Suns Notes: Maluach, Peat, Booker
Former Duke center Khaman Maluach didn’t play much for the Suns as a rookie after being drafted 10th overall in last year, averaging 3.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per game across 46 appearances. He got more playing time at the G League level, averaging 16.5 PPG, 12.7 RPG and 2.5 BPG in 11 contests (30.3 MPG).
Still just 19 years old, the 7’1″ big man from South Sudan starred for Phoenix’s Summer League team in Las Vegas, putting up 19.5 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 2.0 BPG and 1.3 SPG in four games (27.4 MPG). He also showed improvement with his outside shot, converting 8-of-20 attempts from three-point range (40.0%).
Speaking to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, Maluach said he’s been working on improving his hands, rebounding and decision-making in the pocket this summer. He knows he’ll have to provide a strong interior presence to earn playing time in year two.
“Rebounding. Playing defense. That’s what our team needs,” Maluach said. “I got to show what our team needs and show I can do it now and keep on getting better. I can’t repeat the same mistakes I did a year ago. I just got to keep on getting better. It’s OK for rookies to make mistakes, but the problem is if you keep on making the same mistakes all the time. I just got to find a way to keep on getting better and learning from my mistakes.”
Here’s more on the Suns:
- While he recognizes that his outside shot could be key to unlocking his full potential, Maluach told Rankin it’s not his main priority right now, calling it the “icing on the cake.” Instead he’s focused on being able to “dominate on the inside.” “It’s really just strength. Speed. Really just working on my body,” Maluach said of improving his rebounding and defense. “Being able to stay healthy and being able to play the whole season and go through that. It’s just really my strength, my base, my hands. Those are the things I’ve been working on this summer. Hand-eye coordination, the feet and everything else.”
- Phoenix acquired the draft rights to Koa Peat, the 30th overall pick in last month’s draft, in a four-team trade with New York. The former Arizona star averaged 16.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.5 SPG in four games in Las Vegas (27.2 MPG). The 19-year-old forward told Andre Iguodala in an NBA on Prime interview that he plans to keep working in preparation for his rookie season (Twitter video link via Rankin). “Taking it one day at a time,” Peat said. “Getting better every day. Not taking any of these days for granted. Staying in the gym. After this, I’m going to go back to Phoenix. Get to work. Stay in the gym. Try to become the best version of myself.”
- Peat is also looking forward to playing with star guard Devin Booker, Rankin adds in a full story. “Just playing off him,” Peat said Saturday. “Trying to make him better as a player. Doing the little things. Creating for him and just learning from him. He’s one of the best players in the league. He’s a legend. I think that’s going to help my game for sure.”
Suns Notes: Booker, Bridges, Maluach, Peat
The Suns‘ offseason moves didn’t change the fact that Devin Booker will serve as the team’s primary scorer and play-maker next season, the Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin opines.
Phoenix re-signed Collin Gillespie, Jordan Goodwin and Mark Williams, added free agent sharpshooter Luke Kennard and traded for forward Miles Bridges. However, the team also moved Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, two of the team’s more reliable three-point shooters last season. The club is also banking on a healthier season from Jalen Green.
But it’s on Booker, who hasn’t won a playoff game since 2023, to once again lead the Suns to a better 2026/27 season.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Bridges and his ex-girlfriend are at odds once again, TMZ reports, with both parties making accusations against one another. Mychelle Johnson, who is facing assault and battery charges for throwing water on Bridges during a custody exchange, referred to the charges as “false” and “frivolous” and claimed that he’s trying to remove their children from her care. She also said Bridges tried to run her over with a golf cart during that custody exchange. Bridges was granted a temporary restraining order against Johnson earlier this year after he claimed she was cyberstalking him and showed up to one of his games in an attempt to damage his car. Johnson denied the claims. Bridges didn’t play in 2022/23 and served a 10-game suspension during the following season due to domestic violence charges.
- Second-year big man Khaman Maluach posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the Suns’ Summer League opener against Portland, but he departed early in the fourth quarter due to leg cramps. “They didn’t really kick in until the fourth quarter,” Maluach told Rankin. “That’s when I started feeling the cramps, but I just got to figure it out. Do a better job of hydrating.” He posted another double — 15 points and 15 rebounds — in their second Summer League game on Sunday, Rankin tweets.
- Rookie Koa Peat is trying to establish himself as a point forward. The late first-rounder out of Arizona started slowly offensively in his Vegas Summer League debut but scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half on 4-of-5 shooting. He also showed his downhill handles and play-making ability and had an impact on both ends of the floor in the second half, Rankin adds.
Peterson, Acuff Among First-Rounders To Sign On Wednesday
Several players selected in the first round of the 2026 NBA draft officially signed their rookie scale contracts throughout the day on Wednesday.
Many of those players are expected to take part in the Salt Lake City and California Classic Summer Leagues, which will take place before the Las Vegas Summer League, so their teams are taking the opportunity to get them under contract ahead of practices this week and their SL debuts over the weekend.
In past years, we’ve devoted full stories to each of the 30 first-round picks signing his rookie scale contract, but since most of those deals are a mere formality and the salary terms are predetermined, we’ll likely try relaying most of them in round-up form this year, like we’ve done below. That only figures to change if there’s something unusual to note about a particular signing, such as a player accepting below the usual 120% of his rookie scale amount.
Here are the players who have signed their rookie scale contracts on the first day of the new league year, per the NBA’s transaction log and/or announcements from their teams. We’ve included their tentative contract details (based on 120% of the rookie scale) and links to our stories from when they were drafted last week.
- Darryn Peterson (Jazz): First-year salary of $13.2MM; four-year total of $59.9MM (story)
- Darius Acuff Jr. (Kings): First-year salary of $8MM; four-year total of $36.5MM (story)
- Yaxel Lendeborg (Warriors): First-year salary of $6.1MM; four-year total of $28.1MM (story)
- Zuby Ejiofor (Hawks): First-year salary of $3.5MM; four-year total of $17.3MM (story)
- Alex Karaban (Kings): First-year salary of $2.9MM; four-year total of $15.1MM (story)
- Koa Peat (Suns): First-year salary of $2.9MM; four-year total of $15MM (story)
Pacific Rumors: Leonard, Lakers, Z. Williams, Carr, Peat
While the Clippers continue to field trade offers for star forward Kawhi Leonard, they have thus far been unimpressed by what teams are willing to offer and are signaling their desire to move forward with Leonard, Tomer Azarly and Brett Siegel report for Clutch Points.
The Clippers have been in due diligence mode when it comes to fielding calls on Leonard’s availability, but they are not initiating trade conversations themselves, Azarly and Siegel write, adding that the club considers the offers it has received so far to be “underwhelming.” L.A. is rumored to be unimpressed with a Raptors‘ construction centered around Brandon Ingram and didn’t propose a counteroffer, according to Clutch Points’ sources.
If Toronto included All-Rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles, it could shift the calculus, but the Raptors have given no indication they’re interested in parting ways with last year’s lottery pick. As for the Mavericks, their offer would likely need to include young center Dereck Lively II to pique the Clippers’ interest, per Azarly and Siegel.
There is also said to be some level of mutual interest between the Clippers and Leonard in coming to terms on an extension to keep the two-time champion in L.A. long-term, though it’s unclear how such a deal would be impacted by the ongoing investigation into Leonard’s connection with Aspiration. Azarly and Siegel add that the two sides are currently “far apart” on what the numbers in an extension would look like. For what it’s worth, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca hears from sources that Leonard is unlikely to end up signing an extension with the Clippers.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Following the news that the Nets are declining his $6.25MM player option, the Lakers are a team seen as a potential suitor for Ziaire Williams in free agency, The Athletic’s Dan Woike reports. Adding wing depth and getting younger and more athletic are priorities for the Lakers this offseason. The 6’9″ 24-year-old Williams, who went to high school with Bronny James at Sierra Canyon, is a versatile defender who has shot the ball a little better from outside over the past couple years.
- Cameron Carr was projected to be drafted somewhere near the back of the lottery, but he said he’s not disappointed that he fell to the Lakers at pick 24, Benjamin Royer writes for the Orange County Register. Instead, he calls it “a blessing.” “It didn’t feel real for the first couple minutes when I found out,” Carr said. “It was trying to get my head around, ‘Man, I’m about to walk across the stage and be an NBA player.’ I’ve dreamed of this my whole life, especially since I was a kid. So it took a second. Still trying to get my head wrapped around it, but nothing but excitement and happiness. I feel more motivation to work.” He added that he knows that defense will be the area he needs to improve the most, especially in a league where he’s no longer automatically the most athletic player on the court. Carr comes from an NBA family, as his father, Chris Carr, spent six years in the league and was runner-up to Kobe Bryant is the 1997 dunk contest. “I’ve always wanted to be better than him,” the younger Carr said of his father. “I’ve always been behind, so I want to show he’s put a lot of work in me becoming a better man. So I feel the only way I can credit him and show I’m thankful for him is by putting in the work and using it every single day. He was a heck of a player, so it’s some big footsteps I’ve got to follow and a long journey.”
- Carr isn’t the only player who wasn’t taken as early as he expected on draft night. Koa Peat fell to No. 30 before the Suns traded up to select him, but like Carr, Peat is focused on where he landed, not where he didn’t, Duane Rankin writes for AZ Central. “For me, I think the fit and situation is better than the pick,” he said. “The picks are out the window now. You’re going into the Summer League, and those picks don’t even matter. First pick, second pick, third pick, they don’t matter. You got to compete against those guys every day.” Peat is as homegrown as it gets, growing up in Arizona before spending his lone college season with the Wildcats. He hopes he can bring the same kind of winning attitude to the Suns as he did in his previous stops.
Pacific Notes: Butler, Reaves, Peat, Ngoy
Appearing on Thursday at a Warriors event to announce their new jersey patch sponsor, star wing Jimmy Butler provided an update on his recovery from last season’s right ACL tear, according to Nick Friedell of The Athletic. Butler told reporters that he’s “making some incredibly progress” and is “very happy” with how the process has played out so far, adding that he’s about a month and a half away from starting to run.
“There are things that I used to be able to do that I can’t do right now,” Butler said. “I actually can dunk a basketball if I jump off my left leg — I just can’t land on my right. I haven’t tried it, but I’m pretty sure I can still dunk a basketball.”
Butler also had nothing but praise for the way the Warriors operate, suggesting he has no desire to leave Golden State. The 36-year-old is entering the final year of his current contract but will become extension-eligible on February 6.
“It’s not good, it’s great,” Butler said of the Warriors’ organization. “Legitimately, it’s the best. You don’t realize it until you’ve been in other places, and I’m not talking down on anybody that are like quite lesser than. You’re talking about the way that you all run everything, the people that you have around.
“Obviously, the guys that get to rep the uniform, they just do everything the right way, the winning way. It definitely shows in everything that we do here. I’m grateful to be a part of it now. When I say I don’t want to be anywhere else, this is it.”
We have more from around the Pacific:
- After agreeing to terms on a four-year, maximum-salary deal with the Lakers, Austin Reaves admitted to Dan Woike of The Athletic that a “couple of times” during the process he wasn’t sure if he’d re-sign with Los Angeles. He was thrilled to get a deal done with the only NBA team he has ever played for. “I mean, it was a breath of fresh air because I hadn’t stopped thinking about where I was going to be. And it’s just like a sigh of relief,” Reaves told Woike. “I mean, regardless of whatever played out, I’m obviously grateful and in a good position to take care of the people I love. My heart’s been in L.A. Every morning I (woke) up, I (was) just like, ‘I hope we can get this done today.'”
- No. 30 overall pick Koa Peat isn’t a can’t-miss prospect and likely won’t be a day-one contributor, but he’ll represent a good test of the Suns‘ ability to develop young talent, writes Doug Haller of The Athletic. Given that Phoenix doesn’t have a ton of star power or the draft picks necessary to add elite young talent, player development has to be the team’s top skill as it looks to return to contention, says Haller. Suns general manager Brian Gregory cited Peat’s high character, competitiveness, ability to attack the rim, and winning pedigree as reasons why the club wanted him.
- Count French big man Narcisse Ngoy among those surprised he was selected in the second round of this week’s draft. According to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter links), the No. 57 pick wasn’t expected to be drafted by the Clippers or any other team and still expects to play for the Auburn Tigers next season. Murray says the Clippers’ front office has been in touch with Ngoy and the two sides are discussing their plans. As Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress explains (via Twitter), a recent NCAA rule change would allow Ngoy to play for Auburn and essentially function as a domestic draft-and-stash, since he was automatically draft-eligible this year (rather than declaring as an early entrant) and has college eligibility remaining.
Lakers, Knicks, Mavs, Suns Make Four-Team Trade Official
The Lakers, Knicks, Mavericks, and Suns have officially completed three separate draft-night deals as a single four-team trade, according to press releases from Dallas, Phoenix, and New York.
The full terms of the trade, which involved the 24th, 25th, and 30th picks in the first round of the draft, are as follows, with additional info from Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link):
- Lakers acquire the draft rights to Cameron Carr (No. 24 pick; from Knicks).
- Mavericks acquire the draft rights to Sergio de Larrea (No. 25 pick; from Lakers).
- Suns acquire the draft rights to Koa Peat (No. 30 pick; from Mavericks).
- Knicks acquire the No. 47 overall pick (from Suns), the Suns’ 2029 second-round pick, the Sixers’ 2030 second-round pick (from Mavericks), the Mavericks’ 2032 second-round pick, the Suns’ 2033 second-round pick, the draft rights to Louis Labeyrie (from Lakers), the draft rights to Chinemelu Elonu (from Lakers), the draft rights to Melvin Ajinca (from Mavericks), and cash (from Lakers).
Essentially, the Lakers moved up from No. 25 to No. 24 to nab Carr by sending cash and a pair of draft-rights players to New York. The Mavericks then moved up from No. 30 to 25 for de Larrea by sending two future second-rounders and Ajinca’s rights to the Knicks. Then the Suns moved up from No. 47 to No. 30 to draft Peat by conveying their own 2029 and 2033 second-rounders to New York.
There’s no indication that New York plans to bring former second-rounders Labeyrie, Elonu, and Ajinca stateside. That’s perhaps still a possibility at some point for a player like Ajinca, a 2024 second-rounder who is just 21 years old. But Elonu was a 2009 second-rounder who is now 39 years old, while Labeyrie was a 2014 pick and is 34.
The acquisition of draft-rights players is more of a running bit by Knicks executive Brock Aller and their front office, notes Katz. The team now controls the rights to 19 of those players, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).
While Carr and Peat are safe bets to sign their rookie scale contracts in July and begin their NBA careers right away, it’s unclear whether de Larrea will sign this year or become a draft-and-stash prospect. According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), there was an expectation before the draft that the Spaniard would remain in Europe for at least one more season, but those plans – including whether or not he’ll join the Mavs’ Summer League team – are still being figured out.
Pacific Notes: Lendeborg, Wagler, Kawhi, Peat, Lakers
After being selected by the Warriors with the 11th overall pick on Tuesday, former Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg admitted that he “used to hate” new teammate Stephen Curry, having rooted for Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers to beat Golden State in the 2016 NBA Finals when he was 13. Ten years later, he’s thrilled to get the opportunity to team up with the future Hall-of-Famer, writes Anthony Slater of ESPN.
“Now that I’m actually going to be able to be on the same team with him, play and actually learn so much from him, it means a lot,” Lendeborg said of Curry. “He’s a very great guy, genuine person. It’s going to be an honor to be able to watch what he does in person.”
Lendeborg will turn 24 before he makes his NBA regular season debut this fall, but Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said he’s not worried about the fact that the team’s lottery pick is a few years older than most of the players drafted around him, joking, “He’s not 38.” Dunleavy also observed that Lendeborg’s NBA readiness could make the front office’s job easier in free agency this summer and lauded the forward’s all-around skill set.
“He can play everything,” Dunleavy said, per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Potentially he can guard one to five. Offensively, I think he’s a forward that can play some small-ball center. And just the way he handles the ball, there’s some backcourt ball-handler responsibilities he can take care of. This is the intrigue with this pick for us is the versatility.”
Prior to the Warriors’ pick, ESPN cameras captured Dunleavy and team owner Joe Lacob engaged in an animated discussion in the team’s draft room. According to Slater, Arizona guard Brayden Burries was among the Warriors’ targets, and after Milwaukee nabbed at him at No. 10, one spot ahead of Golden State, the Warriors began fielding calls from teams interested in No. 11 — that happened at the same time ESPN’s broadcast aired a live shot of the team’s draft room.
Dunleavy acknowledged later in the night that his conversation with Lacob was about the trade options on the table and the owner’s anxiousness to finalize the pick, Slater writes.
“Ultimately we were all in agreement to land on taking Yaxel,” Dunleavy said.
We have much more from around the Pacific:
- Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said the team went through an “exhaustive process” assessing its options at No. 5 before determining that Illinois guard Keaton Wagler was the right pick, per Law Murray of The Athletic. In explaining the choice, Frank cited Wagler’s positional size, his high basketball IQ, his ability to play on and off the ball, and the fact that he can dribble, pass, and shoot at a “very, very high level.” Point guard Darius Garland shared his input on the No. 5 pick ahead of the draft, according to Frank, who said that he thinks Garland “really, really happy” to have Wagler join L.A.’s backcourt.
- Asked about Kawhi Leonard‘s future with the Clippers, Frank replied that the club’s plan “still is to win with Kawhi” and that he thinks the star forward will like the Wagler pick too, as Murray relays. “Kawhi loves size, he loves shooting, he loves skill, he loves IQ, he loves feel,” Frank said. “Those are the types of players that he’s always kind of been attracted to.”
- Because they only controlled the No. 47 pick prior to the draft, the Suns didn’t get the opportunity to bring in Arizona native Koa Peat for a workout, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), since he was projected to be drafted much higher than that. However, the Suns did get to meet with Peat on Sunday once they began to believe they might be able to trade into the first round, Gambadoro notes. Phoenix ultimately traded up to No. 30 to select the forward.
- The Lakers made another addition to their basketball operations department earlier this week, hiring former Pelicans basketball analytics coordinator Dominic Samangy as a basketball analyst, tweets Benjamin Royer of The Orange County Register. Samangy confirmed the move with an Instagram post.
Suns To Acquire No. 30 Pick Koa Peat From Knicks
The Suns have traded into the first round, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). Phoenix has agreed to acquire the No. 30 pick from the Knicks, per Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), and used it to acquire a local player, Koa Peat.
The Knicks moved back multiple times (from No. 24 to No. 25 to No. 30) to acquire the 30th pick from the Mavericks, who originally held the selection. Now they’re moving out the first-round entirely due to second-apron concerns.
According to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter links), New York will acquire the No. 47 pick via Phoenix and as well as the Suns’ second-rounders in 2029 and 2033.
The son of former NFL offensive lineman Todd Peat, Koa is an Arizona native who stayed close to home for college, playing at the University of Arizona as a freshman in 2025/26.
The 6’8″ forward averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 27.8 minutes per game in 36 outings (all starts) and was named to the All-Big 12 third team. He played some of his best basketball during the NCAA tournament, scoring at least 14 points in all five games during Arizona’s run to the Final Four.
Although Peat shot 52.8% from the field as a freshman, he attempted just 20 total three-pointers, then struggled during the shooting drills at the NBA draft combine in May. While concerns about his shooting raised questions about his draft stock, he opted to keep his name in the 2026 pool, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility.
It was a risky decision, as Peat likely would have earned $6-7MM+ in NIL money if he had stayed in college for his sophomore season. But being selected 30th overall means his first NBA contract will be guaranteed for at least two seasons, with team options in years three and four.
The Suns were said to be open to moving into the first round if a player they liked was still available. One such player turned out to be Peat, who will bring size and strength to the Phoenix’s frontcourt, which has a hole at power forward.
Known as a tough, versatile defender, Peat helped the Wildcats go 36-3 in 2025/26. If the 19-year-old can develop his jump shot, he could very well outplay his draft slot, though that might be a big if.
Still, even if Peat just becomes a reliable rotation player, he could be quite valuable given how affordable his contract will be. He was a top-10 recruit entering college and was projected to go much earlier than No. 30 for most of the season until his stock slipped in the lead-up to the draft.
Eastern Notes: Raptors, Splitter, Sixers, Ball, Knicks
When Raptors assistant general manager Dan Tolzman spoke to reporters on Tuesday ahead of the 2026 NBA draft, he didn’t offer a ton of juicy tidbits. As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca relays (via Twitter), Tolzman suggested the draft is fairly wide open after the first 10 or 12 picks, said the cost to move up would be high and that the Raptors are happy at No. 19, and indicated that the team will take a “best player available” approach to that pick.
However, the assistant GM did acknowledge that Toronto in recent years have been lacking a frontcourt player who can be a lob threat on offense and protect the rim on defense, Lewenberg notes. While Tolzman said the Raptors are “taking a close look” at players who fit that bill, that hole doesn’t necessarily need to be addressed in the draft — it could also be an area the team focuses on in free agency or on the trade market.
We have more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Tiago Splitter‘s new contract as the head coach of the Bulls includes three guaranteed seasons and a team option for a fourth year, according to longtime Portland-area reporter Dwight Jaynes, who tweets that Splitter’s salary is believed to be around the league average for a head coach.
- The Sixers have started bringing in potential targets for their No. 22 pick for pre-draft workouts, with Koa Peat (Arizona), Dailyn Swain (Texas), Chris Cenac (Houston), Allen Graves (Santa Clara), Isaiah Evans (Duke), and Zuby Ejiofor (St. John’s) all scheduled to have visited the team by the end of the week, per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). Philadelphia is also lining up Zoom meetings with certain first-round prospects who won’t be visiting the team in person, adds Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- Hornets guard LaMelo Ball has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused him of running over and breaking a 12-year-old’s foot with his vehicle, reports Julia Coin of The Charlotte Observer. The child’s family had been seeking $3.75MM in damages in the suit, which was filed in 2024. The terms of the settlement agreement aren’t known.
- UConn forward Alex Karaban (No. 30 on ESPN’s big board) and St. John’s forward Dillon Mitchell (No. 42) visited the Knicks on Wednesday for a pre-draft workout, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). New York controls the 24th, 31st, and 55th overall picks in next week’s draft.
NBA Announces Final List Of 2026 Draft Early Entrants
Serbian center Pavle Backo withdrew from the 2026 draft prior to Saturday’s deadline, according to the NBA (Twitter link). He joins Francesco Ferrari and Luigi Suigo as international prospects who withdrew before the league’s deadline on June 13 (three others withdrew prior to the NCAA’s deadline on May 27).
As the NBA confirms, a total of 31 early entrants have decided to keep their names in this year’s draft, which will take place next week on June 23 and 24.
Here are the 26 college underclassmen who are remaining in the draft:
- Darius Acuff, G, Arkansas (freshman)
- Nate Ament, F, Tennessee (freshman)
- Christian Anderson, G, Texas Tech (sophomore)
- Cameron Boozer, F, Duke (freshman)
- Mikel Brown Jr., G, Louisville (freshman)
- Brayden Burries, G, Arizona (freshman)
- Cameron Carr, G, Baylor (junior)
- Chris Cenac, F/C, Houston (freshman)
- AJ Dybantsa, F, BYU (freshman)
- Isaiah Evans, G/F, Duke (sophomore)
- Kingston Flemings, G, Houston (freshman)
- Allen Graves, F, Santa Clara (freshman)
- Morez Johnson, F/C, Michigan (sophomore)
- Aday Mara, C, Michigan (junior)
- Ebuka Okorie, G, Stanford (freshman)
- Koa Peat, F, Arizona (freshman)
- Darryn Peterson, G, Kansas (freshman)
- Labaron Philon, G, Alabama (sophomore)
- Jayden Quaintance, F/C, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Hannes Steinbach, F, Washington (freshman)
- Dailyn Swain, G/F, Texas (junior)
- Meleek Thomas, G, Arkansas (freshman)
- Bryson Tucker, F, Washington (sophomore)
- Henri Veesaar, C, North Carolina (junior)
- Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois (freshman)
- Caleb Wilson, F, North Carolina (freshman)
Here are the five international early entrants who are staying in the draft (the country indicates where the player had been playing, not necessarily where he was born):
- Mohammad Amini, G/F, France (born 2005)
- Sergio De Larrea, G, Spain (born 2005)
- Vsevolod Ishchenko, G, Russia (born 2005)
- Jack Kayil, G, Germany (born 2006)
- Karim Lopez, F, Australia (born 2007)
The total number of early entrants has been trending sharply downward in recent years. This is due in part to players who were granted an extra year of eligibility in 2021 due to COVID-19 having graduated, meaning we no longer have dozens of “seniors” on the early entrant list. Additionally, the implementation of a rule allowing student athletes to be compensated for their name, image, and likeness (NIL) has made college basketball more lucrative than going pro for many young players.
Back in 2022, a total of 283 early entrants tested the draft waters and 149 kept their names in the draft pool. In 2025, those figures were down to just 109 and 46, respectively, and this year’s totals were just 72 and 31.
Our 2026 NBA draft early entrants list has been updated to reflect the latest changes. In addition to the 31 prospects listed above, our tracker also includes the 41 players who withdrew from the draft, including Backo, Ferrari and Suigo.