2026 NBA Draft Combine burning questions: Can Caleb Wilson surge into the top three?

The basketball world is flying into Chicago for the 2026 NBA Draft Combine. There will be coaches, scouts, executives, general managers and staffers from every nook and cranny of the college basketball and NBA ranks who are watching the top prospects in the world try to solidify their standing ahead of next month’s 2026 NBA Draft.

There are make-or-break burning questions at stake for each prospect, but everyone heads to Chicago with vastly different ranges and expectations.

Let’s dive into the key storylines to know ahead of this week’s combine, which kicks off Monday and Tuesday with athletic testing and measurements, features scrimmages on Wednesday and Thursday and key interviews and pro days throughout the week.

The Darryn Peterson conundrum

Darryn Peterson is a blue-chip prospect who looked like the No. 1 pick when he dominated the first half of his head-to-head matchup with AJ Dybantsa on Jan. 31. But he enters Chicago with loads of questions to answer this week. He could certainly gain momentum to go No. 1 if the medicals come back clean after an injury-plagued season of cramps, which he blamed on high-dose creatine use, and a hamstring injury. Also, interviewing well would certainly help to douse some of the potentially overblown concerns surrounding his competitiveness.

AJ Dybantsa makes oodles of basketball sense for Washington at No. 1, but if Peterson answers the call this week, he can make it a real conversation at the top of the pecking order.

The point guard hierarchy in the lottery

There are four point guards positioned to go inside the Top 10: Illinois’ Keaton Wagler, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. and Houston’s Kingston Flemings. The Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks are all in the market for a point guard and hold picks 5 through 8, respectively.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, with a quartet of guys who each do something a little different.

Wagler combines terrific positional size, a gorgeous shooting stroke and outstanding feel with the ability to play on or off the ball. Shades of Derrick White make sense with Tyrese Haliburton as another high-end comp.

What about Acuff? His counting stats were the best of them all, and he’s arguably the most polished lead guard of the bunch. He scores and creates buckets in his sleep. I’m curious to see how he measures, but Acuff is a dawg and a hooper. I like the Deron Williams comparison for Acuff.

Brown is tantalizing. He’s all of 6-foot-4 and possesses deep range and shrewd playmaking. The good moments are special, but there were plenty of shaky nights too, and the medicals will be very important here. Brown clearly has some Dame Lillard in his range of potential high-end outcomes.

And then there’s Flemings. He will crush every interview. He will crush any defender who tries to guard him one-on-one with his blazing first step. He will crush the athletic testing. But is the shooting going to be an issue? Some mechanical tweaks have to be made quickly, and there were nights in college when he didn’t even attempt a triple. There are some Scoot Henderson vibes here with the Houston product.

All four are excellent players and prospects. It’s a fun scouting debate. Let the jockeying for position begin. 

Can Caleb Wilson make another surge?

North Carolina star Caleb Wilson is going to knock the interviews and the athletic testing out of the park. The athleticism, the smile, the competitiveness, the ability to put his nose on the rim, it’s all there.

Wilson fits like a glove with what the Chicago Bulls are looking for under new general manager, Bryson Graham.

But will he get to No. 4 overall? It’s still the most likely outcome, but there’s no question that Wilson can surge even more with a strong week. He fits the profile of what each NBA team is looking for as a two-way wing with elite athletic tools and an insatiable desire to win. Can he vault past Peterson or Duke’s Cameron Boozer? It’s certainly not out of the question.

NBA Mock Draft 2026: Cameron Boozer falls to Bulls at No. 4 after Grizzlies gamble on potential at No. 3

Gary Parrish

Who will be the biggest riser from the combine?

There’s always a riser who uses the NBA Draft Combine to solidify their standing. Last year, it was Cedric Coward and Carter Bryant who parlayed strong appearances at the combine to become lottery picks. 

Who is it this year?

Tennessee’s Nate Ament is a polarizing prospect who could be a top-10 pick if all goes well this week, even though his freshman-year tape in Knoxville was not the prettiest some nights. 

Santa Clara’s Allen Graves is certainly a name to watch. His profile breaks some analytical models. 

Texas wing Dailyn Swain is that jumbo wing handler who can defend. That’s tantalizing for NBA decision-makers who want to add as much skilled size to the mix. 

Maybe Kentucky big man Jayden Quaintance or Baylor wing Cameron Carr? Quaintance needs the medicals to come back clean after a brutal knee injury, but he’s one of the best defensive prospects in this draft. Carr has a 7-foot-2 wingspan, insane bounce and a pretty jumper. Can he use the interviews to show that his processing is up to speed? 

Someone is certainly bound to rise up the pecking order with a strong week. 

2026 NBA Draft Combine: Nate Ament, Koa Peat, Yaxel Lendeborg among five players with most to prove in Chicago

Isaac Trotter

The make-or-break, stay-or-go decisions

There are significant stay-or-go decisions at stake at the NBC Draft Combine this week. Let’s break it down by the biggest name in three categories:

Likely to stay in the draft, but…: Arizona’s Koa Peat. He could be the National Player of the Year if he returned to Arizona for his sophomore season, and his feedback could be all over the map, ranging from the late lottery all the way down to the mid-20s. 

Most likely to return to college, but…: Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner. The 6-foot point guard is one of the elite athletes in this draft despite his size. He will either be an All-American at Vanderbilt next season or one of the biggest outliers in the 2026 NBA Draft.

The portal: Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic is a net-shredder who is trying to stay in the NBA Draft but is currently close to the first-round cut-line. If he opts to return to college, a team like Kentucky could offer a massive bag for his services.