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NBA Announces 73 Invitees For 2026 Draft Combine

By | at May 1, 2026 10:54 am

The NBA announced today (via Twitter) that 73 prospects have been invited to attend this year’s draft combine, which will take place in Chicago from May 10-17.

In addition to those 73 players, a handful of standout players from the G League combine, which is also held in Chicago just before the combine begins, are expected to receive invites to stick around for the main event.

Not all of the prospects invited to the combine will end up remaining in the 2026 draft pool, since many are early entrants who are testing the waters while retaining their NCAA eligibility.

College players must withdraw from the draft by the end of the day on May 27 if they wish to preserve that eligibility, while non-college players face a decision deadline of June 13. The feedback they receive from NBA teams at the combine may be a deciding factor for players who are on the fence.

Here’s the list of players who have been invited to the 2026 draft combine:

(Note: For players in international leagues, the country listed is where they had been playing, not necessarily where they’re from.)

  1. Matt Able, G, North Carolina State (freshman)
  2. Darius Acuff, G, Arkansas (freshman)
  3. Amari Allen, F, Alabama (freshman)
  4. Nate Ament, F, Tennessee (freshman)
  5. Christian Anderson, G, Texas Tech (sophomore)
  6. Tobe Awaka, F, Arizona (senior)
  7. Flory Bidunga, F/C, Kansas (sophomore)
  8. Tyler Bilodeau, F, UCLA (senior)
  9. John Blackwell, G, Wisconsin (junior)
  10. Cameron Boozer, F, Duke (freshman)
  11. Kylan Boswell, G, Illinois (senior)
  12. Nick Boyd, G, Wisconsin (senior)
  13. Jaden Bradley, G, Arizona (senior)
  14. Trevon Brazile, F, Arkansas (senior)
  15. Maliq Brown, F, Duke (senior)
  16. Mikel Brown Jr., G, Louisville (freshman)
  17. Brayden Burries, G, Arizona (freshman)
  18. Cameron Carr, G, Baylor (junior)
  19. Chris Cenac, F/C, Houston (freshman)
  20. Rueben Chinyelu, C, Florida (junior)
  21. Ryan Conwell, G, Louisville (senior)
  22. Sergio De Larrea, G, Spain (born 2005)
  23. AJ Dybantsa, F, BYU (freshman)
  24. Zuby Ejiofor, F, St. John’s (senior)
  25. Isaiah Evans, G/F, Duke (sophomore)
  26. Jeremy Fears, G, Michigan State (junior)
  27. Kingston Flemings, G, Houston (freshman)
  28. Ja’Kobi Gillespie, G, Tennessee (senior)
  29. Allen Graves, F, Santa Clara (freshman)
  30. Keyshawn Hall, G/F, Auburn (senior)
  31. Juke Harris, G, Wake Forest (sophomore)
  32. Joshua Jefferson, F, Iowa State (senior)
  33. Morez Johnson, F/C, Michigan (sophomore)
  34. Alex Karaban, F, UConn (senior)
  35. Jack Kayil, G, Germany (born 2006)
  36. Toibu Lawal, F, Virginia Tech (senior)
  37. Yaxel Lendeborg, F, Michigan (senior)
  38. Karim Lopez, F, Australia (born 2007)
  39. Aday Mara, C, Michigan (junior)
  40. Nick Martinelli, F, Northwestern (senior)
  41. Baba Miller, F/C, Cincinnati (senior)
  42. Dillon Mitchell, F, St. John’s (senior)
  43. Milan Momcilovic, F, Iowa State (junior)
  44. Malachi Moreno, C, Kentucky (freshman)
  45. Izaiyah Nelson, F, South Florida (senior)
  46. Tyler Nickel, F, Vanderbilt (senior)
  47. Ebuka Okorie, G, Stanford (freshman)
  48. Felix Okpara, C, Tennessee (senior)
  49. Ugonna Onyenso, C, Virginia (senior)
  50. Otega Oweh, G, Kentucky (senior)
  51. Koa Peat, F, Arizona (freshman)
  52. Darryn Peterson, G, Kansas (freshman)
  53. Labaron Philon, G, Alabama (sophomore)
  54. Jayden Quaintance, F/C, Kentucky (sophomore)
  55. Tarris Reed, C, UConn (senior)
  56. Billy Richmond, G/F, Arkansas (sophomore)
  57. Richie Saunders, G, BYU (senior)
  58. Emanuel Sharp, G, Houston (senior)
  59. Braden Smith, G, Purdue (senior)
  60. Hannes Steinbach, F, Washington (freshman)
  61. Bennett Stirtz, G, Iowa (senior)
  62. Andrej Stojakovic, G/F, Illinois (junior)
  63. Peter Suder, G, Miami (OH) (senior)
  64. Luigi Suigo, C, Serbia (born 2007)
  65. Dailyn Swain, G/F, Texas (junior)
  66. Tyler Tanner, G, Vanderbilt (sophomore)
  67. Meleek Thomas, G, Arkansas (freshman)
  68. Bruce Thornton, G, Ohio State (senior)
  69. Milos Uzan, G, Houston (senior)
  70. Henri Veesaar, C, North Carolina (junior)
  71. Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois (freshman)
  72. Caleb Wilson, F, North Carolina (freshman)
  73. Tounde Yessoufou, G/F, Baylor (freshman)

It’s worth noting that the NBA and the NBPA agreed to several combine-related changes in their latest Collective Bargaining Agreement. Here are a few of those changes:

  • A player who is invited to the draft combine and declines to attend without an excused absence will be ineligible to be drafted. He would become eligible the following year by attending the combine. There will be exceptions made for a player whose FIBA season is ongoing, who is injured, or who is dealing with a family matter (such as a tragedy or the birth of a child). That player would be required to complete combine activities at a later date.
  • Players who attend the draft combine will be required to undergo physical exams, share medical history, participate in strength, agility, and performance testing, take part in shooting drills, receive anthropometric measurements, and conduct interviews with teams and the media. Scrimmages won’t be mandatory.
  • Medical results from the combine will be distributed to select teams based on where the player is projected to be drafted. Only teams drafting in the top 10 would get access to medical info for the projected No. 1 pick; teams in the top 15 would receive medical info for players in the 2-6 range, while teams in the top 25 would get access to info for the players in the 7-10 range.
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Portsmouth Invitational Tournament Announces 2026 Rosters

By | at April 13, 2026 11:47 pm

The 2026 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament will take place this week from April 15-18 in Portsmouth, VA. The event features college seniors working to boost their stock ahead of the NBA draft, with invitations to the combine a possibility for some standouts.

Several P.I.T. alumni have gone on to become solid NBA players in recent years, including Toumani Camara, Craig Porter Jr., Daniss Jenkins and Kobe Sanders, among others. Camara (2023) and Sanders (2025) were both second-round picks.

This year’s tournament features eight different teams with eight players apiece, for a total of 64 participants. Here’s the full list, per the P.I.T.:

Champaign native Boswell, who helped lead the Illini to the Final Four, appears to be one of the top prospects among the group. The 6’2″ guard came in at No. 66 on ESPN’s latest big board, with Volunteers center Okpara (No. 86) and Boilermakers big man Kaufman-Renn (No. 88) among the other prospects on the top-100 list.

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Withdrawal Deadline Looms For NCAA Early Entrants

By | at May 28, 2025 11:52 am

The deadline for players who declared for the 2025 NBA draft as early entrants to withdraw their names from the pool is June 15 at 4:00 pm Central time.

A player who withdraws from the 2025 draft by that deadline would be eligible to be drafted in a future season — that could happen as early as 2026 if the player declares again as an early entrant or is automatically draft-eligible next year, or he could become draft-eligible in 2027 or beyond.

However, the NCAA sets its own withdrawal deadline each year. While the NBA’s deadline comes 10 days before the start of the draft, the NCAA’s deadline occurs just 10 days after the combine ends. This year, the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline is May 28 (today) at 10:59 pm CT.

A college player who is testing the draft waters could technically put off his decision for another two-and-a-half weeks, but if he withdraws from the draft pool on June 15, he would lose the ability to return to an NCAA program for the 2025/26 season. That route would only make sense for a player who had lined up a non-college opportunity, such as playing in a professional league overseas.

In other words, nearly all of the college players who declared for this year’s draft as early entrants will finalize their decisions on whether to return to school or go pro by the end of the day on Wednesday. As our tracker shows, there are still a number of prospects whose intentions haven’t been confirmed, so we’ll be keeping tabs on any updates that come in over the next 11 hours or so.

Here are a few of the latest updates:

  • Forward Toibu Lawal is removing his name from the 2025 NBA draft pool and will return to Virginia Tech for his senior year, a source tells Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 (Twitter link). After transferring from VCU to Virginia Tech for the 2024/25 season, Lawal was a full-time starter, averaging 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game with a .559/.371/.641 shooting line in 30 contests.
  • Brandon Walker is pulling out of the draft, he tells Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Walker, who has spent the past two seasons playing for Montana State, is still in the transfer portal and plans to announce a commitment to a “high-major program” soon, Chepkevich notes. The 6’7″ forward put up 14.7 PPG and 4.9 RPG with a .528/.386/.545 shooting line as a junior last season.
  • After withdrawing from the transfer portal earlier this spring, wing Raysean Seamster has now withdrawn from the draft as well and will return to UT Arlington for his senior season, Chepkevich reports (via Twitter). Seamster was a starter for the Mavericks in 2024/25, averaging 11.4 PPG and 4.9 RPG in 30 games (25.7 MPG).
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Illinois’ Will Riley Among Draft’s Latest Early Entrants

By | at April 14, 2025 3:00 pm

Illinois wing Will Riley has decided to enter the 2025 NBA draft following his freshman season, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

Named the Big Ten’s Sixth Man of the Year for the 2024/25 season, Riley averaged 12.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 25.7 minutes per game across 35 outings (nine starts). The Kitchener, Ontario native posted a shooting line of .432/.326/.724.

Givony refers to Riley as “far from a finished product,” noting that his lone college season featured a number of ups and downs, but stresses that the 6’8″ swingman has major long-term upside. He’s the No. 15 player on ESPN’s big board for 2025.

“I learned a lot through the season,” Riley said. “I faced a lot of adversity, which helped me. When I was younger, I had no idea what it was like on the American basketball scene. That transition from Canada was good for me.

“The biggest difference was the physicality. I put on 22 pounds before the start of the season. NBA teams saw my potential as a ball-handler and creator, my IQ, and my ability to make reads. These are things you can’t teach. I got adjusted midway through the season and started to blossom.”

In their latest ESPN.com mock draft, Givony and Jeremy Woo had Riley coming off the board 16th overall to Orlando.

Here are a couple more updates on early entrants declaring for the 2025 draft:

  • Alabama freshman guard Labaron Philon will enter the draft and is “all in on starting (his) pro career,” he tells Givony (Twitter link). Philon, whom Givony praises for his two-way versatility, averaged 10.6 PPG, 3.8 APG, 3.3 RPG, and 1.4 SPG in 2024/25 for the Crimson Tide. The 6’4″ point guard was the No. 43 player on ESPN’s most recent top-100 big board, though he didn’t show up on last week’s 59-pick mock draft.
  • Virginia Tech junior Toibu Lawal is testing the draft waters while maintaining his NCAA eligibility, he announced today on Instagram. Although Lawal wasn’t on ESPN’s most recent big board, Givony refers to him as “perhaps the best athlete in the ACC” (Twitter link). The 6’8″ British forward averaged 12.4 PPG and 7.0 RPG with a .559/.371/.641 shooting line in 30 games (all starts) for Virginia Tech and said he intends to return to the Hokies if he withdraws from the draft.
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Draft Notes: Clingan, Risers, Buzelis, Withdrawals

By | at May 21, 2024 4:00 pm

The “buzz and excitement” surrounding former UConn center Donovan Clingan seems to be growing, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report writes in a post-combine update of his 2024 mock draft. Wasserman had Clingan coming off the board at No. 7 overall in a mock earlier this month, but has bumped the big man up to No. 3 this week after he made a strong impression on NBA evaluators in Chicago.

Zaccharie Risacher (No. 2 to No. 1), Dalton Knecht (No. 10 to No. 7), Tidjane Salaun (No. 21 to No. 12), and Devin Carter (No. 18 to No. 13) are among the other notable lottery risers in Wasserman’s latest mock draft, while Matas Buzelis slipped from No. 5 to No. 11. Opinions are mixed on the G League Ignite forward, according to Wasserman, who says workouts with teams will be “extra important” for Buzelis.

Here are a few more draft updates:

  • Guard Xavier DuSell, who declared for the draft following his senior year at Fresno State, has decided to remove his name from the 2024 poll and take advantage of his extra year of eligibility, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. DuSell will be transferring to Nevada for his super-senior season.
  • Following a strong freshman season at Georgia Tech (12.4 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.1 BPG), forward Baye Ndongo will withdraw from the draft and return to the Yellow Jackets, per Rothstein (Twitter link).
  • Jacksonville guard Robert McCray will head back to school for his junior season rather than keeping his name in the draft, tweets Rothstein. McCoy had a breakout season in 2023/24, averaging 18.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 2.9 APG.
  • Guard Keyshawn Hall is pulling out of the draft and will transfer to his third college in three years, according to Rothstein (Twitter link). After playing at UNLV as a freshman and George Mason as a sophomore, Hall will head to UCF for his junior season in 2024/25.
  • VCU sophomore forward Toibu Lawal has officially withdrawn from the draft and will transfer to Virginia Tech for his junior year, tweets Rothstein.
  • As a reminder, the deadline for college early entrants to exit the draft pool and retain their NCAA eligibility is next Wednesday, May 29.
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NBA Announces Initial Early Entrant List For 2024 Draft

By | at April 30, 2024 12:32 pm

The NBA has officially released the initial list of early entrants for the 2024 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 195 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 138 are from colleges, 43 had been playing for teams internationally, and 14 were playing non-college ball stateside (ie. the G League or Overtime Elite).

While that early entrant total obviously far exceeds the number of players who will be selected in this year’s draft (58), it’s down significantly from the figures we’ve seen in recent years. A record 353 early entrants initially declared for the draft in 2021, but that number dropped to 283 in 2022 and 242 a year ago. The NCAA’s NIL policy, which allows college athletes to be paid based on their name, image, and likeness, has presumably been a major factor in that trend.

This year’s total of 195 early entrants figures to decline significantly by May 29 and again by June 16, the two deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it’s still likely that the eventual number of early entrants will exceed 58 players. That group will join the college seniors with no remaining eligibility and other automatically eligible players in this year’s draft pool.

Our tracker of early entrants for the 2024 draft is fully up to date and can be found right here.

Here are the changes we made to our tracker today:

Newly added players

College players:

These players either didn’t publicly announce that they were entering the draft or we simply missed it when they did.

International players:

These players weren’t previously mentioned on our list of international early entrants. The country listed here indicates where they last played, not necessarily where they were born.

Other players:

  • Abdullah Ahmed, C, Westchester Knicks (born 2003)
  • Somto Cyril, C, Overtime Elite (born 2005)
  • Reynan Dos Santos, G, Overtime Elite (born 2004)
  • Djordjije Jovanovic, F, Ontario Clippers (born 2003)
  • Jalen Lewis, F/C, Overtime Elite (born 2005)
  • Malique Lewis, F, Mexico City Capitanes (born 2004)
  • Babacar Sane, F, G League Ignite (born 2003)

Players removed

Despite reports or announcements that the players below would declare for the draft, they didn’t show up on the NBA’s official list.

That could mean a number of things — they may have decided against entering the draft; they may have entered the draft, then withdrawn; they may have had no NCAA eligibility remaining, making them automatically draft-eligible; they may have incorrectly filed their paperwork; or the NBA may have accidentally omitted some names.

It seems that last possibility is a real one, as Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets that a “miscommunication or mishap’ at the league office may result in a dozen or more additional names being added to the NBA’s early entrant list.

We’ve still removed the following names from our early entrant list for the time being, but it sounds like some could be re-added soon.

Note: Some of these players may also be transferring to new schools.

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