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And-Ones: First-Time All-Stars, 2026 Draft, NBA Cup, More

December 5th, 2025 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2026 NBA All-Star Game is still over two months away, but a number of players around the league are emerging as legitimate candidates to appear in the game for the first time, writes Zach Harper of The Athletic.

Harper points to Bulls guard Josh Giddey, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, Pistons center Jalen Duren, and Heat guard Norman Powell as Eastern Conference standouts who could become first-time All-Stars, while identifying Lakers guard Austin Reaves, Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, Thunder big man Chet Holmgren, and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray as the most plausible first-timers in the Western Conference.

Of those players, only Duren looks like a shoo-in to make the game, according to Zach Kram of ESPN, who takes his own early look at potential All-Stars and divides players into two groups — “near-locks” and “on the bubble.”

Duren is among Kram’s seven near-locks in the East, though he considers Giddey, Johnson, and Powell to have strong cases to make the cut. In the West, Kram thinks Murray could still find himself on the outside looking in despite a career-best first half, given the strength of the competition for the 12 spots. However, with eight international spots to fill and the potential for injury replacements beyond the initial 24 All-Stars, there could be multiple paths for the Nuggets guard to finally earn the honor.

We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Although Kansas guard Darryn Peterson has only appeared in two games so far this season, he’s the 2026 draft prospect that NBA scouts seem most excited about, according to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, who places Peterson atop his most recent mock draft, ahead of Duke’s Cameron Boozer and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa. Tennessee’s Nate Ament has slipped out of Vecenie’s top five, with UNC’s Caleb Wilson at No. 4, followed by Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr.
A panel of ESPN insiders answers a series of questions related to the NBA Cup, including which player was the MVP during the group stage (Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got two votes apiece) and which team has the best chance to upset Oklahoma City in the knockout round (the Lakers earned three of five possible votes).
In an interesting story for ESPN, Kevin Pelton takes a deep dive into the data to explore the impact of familiarity on shooting efficiency and explains why a number of high-profile players who changed teams over the summer – including Cameron Johnson, Desmond Bane, and Myles Turner – may have gotten off to slow starts.
Lindsay Schnell of The Athletic examines how former G League players became NCAA-eligible and what it means for college basketball going forward. “At the end of the day, we’re not the ones making decisions,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “We either adapt to the rules or we get left behind. So until something changes, I guess all of us are watching G League games now.”

And-Ones: Kaminsky, 2026 Draft, Gambling Cases, More

November 27th, 2025 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

Longtime NBA big man Frank Kaminsky is in advanced negotiations with the Japanese team Alvark Tokyo and is nearing a deal, reports Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com.

Kaminsky, the ninth overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft, has appeared in 413 total regular season games for Charlotte, Phoenix, Atlanta, and Houston, but has been out of the league since the 2022/23 season, outside of a brief stint with the Suns in training camp in 2024.

In his eight years in the NBA, Kaminsky averaged 8.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 19.8 minutes per game, with a .430/.349/.746 shooting line. Last season, the seven-foot forward/center made 25 appearances for the Raptors 905 in the G League, averaging 13.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 4.1 APG on .486/.351/.735 shooting.

As Urbonas notes, Alvark Tokyo is a perennial playoff team in Japan’s top basketball league (the B.League), but is off to a slow start this season due to injuries. The team currently has a 10-8 record and wouldn’t make the playoffs if the season ended today.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Kansas guard Darryn Peterson is the No. 1 pick in the latest mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, with Duke’s Cameron Boozer coming in at No. 2 and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa at No. 3. While all three players look like elite prospects, Wasserman suggests that Dybantsa’s decision-making and three-point shooting are a couple reasons why some scouts may prefer Peterson and/or Boozer. UNC’s Caleb Wilson and Tennessee’s Nate Ament round out Wasserman’s top five, in that order.
Joe Vardon and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic take a closer look at the key individuals involved in the two federal gambling cases that have resulted in the arrests of Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Heat guard Terry Rozier, while ESPN’s Brian Windhorst explores what we know about former NBA player and coach Damon Jones, one of the three people indicted in both cases.
ESPN’s NBA insiders identify the key questions facing 16 of the NBA’s top teams – eight in each conference – and consider whether those clubs can answer those questions and become (or remain) legitimate contenders this season.

And-Ones: LeBron, Curry, Team USA, 2026 Draft, Beverley, More

November 18th, 2025 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked by Steve Nash on the Mind the Game podcast about the possibility of suiting up for Team USA at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, LeBron James made it clear that’s not in his plans, while Stephen Curry indicated he’s a long shot too, per Anthony Slater of ESPN.

“You already know my answer,” James said. “I will be watching it.”

“God willing, I still have the choice and physical option where I could impact the team,” Curry said. “Never say never, but I highly doubt it. Highly doubt it.”

James and Curry teamed up for Team USA at the Olympics for the first time in 2024, defeating the hosts (France) in Paris in the gold medal game after pulling off a dramatic come-from-behind win in the semifinal against Serbia.

“We can’t top what we just did,” James said. “How we gonna top those last two games?”

We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Kansas guard Darryn Peterson is the first player off the board in the first 2026 mock draft published by Jeremy Woo of ESPN. Woo has BYU’s AJ Dybantsa at No. 2, Duke’s Cameron Boozer at No. 3, and Tennessee’s Nate Ament at No. 4, with UNC’s Caleb Wilson rounding out the top five.
More details have emerged related to Patrick Beverley‘s arrest for assault, with TMZ reporting that the former NBA guard is accused of punching his sister in the eye and choking her for between 20 and 30 seconds. Beverley, who has been out of the NBA since the 2023/24 season, was arrested on Friday and was charged with assault of a family/household member.
After parting ways with the Brisbane Bullets earlier this season for personal reasons, former NBA guard Javon Freeman-Liberty reengaged with the team last week and has now re-signed with the Bullets for the rest of the 2025/26 season, reports Olgun Uluc of ESPN (Twitter links). Freeman-Liberty, a former DePaul standout, appeared in 22 NBA regular season games for Toronto in 2023/24.
While the Mavericks had hoped to acquire Dennis Smith Jr.‘s G League returning rights, the Wisconsin Herd – the Bucks‘ affiliate – still holds those rights and is hopeful of having Smith join them soon, league sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: 2026 Mock, Big Board, Yessoufou, More

November 10th, 2025 at 5:21pm CST by Rory Maher

Kansas guard Darryn Peterson goes No. 1 overall in the first 2026 mock draft conducted by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. Peterson, BYU wing AJ Dybantsa (No. 2 in the mock) and Duke power forward Cameron Boozer (No. 3) are widely viewed as the top three prospects in the 2026 class, and Vecenie views each player as having star-level upside on the same level as 2025’s top pick, Cooper Flagg.

While NBA teams are eager to land Peterson, Dybantsa or Boozer, the overall depth of the class is somewhat shaky, according to Vecenie, who says prospects currently in the Nos. 4-16 range all have at least one question mark scouts want answered during the season.

There’s also a significant amount of variability beginning at No. 17 (Florida’s Thomas Haugh), Vecenie writes, and it’s possible players currently mocked outside of the lottery could move up — or they may not even be drafted next June.

As Vecenie details, the 2027 draft class is viewed as being considerably weaker than 2026, which could lead to more NBA teams tanking down the stretch of 2025/26 to try and acquire one of the top prospects, particularly if a few players rise up draft boards in the spring, which seems to happen every year.

It’s only November, but four Houston Cougars — Chris Cenac Jr. at No. 6, Isiah Harwell at No. 18, Joseph Tugler at No. 21, and Milos Uzan at No. 27 — go in the first round of Vecenie’s mock.

Here are some more notes on the 2026 draft class:

Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com has released his first big board for 2026, ranking the top 100 prospects. The first four players (Tennessee forward Nate Ament is No. 4) are in the same order as Vecenie’s mock, but there’s a major difference in evaluation starting at No. 5 — Woo has North Carolina big man Caleb Wilson at that spot, while Vecenie has the freshman forward going No. 16. Duke forward Dame Sarr (No. 10 on Woo’s board, No. 25 in Vecenie’s mock), New Zealand Breakers forward Karim Lopez (No. 11 at ESPN, No. 24 at The Athletic), Alabama guard Labaron Philon (No. 18 for Woo, No. 10 for Vecenie), Arkansas wing Karter Knox (No. 38 for ESPN, No. 19 for The Athletic), Harwell (No. 45 on Woo’s board) and Uzan (No. 55 on ESPN) are among the other players rated quite differently between ESPN’s big board and The Athletic’s mock.
Baylor guard/forward Tounde Yessoufou, who goes ninth overall in Vecenie’s mock and is ranked 13th on Woo’s board, is expected to become the first player born in the West African country of Benin to make the NBA, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “What makes him a little different than some of the other freshmen we’ve had here is he’s very similar to [San Antonio Spurs forward] Jeremy Sochan, a great defender who could guard multiple positions,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said of Tounde, who is 6’5″ and 215 pounds. “Tounde is somebody physically that can guard multiple positions and wants to be an elite defender and is a tremendous rebounder for his size. That makes him a little different from the other people in his draft class. He has a little more physicality to him than some of the guys we’ve had in recent years because he’s bigger, stronger.”
Jeff Borezllo and Woo of ESPN list the 10 college teams with the most NBA prospects, with Duke (five players in the top 34 of Woo’s board) at No. 1 and Houston No. 2.

NBA Insiders Talk 2025, 2026 Drafts

July 25th, 2025 at 6:04pm CST by Eli Cohen

Now that the 2025 Summer League has wrapped up, scouts and evaluators around the NBA are looking ahead to the 2026 draft and considering how this year’s draft class might perform as rookies.

Among league personnel, there’s a near-consensus that the Mavericks‘ Cooper Flagg will win Rookie of the Year, according to ESPN’s annual survey of NBA executives and scouts conducted this year by Jeremy Woo. Flagg was the overwhelming favorite, with 17 votes, followed by the Spurs‘ Dylan Harper, who picked up two votes. The Wizards’ Tre Johnson also received a vote.

Those polled speculated that while some rookies, like Johnson or Ace Bailey of the Jazz, may get a chance to shoot and score more points, Flagg’s overall contributions to a team that will likely be fighting for a play-in spot will push him over the edge.

While he didn’t receive a vote for Rookie of the Year, the Sixers‘ VJ Edgecombe was the top vote-getter for those asked who would end up the best non-Flagg pick in the draft.

“VJ might be Philly’s second-best player by the end of the season, factoring in [Joel] Embiid‘s uncertain health,” one general manager said.

When Woo’s poll respondents weighed in on the biggest draft steal, the Spurs’ Carter Bryant led the way, followed by Joan Beringer (Timberwolves) and Kasparas Jakucionis (Heat), though this question proved to be the most wide-ranging in terms of responses.

Executives also discussed the 2026 draft, which is widely anticipated to be a star-studded draft class. When asked about who the top pick would be, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson led the way with 12 votes, while BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa was a close second with eight.

Peterson is described in the article as “one of the best lead guard prospects in recent memory,” though Woo writes that given the high level of competition for the No. 1 spot, the race for the top spot is unlikely to be as open-and-shut as it was in 2025, when Flagg remained relatively unchallenged throughout the draft cycle.

“It’s a total toss-up right now — by no means is [there a] consensus yet,” one executive said.

While only Peterson and Dybantsa received votes as the probable No. 1 pick for 2026, Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Nate Ament (Tennessee), and Mikel Brown (Louisville) are also considered top prospects who could be in the mix for a top spot.

While it’s never easy to predict the future when it comes to the NBA draft, last year’s executive survey had Flagg as the top vote-getter for the number one pick, far ahead of Harper’s second-best vote tally, with Bailey and Edgecombe coming in third and fourth.

In that same poll last year, Reed Sheppard and Zach Edey were forecasted as the top candidates for Rookie of the Year, though eventual winner Stephon Castle came in a close third.

And-Ones: 2025 Draft Grades, 2026 Class, France, Gabriel

June 28th, 2025 at 10:04am CST by Earnest Marshall

Five teams earned ‘A’ grades on Sam Vecenie’s post-draft report card for The Athletic, including four teams who had picks in the top six. The fifth team to earn an A was the Hawks, primarily for landing an unprotected 2026 first-round pick from the Pelicans to drop 10 spots in the middle of the first round.

Another 18 teams earned ‘B-‘ to ‘B+’ grades, meaning they mostly met or exceeded the value expected at their respective draft slots. Multiple clubs who only had second-round picks, like the Cavaliers and Warriors, found themselves in this tier. A few teams who ended up landing players who slid from pre-draft projections also ended up in this group, with the Jazz getting Ace Bailey at No. 5, the Heat landing Kasparas Jakucionis at No. 20 and the Thunder getting Thomas Sorber at No. 15.

That left five teams to earn a mark of ‘C’ or lower from Vecenie (Houston and Denver did not make any selections). The Pelicans were marked down for the haul they gave up to move up from No. 23 to No. 13 and select Derik Queen. The Nets were questioned for making three selections – Egor Demin, Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf – with positional overlap, while the Knicks earned a middling grade for selecting a stash player who may not make it to the league.

We have more from around the basketball world:

The 2026 draft looks to be loaded on paper, with a strong blend of returners who would have been drafted this year and high-level incoming talent. In ESPN’s first full 2026 mock draft, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have Darryn Peterson of Kansas as the No. 1 overall pick. A.J. Dybantsa (BYU), Cameron Boozer (Duke), Nate Ament (Tennessee) and Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville) round out their top five. Among returning college players, Jayden Quaintance (No. 6, Kentucky) and Yaxel Lendeborg (No. 14, Michigan) are the highest-ranking.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report‘s top three looks identical to ESPN’s, but he has Arizona’s Koa Peat at No. 4 in his first 2026 mock draft. Another significant difference between the two boards is Baylor wing Tounde Yessoufou‘s spot — Wasserman has him at No. 6, but ESPN places him at No. 23.
France has named its 18-man preliminary roster for EuroBasket 2025, per the team (Twitter link). Bilal Coulibaly, Moussa Diabate, Ousmane Dieng, Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr and Guerschon Yabusele are the current NBA players on the roster. Former NBAers on the team include Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Frank Ntilikina and Theo Maledon, among others.
Former NBA player Wenyen Gabriel is leaving Panathinaikos to sign with Bayern Munich in Germany, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. Gabriel played his first EuroLeague season in 2024/25, averaging 6.0 points per game, and will remain in the league by signing with Bayern. The 6’9″ big man played 150 NBA games from 2019-24 across stints with the Lakers, Pelicans, Trail Blazers, Kings and others. He averaged 4.4 PPG and 3.4 RPG for his career.

Draft Notes: Portsmouth, Ament, Avdalas, Early Entrants

April 22nd, 2025 at 9:29am CST by Luke Adams

Describing the event as a “springboard for under-the-radar grinders,” Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype shares some takeaways and identifies several standout prospects from this year’s Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which took place from April 16-19 in Portsmouth, VA.

East Carolina guard RJ Felton – the cousin of former NBA guard Raymond Felton – was among those standouts, showing off deep shooting range, play-making, and a high-energy style at the PIT, according to Asseo de Choch. Texas center Kadin Shedrick, Arkansas big man Jonas Aidoo, Belmont forward Jonathan Pierre, and Butler wing Jahmyl Telfort are among the other prospects who had strong showings in Portsmouth.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

Nate Ament, an 18-year-old forward who projects to be one of the top prospects in the NBA’s 2026 draft class, has committed to Tennessee for the 2025/26 season, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). “Coach (Rick) Barnes sees me as a one-and-done type player,” Ament said. “He has done it before with Kevin Durant. He sees me as that kind of guy.” Ament came in at No. 4 when ESPN published its first 2026 mock draft earlier this year.
Greek wing Neoklis Avdalas will test the 2025 NBA draft waters while maintaining his NCAA eligibility, agent Alex Saratsis tells Givony (Twitter link). Avdalas isn’t on ESPN’s list of top 100 prospects for 2025, but he’s been having a strong season for Peristeri in Greece’s domestic league, Givony notes, adding that the 19-year-old projects as an impact freshman if he decides to withdraw from the draft and play college ball next season.
Arkansas freshman Karter Knox and Florida sophomore center Rueben Chinyelu are among the other early entrants who have recently declared for the draft without giving up their remaining college eligibility, having made their announcements on Instagram. They’re on our running list of 2025 early entrants, which we published on Monday and will continue to update.

Kansas Commit Darryn Peterson Tops ESPN’s First 2026 Mock Draft

February 26th, 2025 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

We’re still about four months away from the 2025 NBA draft, but Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) are already taking a look ahead to the 2026 draft, having published their first brief (10-player) mock draft for next year’s event.

According to Givony and Woo, NBA talent evaluators are bullish on the prospects at the very top of the 2026 draft class, with Darryn Peterson, A.J. Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, and Nate Ament all considered legitimate candidates to become the No. 1 overall pick next year.

Peterson, a 6’6″ combo guard playing for Prolific Prep in California, is considered the current frontrunner for the No. 1 spot by ESPN’s draft experts, who say that the Kansas commit has established himself as the best player in high school basketball this season. Peterson helped cement his spot as the top player on ESPN’s 2026 board with his head-to-head performances against Dybantsa and Utah Prep, including a 61-point showing in the second game between the two.

Givony refers to Peterson as the best shot creator in the 2026 draft class, lauding his ball-handling, his ability to change speeds, his outside shooting, and his size and strength. The 18-year-old is viewed by some NBA scouts as a bigger version of Damian Lillard, Givony adds.

Givony and Woo have Dybantsa at No. 2, suggesting that’s more about Peterson’s emergence than anything Dybantsa has done wrong. The 6’9″ guard/forward, a BYU commit, has shown an ability to score from anywhere on the floor and is one of the best on-ball defenders in his class, Givony writes, noting that every NBA team is seeking wings in Dybantsa’s mold.

Boozer, ESPN’s No. 3 prospect, also has a strong case for consideration at No. 1, according to Givony, who says the son of former NBA big man Carlos Boozer has an “elite” feel for the game and has a chance to be the best player in the college basketball next season at Duke.

A 6’9″ forward, Boozer has earned comparisons to former top pick Paolo Banchero due to his varied offensive game and defensive versatility. The 17-year-old also has “a winning résumé unmatched by any prospect in recent memory,” Givony writes. He has earned a pair of gold medals in U-16 and U-17 FIBA tournaments and is a Florida state champion.

Ament, the No. 4 player on ESPN’s board, remains uncommitted for next season, with Duke, Kentucky, and Louisville among the programs in the mix to land him. The 6’11” big man is the furthest of these four prospects from reaching his long-term ceiling, but has shown intriguing potential as a shot-maker, passer, and defender, Givony writes.

Big man Jayden Quaintance, currently a freshman at Arizona State and one of the best shot blockers in the NCAA, is the No. 5 prospect in ESPN’s first mock draft for 2026.