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.
Injury Notes: Durant, Reaves, Embiid, Edwards, Gordon
Kevin Durant will miss Game 3 for the Rockets on Friday due to a left ankle sprain, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (via Twitter). Durant had previously been listed as questionable after suiting up for Game 2’s loss. He missed Game 1 due to an unrelated knee injury.
Before the announcement of Durant’s status, head coach Ime Udoka said that if Durant couldn’t play, Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason would fill out the starting five alongside Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, and Jabari Smith Jr., per Yahoo’s Kelly Iko (Twitter link). Sharania notes (via Twitter) that this would be the second-youngest starting lineup in playoff history.
According to The Athletic’s Will Guillory (via Twitter), Udoka said the team is looking at using more small-ball units in Game 3, which could mean that Dorian Finney-Smith sees his first action of the postseason.
On the Lakers’ side of the injury report, guard Austin Reaves has been ruled out as well, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). Head coach JJ Redick told reporters during his pregame media session that Reaves would go through warm-ups at 5:45 pm local time and that the team would make a decision on his availability at that point (Twitter link via McMenamin).
Reaves, who has been sidelined since April 2 with an oblique injury, has been doing full-contact five-on-five work, Redick said (Twitter link via Dan Woike of The Athletic). It sounds like he’ll have a decent chance to play in Game 4.
We have more injury notes from around the league:
- Joel Embiid is out for the Sixers in Game 3 against the Celtics on Friday, Tim Bontemps writes for ESPN. The star center, who underwent an emergency appendectomy earlier this month, had previously been upgraded to doubtful, but isn’t yet cleared to return. “He’s just not ready,” coach Nick Nurse said pregame. “He’s lifted some, he’s got on court a bit, but we’re still at two weeks and a day, I think. So we’re just not ready yet.”
- Anthony Edwards is not on the injury report for the Timberwolves‘ Game 4 on Saturday, the team announced (via Twitter). He had previously been listed as questionable for each of the first three games of the series due to a knee ailment. “I think it’s definitely still something that we’re managing and he’s managing but all signs are pointing that it is getting better,” coach Chris Finch said when asked about the injury.
- The Nuggets are in must-win territory as they go into Game 4 down 2-1, but they still lack clarity on Aaron Gordon‘s status. According to ESPN’s Anthony Slater (Twitter link), the versatile forward is listed as questionable after doing a walk-through at practice and icing his calf. Gordon missed Game 3 due to calf tightness. Another injured Nuggets wing, Peyton Watson, remains out for Game 4 due to his hamstring strain, Slater adds.
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).
Knicks Notes: Bridges, McBride, Robinson, Hart, Fouls
The Knicks‘ loss to the Hawks in Game 3 on Thursday was a team effort, but the most notable aspect was the performance of Mikal Bridges, who went scoreless in 20 minutes, with more turnovers (four) than steals, assists, rebounds, and points combined.
Head coach Mike Brown isn’t benching Bridges, but he came closer to doing so on Thursday, as he was replaced for most of the second half by Miles McBride, Vincent Goodwill writes for ESPN.
While McBride was one of the few Knicks hitting shots, Bridges looked out of sorts, lacking confidence or intentionality, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. After the NBA’s iron man was benched two minutes into the third quarter, Brown put him back on the court to start the fourth quarter. His one attempt to make a play with the ball ended in a turnover, and he was pulled once again in favor of McBride.
“I’ve got to take it on the chin, handle it how I’m supposed to and be ready for the next one,” Bridges said. “You know, it’s going to suck. It is what it is. I’ve just got to be better to help my team out there.”
Determining whether to replace Bridges with McBride in the starting lineup will be a crucial decision, according to Ian Begley of SNY, who notes that the Knicks have been getting off to slow starts and says they can’t afford to do so in Game 4 on Saturday.
Brown isn’t committing to a change yet, but he’s also not ruling anything out, per James L. Edwards III at The Athletic. The Knicks’ coach told reporters on Friday that the lineup for Game 4 would be a game-time call.
We have more from the Knicks:
- New York has struggled to get backup center Mitchell Robinson involved in this series despite his importance to the team throughout the year. Brown hasn’t been able to find ways to use him, especially with Karl-Anthony Towns playing well, Andrew Crane writes for The Post. On Thursday, Robinson played just 11 minutes and finished the game with four rebounds. Crane notes it’s only the seventh game all year in which the big man recorded four or fewer boards. When asked what he was looking for in terms of using Towns and Robinson together, Brown said the two-big lineup “has to fit offensively and defensively over the course of a ball game,” per Begley (Twitter link), adding that it’s been hard to find the right matchups to roll it out against.
- Josh Hart also struggled on offense in Game 4, recording just two points on 1-of-9 shooting in 40 minutes. However, he has still managed to be the Knicks’ most important player through three games, Edwards writes. His defense on Jalen Johnson and CJ McCollum has been crucial for keeping the Knicks in a series they might otherwise be trailing 3-0, and he remains an elite rebounder, averaging 12.0 per contest through three games. If the Knicks are going to make it out of the first round, they’ll need even more from him, Edwards says. More importantly, they need the rest of the team to play with as much hustle and determination as their versatile, undersized forward.
- While a majority of the Knicks’ issues have been either self-inflicted or the result of the Hawks’ tough defense and shot-making, Brown is also frustrated with a lack of calls for his players as they drive to the basket. “When they close out hard, we gotta drive the basketball. I do think it’s a tough game for the officials to officiate,” Brown said. “But I know we got fouled on a few of the drives that didn’t get called. It’s tough to see 20-26 [free-throw discrepancy] in a one-possession game when you know for sure there were a couple of fouls that should’ve been called.”
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.
Lakers Notes: Ayton, Doncic, Smart, Redick, Reaves
Lakers center Deandre Ayton scored just six points in Tuesday’s win over Houston and wasn’t part of the team’s closing lineup in the fourth quarter. However, Ayton was upbeat when he spoke to the media on Thursday and head coach JJ Redick has raved about the work the big man is doing that doesn’t necessarily show up on the stat sheets, writes Dan Woike of The Athletic. That includes setting screens, switching on defense, and boxing out on rebounds.
“We love giving DA praise,” Redick said. “We love to give him — I mean, when he does what we ask him to do, he should get all the praise in the world. Again, he’s the former No. 1 pick, and he’s doing a lot of thankless work at times, so we always praise him for that.”
According to Redick, the decision to sit Ayton for the final five minutes of the Lakers’ Game 2 victory was less about anything he did wrong and more about how well backup center Jaxson Hayes was playing down the stretch.
“(Ayton’s) been a big key in both these games. Defensively, I thought (he) was really good in the second half of Game 2 and had played a ton down the stretch — or to start the fourth, he had had a really long run,” the Lakers’ coach said. “And that was during a stretch where there wasn’t a lot of dead balls. I told him I was going to get him out real quick, get him back in, and then Jaxson just played great.
“DA and I had a conversation today, like, ‘You didn’t do anything wrong, it’s not the reason you didn’t finish the game.’ It was just a group out there was winning, and Jaxson was doing a great job. But we can’t win at the level we want to win without those two guys playing great.”
Here are a few more notes on the Lakers:
- Although Luka Doncic was deemed award-eligible after coming up just short of the 65-game criteria, the Lakers star wasn’t among the finalists for this season’s Most Valuable Player award, meaning he didn’t finish in the top three in voting. Speaking before Game 2 (YouTube link), Redick said he was “disappointed” by that outcome and chalked it up to other candidates having more “media momentum” down the stretch. “I think he deserved to be there,” Redick said, “(but) I think all three guys that did end up being the finalists had a strong case.”
- The Lakers were taking a bit of a gamble when they signed Marcus Smart last summer after the guard had been limited to 54 regular season appearances across the previous two seasons due to injuries, but he has rewarded their faith in him, writes Melissa Rohlin of The California Post. “It’s easy to write somebody off as being older or not being as good,” Redick said. “But all of the analytics defensively, the analytics as a secondary play-maker, they were all really favorable. So, we felt really comfortable bringing him on board.” For his part, Smart is appreciate of the opportunity to be starring in the postseason again, telling Rohlin that the chance to “go out here and redeem myself is the best feeling you can have.”
- The Lakers look like the better-coached team through the first two games of their first-round series, according to Mirjam Swanson of The Los Angeles Times, who suggests that Redick is making a strong case that he’s the right coach for the playoffs.
- In case you missed it, guard Austin Reaves – out since April 2 with a strained oblique – is listed as questionable for Game 3 on Friday. “My understanding is Austin Reaves is trying to play in Game 3 tonight,” ESPN’s Shams Charania said on NBA Today on Friday (Twitter video link). “If not Game 3, then Game 4.”
Free Agent Stock Watch: Detroit Pistons
For the rest of the regular season and postseason, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players who will be free agents – or could become free agents – during the 2026 offseason. We’ll consider whether each player’s stock is rising or falling due to his performance and several other factors.
Today, we’re focusing on a handful of Pistons players, starting with an All-NBA candidate who had a breakout fourth season in Detroit.
Koa Peat, Henri Veesaar Among Players Entering Draft
Arizona freshman forward Koa Peat has declared for the 2026 NBA draft, formally announcing his decision on social media (Instagram link).
A 6’8″ forward, Peat earned a spot on the All-Big 12 third team and the conference’s All-Freshman team after averaging 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 27.8 minutes per game across 36 outings (all starts) in 2025/26. The 19-year-old made 52.8% of his field goal attempts, though he wasn’t much of a threat from beyond the arc (7-of-20) and hit just 62.3% of his free throws.
Peat scored at least 14 points in all five of the Wildcats’ games in the NCAA tournament and had a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) in the Final Four loss to Michigan, though he converted just 6-of-18 shots from the floor in that game.
Peat is considered a probable first-round pick, ranking 21st on ESPN’s big board and coming in at No. 22 in Bleacher Report’s most recent mock draft. According to Jeremy Woo of ESPN, NBA scouts like Peat’s physicality, toughness, and defensive IQ, but aren’t sure how his offensive game will translate to the NBA.
Here are more updates on draft decisions ahead of Friday night’s deadline for early entrants:
- Duke guard/forward Dame Sarr, the No. 31 player on ESPN’s top-100 list, will return to school for his sophomore season rather than testing the draft waters, according to the Blue Devils (Twitter link). Sarr averaged 6.4 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 38 games (30 starts) as a freshman while earning a place on the ACC’s All-Defensive team.
- Estonian center Henri Veesaar had one more year of college eligibility remaining, but he intends to enter the draft and go pro, reports Matt Norlander of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Veesaar spent three seasons, including one redshirt year, at Arizona before playing for UNC in 2025/26. He had a breakout year for the Tar Heels, averaging 17.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 1.2 BPG on .608/.426/.615 shooting, and is the No. 45 player on ESPN’s board.
- Alba Berlin point guard Jack Kayil and KK Mega Basket center Pavle Backo are entering their names in the 2026 draft, their respective agents tell Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter links). As Givony points out, Kayil has already committed to Gonzaga for the 2026/27 season but the German guard is testing the NBA draft waters as well.
- After spending his first three college seasons at Drexel, guard Shane Blakeney is declaring for the NBA draft while maintaining his final year of NCAA eligibility, agent Kevin Martin announced (via Instagram). If Blakeney withdraws from the draft pool, the plan is for him to transfer to South Carolina, as the Gamecocks officially confirmed (Twitter link).
Magic Notes: Game 2 Loss, Da Silva, Isaac
The Magic beat the Pistons in Game 1 of their series on Sunday, then were tied halfway through Game 2 and held Detroit to 14 fourth-quarter points on Wednesday. However, a disaster of a third quarter in which the Pistons opened on a 30-3 run and outscored Orlando 38-16 cost the Magic a shot at a 2-0 series lead as they head back home.
“You can’t just flush it and act like nothing happened,” Magic forward Paolo Banchero said after Wednesday’s loss, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). “You’ve got to go back and watch it, see what went wrong, both sides of the rock and learn from it, for sure. We know what type of series it’s going to be. It’s going to be an ugly, gritty series, and you just can’t let your guard down and let them go on runs like that.”
As ugly as that third quarter was, the Magic were glad to be able to win one of the first two games in the series in Detroit and still feel confident as they head home looking to take a 2-1 lead in Saturday’s Game 3, as Beede writes in a story for the Orlando Sentinel (subscription required). Franz Wagner told reporters the Magic are very comfortable at the Kia Center, where they went 25-15 during the regular season, while Desmond Bane identified three-point shooting (8-of-32 in Game 2) and second-chance shots (0-for-11) as areas for improvement on Saturday.
“We had good opportunities — multiple chances of put-backs, multiple chances of dagger threes — and some nights you just don’t make shots,” Bane said. “I anticipate us making more shots throughout the series.”
Let’s round up a few more notes on the Magic…
- Orlando’s season appeared to be on life support last Friday as the team prepared to face the Hornets, one of the NBA’s hottest teams, in a do-or-die play-in game for the final playoff spot in the East. Ohm Youngmiusk of ESPN takes a look at how a film session that morning featuring a highlight reel of several Magic players’ big moments in NCAA tournaments helped remind the team of what it’s capable of. “It makes everybody feel a bit better,” guard Jalen Suggs told Youngmisuk. “You remember where you came from. Mose (head coach Jamahl Mosley) is really good at that, giving us reminders of who we are, our complete basketball journey, not just whether it be the frustrations or the heaviness of right now.”
- As a rookie last spring, Tristan Da Silva logged just five minutes in two playoff appearances for the Magic and failed to score a point. This time around, the second-year forward is playing a key rotation role, averaging 19 minutes through the first two games of the series. According to Beede (subscription required), Da Silva said 2025’s brief postseason run was a good learning experience despite his lack of playing time. “Even being really up close last year and being able to see the level of focus, the level of preparation that goes into it and the level of play that’s at hand (and now) being able to experience that first-hand and playing, it’s a fun experience,” he said.
- Magic forward Jonathan Isaac has been sidelined since March 12 due to a left knee sprain, but he was upgraded to doubtful for Game 2 before being ruled out, tweets Beede, which suggests his return may not be off. Even if Isaac is activated, it’s unclear whether he’d play at all during Orlando’s first-round series vs. Detroit after such a long layoff.
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.