The 2026 NBA Draft Combine is now in the books and between the combine measurements, what happened between the lines, and the information gathered between sessions, there were some adjustments that needed to be made to the CBS Sports Big Board. What stayed consistent were the names atop the class as the same big three that we’ve been talking about for over a year now – AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cameron Boozer – remain the top three prospects in this year’s class.
The next date looming on the calendar is May 27, the NCAA’s deadline to withdraw from the draft. That will inevitably shake this order up again, with several players likely to return to the college ranks. In fact, some of the most notable risers and fallers from Chicago are players who have remaining NCAA eligibility.
2026 NBA Draft Combine intel: Rumors and buzz on trades, draft stock and strategy coming out of Chicago
Adam Finkelstein
Notable risers and fallers
The Michigan frontcourt duo of Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. both got notable bumps coming out of the combine. Mara measured in even bigger than expected, at 7-feet-3 without shoes on, along with an absolutely massive 9-9 standing reach. In a draft that lacks depth at the center position, coupled by a time when bigger line-ups are again becoming more prevalent in the NBA, that certainly impacts the supply-demand ratio for Mara. He was a dominant defender this year at Michigan, but it’s actually some of the old UCLA tape, where they had him switching ball-screens, that has got some scouts talking. In other words, he’s not just a drop coverage giant, he’s more mobile than someone his size should be, and is not a one-trick pony defensively. Couple that with his passing, natural touch, and there is a lot of optimism about Mara right now.Unfortunately for Wolverine fans, Johnson was another big winner of the combine, which means he’s likely to stay in the draft. He too measured even bigger than expected, at 6-9 without shoes on with a 7-3.5 wingspan and chiseled 250-pound frame. He tested well across the board athletically and the shooting gains we saw this year at Michigan looked sustainable in drill work. For someone who is also rugged inside, and switchable defensively, that makes him an ultra-versatile frontcourt piece who can play multiple positions and operate inside and out, on both ends of the floor. Additionally, there aren’t really any other alternatives from that archetype in this draft class, which makes him a possibility as early as the late lottery.Johnson’s combine group also included Arizona’s Koa Peat. By this point, it has been well-documented the challenges Peat had shooting the ball that day, but in that setting, he looked notably behind Johnson when they shared the same court at the same time. Previously a projected lottery pick, he has slipped to 18 on this latest update, which is still more optimistic than most. He had an undeniable impact as a freshman and has a distinct winning pedigree, but the questions about how his game translated only intensified after this week. Given that he was reportedly asking teams for feedback on his stay-or-go decision, a return to Arizona doesn’t seem out of the question, and might be in his best interest given the growth he showed there this season, his likely NIL valuation, and a much less competitive 2027 draft field.Another faller was Flory Bidunga. The athletic lefty made notable gains this year at Kansas, was ranked the number one prospect in the transfer portal, and committed to Louisville, but still opted to go through the draft process. Bidunga would have to be a top-10 pick to match what he will reportedly earn for the Cardinals next year. It looked unlikely that he would even play up to his previous slot as a projected late first-rounded. The disconnect continues to be rooted in his offensive game and correlating defensive position. He was as mobile and switchable as any frontcourt defender in college basketball last year, but offensively he’s a straight five, and there are questions about whether he has the size and strength to body up with opposing NBA centers. He’s slid down to No. 36 in this last update which should all but guarantee that he’ll be suiting up for Louisville next season.
Updated Top 100 Big Board
1AJ DybantsaBYUSF6-9Fr2Darryn PetersonKansasPG6-5Fr3Cameron BoozerDukePF6-9Fr4Caleb WilsonNorth CarolinaPF6-10Fr5Darius AcuffArkansasPG6-3Fr6Keaton WaglerIllinoisPG6-6Fr7Kingston FlemingsHoustonPG6-3Fr8Mikel BrownLouisvillePG6-4Fr9Brayden BurriesArizonaSG6-4Fr10Nate AmentTennesseePF6-10Fr11Aday MaraMichiganC7-3Jr12Yaxel LendeborgMichiganPF6-10Gr13Jayden QuaintanceKentuckyC6-10So14Labaron PhilonAlabamaPG6-3So15Karim LopezMexicoPF6-9Int16Hannes SteinbachWashingtonPF6-11Fr17Morez JohnsonMichiganPF6-10So18Koa PeatArizonaPF6-8Fr19Bennett StirtzIowaPG6-3Sr20Cameron CarrBaylorSG6-5RS-So21Christian AndersonTexas TechPG6-2So22Chris CenacHoustonPF6-11Fr23Henri VeesaarNorth CarolinaC7-0Jr24Ebuka OkorieStanfordPG6-2Fr25Dailyn SwainTexasSF6-7Jr26Rueben ChinyeluFloridaC6-10Jr27Isaiah EvansDukeSG6-6So28Amari AllenAlabamaSF6-6Fr29Tarris Reed Jr.ConnecticutC6-10Sr30Allen GravesSanta ClaraPF6-9Fr31Alex KarabanConnecticutPF6-8Sr32Tyler TannerVanderbiltPG6-0So33Tounde YessoufouBaylorSF6-5Fr34Meleek ThomasArkansasSG6-4Fr35Zuby EjioforSt. John’sC6-8Sr36Flory BidungaKansasC6-9So37Joshua JeffersonIowa StatePF6-9Sr38Luigi SuigoItalyC7-4Int39Matthew AbleNC StateSF6-5FR40Milan MomcilovicIowa StateSF6-9Jr41Braden SmithPurduePG5-11Sr42Billy RichmondArkansasSF6-6So43Malachi MorenoKentuckyC7-0Fr44Ryan ConwellLouisvilleSG6-3Sr45Baba MillerCincinnatiPF6-11Sr46Trevon BrazileArkansasPF6-10Sr47Sergio De LarreaSpainSG6-7Int48Otega OwehKentuckySG6-5Sr49Jaden BradleyArizonaPG6-3Sr50Richie SaundersBYUSG6-5Sr51Emanuel SharpHoustonSG6-3Sr52Bruce ThorntonOhio StatePG6-1Sr53Tyler BilodeauUCLAPF6-8Sr54Ja’Kobi GillespieTennesseePG6-0Sr55Ugonna OnyensoVirginiaC6-11Sr56Kylan BoswellIllinoisPG6-2Sr57Milos UzanHoustonPG6-4Sr58Dillon MitchellSt. John’sPF6-7Sr59Tyler NickelVanderbiltSF6-7Sr60John BlackwellWisconsinSG6-4Jr61Maliq BrownDukeC6-8Sr62Tobi LawalVirginia TechPF6-8Sr63Aaron NkrumahTennessee State6-6189Sr64Andrej StojakovicIllinoisSG6-6Jr65Felix OkparaTennesseeC6-11Sr66Keyshawn HallAuburnSF6-7Sr67Jeremy Fears Jr.Michigan StatePG6-1RS-So68Nate BittleOregonC7-0RS-Sr69Izaiyah NelsonSouth FloridaC6-9Sr70Rafael CastroGeorge WashingtonC6-10Sr71Nick BoydWisconsinPG6-2Sr72Bryce HopkinsSt. John’sSF6-7Gr73Quadir CopelandNC StatePG6-6Sr74Tamin LipseyIowa StatePG6-2Sr75Malik ReneauMiamiPF6-8Sr76Jaron PierreSMUSG6-5G77Tucker DevriesIndianaSF6-7Sr78Peter SuderMiami (OH)SG6-4Sr79Cade TysonMinnesotaSF6-7Sr80Jack KayilGermanySG6-5Int81Jaden HenleyGrand CanyonSF6-7Sr82Jacob CofieUSCPF6-9So83Nick MartinelliNorthwesternPF6-7Sr84Noam YaacovIsraelPG6-2Int85Lamar WilkersonIndianaSG6-4Sr86Darrion WilliamsNC StateSF6-5Sr87Trey Kaufman-RennPurdueC6-8Sr88Tobe AwakaArizonaPF6-9Sr89Graham IkeGonzagaC6-10Gr90Alex SamodurovGreecePF6-11Int91Elijah MahiSanta ClaraPF6-7Sr92Aiden TobiasonTempleSG6-5So93Seth TrimbleNorth CarolinaPG6-2Sr94Chris BellCaliforniaSF6-7Sr95Melvin Council Jr.KansasPG6-4Sr96Duke MilesVanderbiltPG6-1Gr97Ernest Udeh Jr.MiamiC6-11Sr98Pavle BackoSerbiaC6-11Int99Jaxon KohlerMichigan StatePF6-9Sr100Josh DixCreightonSG6-5Sr
