder wing Ajay Mitchell (29) rounded out the top five, while Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (28) was the only other player to show up on more than three ballots.
Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart, Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu, Raptors forward/center Sandro Mamukelashvili, Spurs guard Dylan Harper, and Raptors guard Jamal Shead also earned votes. The full results can be viewed here (Twitter link).