Draft Notes: Stokes, 2026 Mocks, Lottery Reform Proposal
Five-star recruit Tyran Stokes announced during an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Tip-Off on Tuesday that he will play for Kansas next season, as Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi of ESPN write. Stokes, who chose the Jayhawks over Kentucky, is the No. 1 prospect on ESPN’s list of 2026 recruits and is viewed as the current frontrunner to be the first overall pick in the 2027 NBA draft.
A 6’7″ small forward, Stokes has won three gold medals as a member of Team USA, most recently in last summer’s FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup. According to Borzello and Biancardi, he has already displayed impressive scoring, play-making, and rebounding, along with an ability to attack the rim.
Having recruited Stokes, Bill Self and the Jayhawks will now have a potential No. 1 overall pick on their roster for a second consecutive year — star guard Darryn Peterson spent a one-and-done season at Kansas in 2025/26 and is widely expected to come off the board in the top three this June.
Here are a few more draft-related updates:
- With the initial early entrant deadline now behind us, Jeremy Woo of ESPN and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic have updated their 2026 mock drafts and have nearly identical top sevens. AJ Dybantsa, Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson are the top four players in both mocks, in that order, then Woo has Darius Acuff at No. 5 and Keaton Wagler at No. 6, while Vecenie has those two players flipped. Kingston Flemings is the No. 7 overall pick for both Woo and Vecenie.
- Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports shares more details on the NBA’s latest draft lottery reform proposal, laying out various odds for each team based on that plan. As O’Connor details, the three worst teams would only be slightly more likely to get a top-five pick (28%) than the No. 12 overall pick (25%) under the newest concept.
- O’Connor expresses some reservations about the way the proposed lottery system might give teams some extra incentive to tank a play-in game, but notes that the proposal includes a clause that would give the NBA more leeway to penalize blatantly tanking teams by reducing their lottery odds or moving their pick outright.
- David Aldridge of The Athletic argues that the NBA’s plans to reform the lottery don’t address the underlying reason behind tanking and contends that it’s a bad idea to move even further away from simply giving the league’s worst teams access to the best incoming prospects.
International Notes: Durant, NBA Europe, Israel, Team USA U19
Kevin Durant – a current member of the Suns who could be traded to a new NBA team in a matter of days – has invested in Paris Saint-Germain via Qatar Sports Investments, as Adam Crafton and Joe Vardon of The Athletic detail.
Known primarily for its soccer teams, Paris Saint-Germain also has professional handball and judo teams under its umbrella. Despite the fact that there’s already a Paris-based club in the EuroLeague, PSG is looking into the possibility of establishing a basketball team of its own as part of the NBA’s foray into Europe.
According to The Athletic’s report, Durant will consult on Paris Saint-Germain’s potential plans to expand into basketball.
Here are a few more items of interest from around the international basketball world:
- Speaking of NBA Europe, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic checks in on where things stand with the project, noting that the relationship between the NBA and EuroLeague appears to have “thawed” to some extent as of late. That could bode well for some sort of professional partnership between the two entities. “It is becoming more obvious that we have to work together,” EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas told The Athletic after meeting recently with the NBA. “I believe it is the first meeting of many where we should find ways to grow basketball. FIBA’s wishes are clear and simple and easy to get to. So it is up to both leagues to find ways to grow European basketball. Our history and fan base and teams would be a strong backbone to build on.”
- Basketball activities in Israel have halted for the time being due to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, per Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. Israel’s domestic league, which was in the midst of its finals between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem, had its season cut short without declaring a champion. It’s also unclear if Israel will be able to send a team to Switzerland for the upcoming U19 FIBA World Cup later this month.
- USA Basketball has officially announced its roster for that U19 2025 World Cup, with A.J. Dybantsa – a contender to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2026 – and Tyran Stokes – ESPN’s top-ranked prospect in the 2026 recruiting class – among the group’s headliners. The tournament will take place in Lausanne, Switzerland from June 28 to July 6.