2026 NBA mock draft: Who's rising and falling ahead of March Madness? - ESPN

Whether you've followed this 2026 NBA draft class all season or are just tuning in for March Madness, it bears repeating: This is shaping up to be an exceptionally talented draft class.

Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson have been the headliners. But a terrific group of guard prospects — Kingston Flemings, Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff Jr. and Mikel Brown Jr. — add significant depth to the mid-lottery.

Within the NBA, conversations around tanking and the league's efforts to combat it continue — and the strength of this draft has certainly played a role in the unusually high number of teams currently tumbling down the standings. There remains a broad expectation that many quality prospects will return to college next season, primarily among players not entrenched in the first round, as NIL payments shift financial incentives. This mock serves to project what the draft might look like if NBA teams selected today. These projections are not a ranking of the top prospects — for that, consult ESPN's top 100.

They are informed by ongoing conversations with NBA executives and scouts, as well as my own evaluation process from time spent on the road at games and watching film.

With conference tournaments getting underway and a prospect-heavy NCAA tournament one week out, here are our latest projections looking ahead to the 2026 draft.

The draft order was formulated using ESPN's BPI projections as of March 8.

More NBA draft coverage:
Top 100 rankings of the 2026 prospects | More

Darryn Peterson, PG/SG, Kansas
Freshman
2025-26 stats: 19.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists in 20 games

Much has been discussed about Peterson and his candidacy for No. 1 over the course of a tumultuous season. His issues with