Draft Notes: Boozer, Momcilovic, Bonke, Tobiason, More
In an interview with Mark Medina of EssentiallySports, Duke forward Cameron Boozer made his case for being selected No. 1 overall in the 2026 NBA draft.
“There are a lot of great candidates, for sure,” Boozer told EssentiallySports. “… But what I think separates me is my competitiveness and my winning. It’s my willingness to do whatever it takes to win.”
Still, Boozer, who is widely projected to be a top-four pick, said he’s not concerned about where he’s selected.
“It doesn’t matter to me at all. That’s just the beginning,” Boozer said. “Whether you’re one, two or 30 or 35, that’s just the beginning. For me, it’s more about where I am in 10 to 15 years than where I am on the first night.”
Boozer also talked to Medina about drawing inspiration from current NBA players, listing Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paolo Banchero and LaMelo Ball as few of the players he enjoys watching.
Here are a few more notes ahead of the 2026 draft:
- Iowa State junior Milan Momcilovic officially confirmed (via Twitter) Sunday that he’s declaring for the draft, as previously reported. While the 6’8″ forward’s goal is to stay in the draft and hear his name called in June, he’s maintaining the option of withdrawing from the draft and is also entering the transfer portal. Momcilovic, who led the NCAA in three-point percentage (48.7% on 7.5 attempts per game) this season, was ranked No. 43 on ESPN’s latest big board. Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 hears most NBA executives have Momcilovic in the 20-to-40 range on their boards (Twitter link).
- Charlotte big man Anton Bonke is testing the draft waters, agent Scott Nichols tells Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress (Twitter link). A 7’2″ center from Vanuatu, Bonke averaged 10.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 34 games (25.6 minutes) as a junior for the 49ers. Bonke is also in the transfer portal.
- Temple sophomore Aiden Tobiason is entering the transfer portal and testing the draft waters, agent Ken Jackson tells Jacob Myers (Twitter link). Utah junior Terrence Brown is another draft early entrant who’s entering the transfer portal, he announced on social media (Twitter link). Dominican-Iranian wing Mohammad Amini is also testing the draft waters, per agent Aydin Dianat (LinkedIn link). Amini has spent the past two seasons with Nancy Basket in France’s top domestic basketball league (hat tip to Chepkevich at RookieScale.com). Brown and Amini both tested the draft waters last summer prior to withdrawing.
Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic To Declare For 2026 NBA Draft
Iowa State junior forward Milan Momcilovic intends to declare for the 2026 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility, he told Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert 247.
“I probably, definitely, (will) test the draft,” Momcilovic told Cyclone Alert in a conversation at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. “Just because I think I’ve had a good year and shot the ball very well that I can.”
Momcilovic is considered a potential second-round pick after a 2025/26 season in which he averaged 16.9 and 3.1 rebounds while shooting an NCAA-best 48.7% on three-pointers (7.5 attempts) in 37 games (30.5 minutes per contest). He also shot 54.5% on twos and 87.8% on free throws.
“I don’t know what feedback we’ll get,” Momcilovic said. “We’ll see if I stay in or come back. That’s still to be determined.”
Momcilovic, who was named second-team All-Big 12, helped Iowa State go 29-8 this season. The No. 2 seed Cyclones, whose best player (Joshua Jefferson) was injured in the first game of the NCAA tournament, lost in the Sweet 16 to Tennessee.
As Busse notes, Momcilovic went No. 45 overall in the latest mock draft from Jeremy Woo of ESPN and undrafted in the most recent mocks from Sam Vecenie of The Athletic and Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. The Wisconsin native is viewed as a top-tier shooter but there are question marks about how other aspects of his game will translate to the NBA.
And-Ones: Howard, Harkless, 2024 Draft, Buzelis
Former NBA star Dwight Howard is exploring potential opportunities in Europe and Australia in the hopes of playing his way back to the NBA, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. As Urbonas explains, if Howard were to sign with a team in the EuroLeague or Australia’s National Basketball League, he’d look to include an NBA out clause in his contract.
Howard, who played in Taiwan last season, met with Golden State in September, but the Warriors opted not to sign him. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year is facing sexual assault and battery allegations and is seeking to dismiss a civil lawsuit in Georgia related to those allegations.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Veteran NBA forward Maurice Harkless signed a G League contract and has been acquired from the available player pool by the Rip City Remix, the Trail Blazers‘ affiliate (Twitter link). Harkless, a first-round pick in 2012, appeared in 621 NBA regular season games across 10 years, but wasn’t in the league last season. He’s just just 30 years old and will be looking to show with the Remix that he deserves a call-up.
- In their latest dispatch on the 2024 draft class, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) identify Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard and Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic as the most surprising NCAA freshmen so far this season and single out several prospects who have boosted their stock in November, including Arizona’s Keshad Johnson, Marquette’s Tyler Kolek, and Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro.
- G League Ignite prospect Matas Buzelis, a contender for the No. 1 spot in the 2024 NBA draft, has yet to make his season debut in the NBAGL’s Showcase Cup due to an ankle injury. The Ignite have taken a cautious approach with Buzelis, according to Woo, who hears from a source that the 6’10” point forward is nearing a return and could play this weekend.