Tim Bontemps
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Tim Bontemps
ESPN Senior Writer
- Tim Bontemps is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com who covers the league and what’s impacting it on and off the court, including trade deadline intel, expansion and his MVP Straw Polls. You can find Tim alongside Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon on The Hoop Collective podcast.
Brian Windhorst
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Brian Windhorst
ESPN Senior Writer
- ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010
- Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years
- Author of two books
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NBA executives are out in force at conference tournaments across the country as they gather intel on the next class of professional stars. The Big 12 tournament at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center has been the main focal point, with the conference boasting 10 projected first-round picks in ESPN’s latest mock draft.
“Thursday and Friday, the place to be is Kansas City,” one Western Conference team president told ESPN. “Like a preview of lottery night — except this time we’ll all leave still excited.”
With the tournament showcasing many of the elite freshmen dominating draft discussions — including potential No. 1 picks in Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, plus Houston’s Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac, and Arizona’s Brayden Burries and forward Koa Peat — all 30 NBA teams are in attendance, including many lead decision-makers.
And with the 2025-26 regular season reaching its final month, there are as many as eight teams currently playing for draft position. (That number would surely be higher if some bottom-dwelling franchises controlled their first-round pick in June.)
Meanwhile, for teams that miss out on the top-tier talent, the interest in this draft class goes beyond the potential No. 1 picks.
“We’re so interested in this draft because it’s so deep. There’s a lot of impact players,” an Eastern Conference scout said.
“And [the 2027] draft isn’t looking so good. You never know, there are players in every draft, but this year is like a double draft,” a West scout said.
That depth gives hope to teams such as the Sacramento Kings, Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards — four franchises that will enter the offseason on a collective 15-year run without a playoff appearance — that their pick, wherever it lands, could present a franchise-altering moment.
Ahead of Friday’s Big 12 semifinals (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2), here’s a look at what executives, scouts and coaches are saying about the biggest names atop NBA draft boards.
The battle for No. 1 remains a two-player race
As it has been all season, Peterson and Dybantsa remain the top two prospects across the majority of draft boards.
Peterson, who remains the No. 1 pick in ESPN NBA draft analyst Jeremy Woo’s latest mock draft, entered the season as the presumptive top pick but has had an up-and-down campaign for the Jayhawks. The down has been due to injury, as he has sat out 11 games because of a series of issues while playing limited minutes in multiple other appearances.
But, when available, Peterson has shown how special he can be, including dropping 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the regular-season finale against rival Kansas State and having the highest usage rate in Division 1 at 33.6%, per CBB Analytics.
“As gifted a scorer as it comes,” one power conference general manager said of Peterson’s game. “The wiggle, the aggressiveness, he comes in and takes over games. The NBA guys are working to get the insight on the injuries, but he’s worth a headache or two.”
Dybantsa, meanwhile, is virtually the only healthy player remaining on a Cougars team that has faded down the stretch. Injuries, particularly to senior forward Richie Saunders, have derailed early-season Final Four ambitions.
But that hasn’t dampened his draft stock or his competitive fire. And between his 6-foot-9 frame and natural scoring ability — Dybantsa is the first freshman since Trae Young in 2018 to lead the nation in scoring — the BYU star still has many NBA decision-makers buzzing.
“He’s got all the tools, he’s a dynamic scorer who will put up points in the NBA right away,” a veteran East executive said.
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Is AJ Dybantsa ready for the NBA?
Jay Williams and Kendrick Perkins explain why they’re confident AJ Dybantsa can make it in the NBA.
On Tuesday, Dybantsa opened the Big 12 tournament with possibly his most impressive game of the season, hitting 15 of 21 shots for 40 points to break Kevin Durant’s tournament scoring record for a freshman set in 2007.
“I think Dybantsa is the easy No. 1,” an East executive said. “He’s special. There’s just so much for him to still grow into.”
“He’s the easiest one to see how he gets to No. 1, but the game doesn’t come quite as easy to him like it does to some of the truly great players,” another East executive said.
“[Dybantsa] is probably going to be our No. 1,” a West scout said. “But it isn’t settled.”
Nowhere near settled, as Peterson, despite his uneven freshman season, remains the player most league insiders point to as the current favorite to be the first name called by NBA commissioner Adam Silver on draft night.
“Talent-wise, he’s clearly [No. 1],” an East scout said. “He’s got the full package. When he’s played, he’s shown that he has the ‘it’ factor.”
A Carolina clash for No. 3
Though a prospect could still leapfrog Peterson or Dybantsa, the widespread expectation is that the third and fourth picks will feature a pair of forwards from Tobacco Road rivals: Duke’s Cameron Boozer and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson.
Boozer might be the most fascinating player in this year’s draft. His numbers entering this week’s ACC tournament for the presumptive No. 1 overall seed in this year’s NCAA tournament are the stuff of video games: 22.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 58% from the field, 40.7% from 3-point range. He led Duke outright in points, rebounds and assists in eight games this season, the most by a freshman in 30 years.
That kind of production is why some NBA decision-makers argue that Boozer should join Peterson and Dybantsa as a potential No. 1 pick.
“I think there’s a top three, and a case for any of them,” a second East executive said. “Boozer has always been the best player at every level, and that can help overcome some of his athletic questions. … I would just say to trust the ultra high-level-feel guys to figure it out.”
So why isn’t Boozer firmly in the mix for the top pick? Simply put, it’s because he’s built like his father, two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer. That has left scouts and executives with questions about whether the 6-9, 250-pound Boozer has already come close to maxing out his game and whether his potential athletic limitations will limit his NBA ceiling.
But for at least one NBA executive, Boozer’s résumé should be enough to curb any trepidation around the league.
“You can focus on what he doesn’t have compared to the other guys in terms of athleticism or whatever,” an East assistant general manager said. “But he’s a winner and he’s been a winner at every level and he’s won everything he’s touched this year.”
Wilson’s draft profile is the polar opposite. He flashed a dynamic skill set with the Tar Heels before a thumb injury suffered last week ended his season, particularly when going coast to coast in transition after snatching a rebound.
“He was a kid in high school who wanted the ball in his hands, wanted to be a point power forward but didn’t have a motor or a toughness to him,” a rival ACC coach said of Wilson. “Since he got to Carolina, his care factor and toughness has really stood out and gone to the next level.”
Wilson averaged 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks while shooting 57.8% from the field in 24 games, showcasing why many around the league argue he could go ahead of Boozer as the third player off the board.
“He’s so raw, and there’s a ton of upside there,” the first East executive said. “I can easily see him becoming a top-three player in this draft. I think Cam already has his NBA body, but Caleb has a lot of room to grow.”
After No. 4, multiple guards join the discussion
The consensus is that the next four picks will feature freshman guards: Flemings, Illinois’ Keaton Wagler, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr.
Multiple sources compared Flemings’ top-end speed and quickness with the ball to a former MVP.
“Derrick [Rose] had the ability to turn the corner and get a clean layup,” another East scout said. “You don’t see that often and Kingston has that.”
Flemings, along with freshman teammate Cenac, earned praise from NBA scouts and executives for his willingness to play for Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson, who is known for running a no-nonsense program where minutes are not simply handed out.
“He’s shown he can do everything you need to do as a point guard in their two-guard system,” a West scout said. “He checks all the boxes: smart, makes teammates better, positional size, can shoot, engaged defender.”
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Kingston Flemings draws the and-1 bucket for Houston
Kingston Flemings gets to the rim and draws the and-1 for Houston.
Wagler has emerged onto the scene over the course of his freshman season at Illinois, with a 46-point performance against fellow NBA prospect Braden Smith and Purdue on Jan. 24 launching a new wave of attention. Wagler is the first Big Ten freshman in the past 30 years to average at least 18 points on 40% shooting from 3.
And at 6-6, his positional size should allow him to adjust to the NBA game.
“Wagler has flown up the board,” the first East scout said. “He has a Tyrese Haliburton profile in a way … weird shot, fast riser. I like him. He definitely has the size. If someone took him at five, I could see it.”
Acuff is the latest star guard to play for John Calipari, a list that includes Rose, John Wall, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, De’Aaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Maxey and Reed Sheppard, among others.
There will be questions about how Acuff’s slight frame will translate to the NBA, but the 6-3, 190-pound guard surely delivered for Arkansas. The SEC Freshman and Player of the Year has averaged 22.2 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 43.7% from 3.
“The guy who is most ready to play in the NBA is Acuff,” the first East executive said. “If you didn’t know anything other than watching him play, you’d think he was a four-year player. That’s how smooth he is.”
If it wasn’t for Peterson’s health questions at the top of the draft, the most perplexing storyline in the lottery probably would belong to Brown. The 6-5, 190-pound guard is averaging 18.2 points and 4.7 assists while shooting 41% overall and 34% from 3-point range. He has dealt with intermittent back issues that have forced him to sit out the ACC tournament.
“He’s like a bigger Darius Garland, a high-level shooter who knows how to use ball screens and make plays for others,” the ACC coach said. (It’s worth noting that injuries limited Garland to only five games in his lone season at Vanderbilt, but the Cleveland Cavaliers still selected him No. 5 in 2019.)
Brown’s résumé features several eye-popping games for the Cardinals — he scored at least 20 points in nine of his 21 games, including 45 in a win over NC State on Feb. 9 — but his health has clouded how NBA teams view his draft profile.
“I like the Louisville kid,” the first East scout said. “He’s really smooth, though I think he’s more of a combo guard than a pure point. But the back stuff is a concern.”
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