peel back effect

LOCALIZE IT: NBA draft starts June 23. Top candidates to be 1st-round picks have ties to 29 states

Posted 6/11/26

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

The two-day NBA draft begins June 23 in New York, home of the Brooklyn Nets.

BYU freshman forward AJ Dybantsa has long been favored to have his named called first …

delmar logo

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $14.99 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already a member? Log in to continue.   Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

Please log in to continue

Log in

LOCALIZE IT: NBA draft starts June 23. Top candidates to be 1st-round picks have ties to 29 states

Posted

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

The two-day NBA draft begins June 23 in New York, home of the Brooklyn Nets.

BYU freshman forward AJ Dybantsa has long been favored to have his named called first with the No. 1 overall pick, owned by the Washington Wizards. He was the nation’s leading scorer and an Associated Press first-team All-American in his lone college season. But Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson is considered by many to be a viable challenger to Dybantsa for the top spot. The top tier of prospects includes a pair of Tobacco Road rivals in freshman Cameron Boozer of Duke and fellow one-and-done prospect Caleb Wilson of North Carolina. Boozer was AP national player of the year, while Wilson was a second-team AP all-American.

Six teams have two first-round picks in this draft, including the Memphis Grizzlies (Nos. 3, 16) and the Chicago Bulls (Nos. 4, 15). The list also includes multiple teams that reached postseason play. The Atlanta Hawks own the No. 8 and 23 picks after falling to the NBA Finals-bound New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. The Charlotte Hornets could help their young roster with the No. 14 and 18 picks after that group surged through the second half of the schedule to reach the play-in rounds. Another team is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have the No. 12 and No. 17 picks in their deep well of draft assets to bolster a team that won a league-best 64 regular-season games.

____

READ SOME OF AP’S LATEST COVERAGE

AP Newsroom: NCAA Basketball

AP’s NBA mock draft: BYU’s Dybantsa is No. 1 ahead of Kansas’ Peterson, Duke’s Boozer, UNC’s Wilson

Florida’s Thomas Haugh chooses friends, siblings and another title chase over NBA life

Sharpshooter Milan Mimcilovic commits to Kentucky after pulling out of NBA draft

A last-minute rush of NBA draft withdrawals reshapes college basketball rosters

____

HOW TO WATCH

The first round of the draft will air June 23 at 8 p.m. on ABC and ESPN. The second round will air June 24 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

____

FIND YOUR STATE: THE 38 PLAYERS MOST LIKELY TO BE DRAFTED IN THE FIRST ROUND

The list includes where players competed in college and their hometowns listed by their college teams, as well as previous team and nationality for international prospects.

ALABAMA

Labaron Philon Jr., hometown is Mobile, Alabama; guard at Alabama

— — —

ARIZONA

Brayden Burries, hometown is San Bernardino, California; guard at Arizona

Koa Peat, hometown is Chandler, Arizona; forward at Arizona

— — —

ARKANSAS

Darius Acuff Jr., hometown is Detroit; guard at Arkansas

Meleek Thomas, hometown is Pittsburgh; guard at Arkansas

— — —

CALIFORNIA

Brayden Burries, hometown is San Bernardino, California; guard at Arizona

Allen Graves, hometown is Ponchatoula, Louisiana; forward at Santa Clara

Ebuka Okorie, hometown is Nashua, New Hampshire; guard at Stanford

— — —

CONNECTICUT

Alex Karaban, hometown is Southborough, Massachusetts; forward at UConn

Tarris Reed Jr., hometown is St. Louis; center at UConn

— — —

FLORIDA

Cameron Boozer, hometown is Miami; forward at Duke

Mikel Brown Jr., hometown is Orlando, Florida; guard at Louisville

— — —

GEORGIA

Christian Anderson, hometown is Atlanta; guard at Texas Tech

Caleb Wilson, hometown is Atlanta; forward at North Carolina

— — —

ILLINOIS

Morez Johnson Jr., hometown is Riverdale, Illinois; forward at Michigan

Keaton Wagler, hometown is Shawnee, Kansas; guard at Illinois

— — —

INDIANA

Ryan Conwell, hometown is Indianapolis; guard at Louisville

Braden Smith, hometown is Westfield, Indiana; guard at Purdue

— — —

IOWA

Joshua Jefferson, hometown is Las Vegas; forward at Iowa State

Bennett Stirtz, hometown is Liberty, Missouri; guard at Iowa

— — —

KANSAS

Darryn Peterson, hometown is Canton, Ohio; guard at Kansas

Keaton Wagler, hometown is Shawnee, Kansas; guard at Illinois

— — —

KENTUCKY

Mikel Brown Jr., hometown is Orlando, Florida; guard at Louisville

Ryan Conwell, hometown is Indianapolis; guard at Louisville

Jayden Quaintance, hometown is Cleveland; forward/center at Kentucky

— — —

LOUISIANA

Chris Cenac Jr., hometown is New Orleans; center at Houston

Allen Graves, hometown is Ponchatoula, Louisiana; forward at Santa Clara

— — —

MASSACHUSETTS

AJ Dybantsa, hometown is Brockton, Massachusetts; forward at BYU

Alex Karaban, hometown is Southborough, Massachusetts; forward at UConn

— — —

MICHIGAN

Darius Acuff Jr., hometown is Detroit; guard at Arkansas

Morez Johnson Jr., hometown is Riverdale, Illinois; forward at Michigan

Yaxel Lendeborg, hometown is Pennsauken, New Jersey; forward at Michigan

Aday Mara, hometown is Zaragoza, Spain; center at Michigan

— — —

MINNESOTA

Cameron Carr, hometown is Eden Prairie, Minnesota; guard at Baylor

— — —

MISSOURI

Tarris Reed Jr., hometown is St. Louis; center at UConn

Bennett Stirtz, hometown is Liberty, Missouri; guard at Iowa

— — —

NEVADA

Joshua Jefferson, hometown is Las Vegas; forward at Iowa State

— — —

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Ebuka Okorie, hometown is Nashua, New Hampshire; guard at Stanford

— — —

NEW JERSEY

Yaxel Lendeborg, hometown is Pennsauken, New Jersey; forward at Michigan

— — —

NEW YORK

Zuby Ejiofor, hometown is Garland, Texas; forward at St. John's

— — —

NORTH CAROLINA

Cameron Boozer, hometown is Miami; forward at Duke

Isaiah Evans, hometown is Fayetteville, North Carolina; guard at Duke

Henri Veesaar, hometown is Tallinn, Estonia; center at North Carolina

Caleb Wilson, hometown is Atlanta; forward at North Carolina

— — —

OHIO

Baba Miller, hometown is Mallorca, Spain; forward/center at Cincinnati

Darryn Peterson, hometown is Canton, Ohio; guard at Kansas

Jayden Quaintance, hometown is Cleveland; forward/center at Kentucky

Dailyn Swain, hometown is Columbus, Ohio; guard/forward at Texas

— — —

PENNSYLVANIA

Meleek Thomas, hometown is Pittsburgh; guard at Arkansas

— — —

TENNESSEE

Nate Ament, hometown is Manassas, Virginia; forward at Tennessee

— — —

TEXAS

Christian Anderson, hometown is Atlanta; guard at Texas Tech

Cameron Carr, hometown is Eden Prairie, Minnesota; guard at Baylor

Chris Cenac Jr., hometown is New Orleans; center at Houston

Zuby Ejiofor, hometown is Garland, Texas; forward at St. John’s

Kingston Flemings, hometown is San Antonio; guard at Houston

Dailyn Swain, hometown is Columbus, Ohio; guard/forward at Texas

— — —

UTAH

AJ Dybantsa, hometown is Brockton, Massachusetts; forward at BYU

— — —

VIRGINIA

Nate Ament, hometown is Manassas, Virginia; forward at Tennessee

— — —

WASHINGTON

Hannes Steinbach, hometown is Wurzburg, Germany; forward/center at Washington

— — —

INTERNATIONAL

Sergio De Larrea, from Spain, guard/forward at Vallodolid in Spain

Jack Kayil, from Germany, guard at Alba Berlin in Germany

Karim Lopez, from Mexico, forward at New Zealand Breakers in Australia

Aday Mara, hometown is Zaragoza, Spain; center at Michigan

Baba Miller, hometown is Mallorca, Spain; forward/center at Cincinnati

Hannes Steinbach, hometown is Wurzburg, Germany; forward/center at Washington

Luigi Suigo, from Italy, center at KK Mega Superbet in Serbia

Henri Veesaar, hometown is Tallinn, Estonia; center at North Carolina

___

READ ADDITIONAL AP COVERAGE

A history of the NBA draft lottery and its changes over time

NBA’s board of governors passes anti-tanking changes to draft lottery

Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson stays in the NBA draft after 2 seasons with Red Raiders

Florida center Rueben Chinyelu is coming back for his senior season

Washington wins NBA draft lottery, chance to pick first on June 23

Expectations already sky-high for the NBA’s draft class of 2026, and the picks are still weeks away ___

Localize It is a resource produced regularly by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to the Local News Success team at localizeit@ap.org. View guides published in the last 30 days here.

Members and subscribers make this story possible.
You can help support non-partisan, community journalism.

x
X