CHICAGO — The 2026 NBA Draft Combine has the ability to move players up and down the board to a meaningful degree. The top-4 four already feels locked in with Cameron Boozer, A.J. Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Caleb Wilson leading a strong group at the top of the class, but a good day of measurements or a bad test of athletic testing could impact how the rest of the selections play out on draft day.
The Washington Wizards hold the cards to the draft with the first pick, and while Dybantsa feels like the front-runner, the team could also look to trade down for Boozer (who is the No. 1 player on our board) or Peterson while picking up future assets. The Chicago Bulls are sitting pretty after moving up to No. 4 in the lottery and earning the rights to the Portland Trail Blazers’ No. 15 pick due to a trade made in 2021. The Thunder also have two top-20 picks while being the favorites to win the 2026 NBA championship.
Check out our instant mock draft for mini scouting reports on every projected first round pick. There are already some players helping their stock after the opening days of the combine. There are also a few who came in a bit smaller or slower than expected. Let’s dive into the biggest winners and losers from the 2026 NBA Draft combine.
Winner: Morez Johnson Jr.
Johnson transferred from Illinois to Michigan for his sophomore year, and turned into a key cog in a supersized front court that led the Wolverines to the national championship. College teammates Yaxel Lendeborg (read our feature on his journey) and Aday Mara (read our scouting report) will likely go before him in the first-round, but don’t sleep on Johnson either as a borderline lottery pick. His ability to toggle between the four and the five and add toughness, rebounding, and interior finishing to any frontcourt makes him appealing outside of the top-10.
Johnson measured at 6’9, 250.6 pounds, with a 7’3.5 wingspan, and an 8’11 standing reach. Tawny Park Metrics has the numbers on how his measurements and athletic testing compares to power forwards historically:
No one needed to see the numbers to know Johnson was big and strong — it was evident just by watching him play. He was able to establish deep post position all year, which helped him finish with 67.6 percent true shooting, a top-15 mark in America. Johnson is also one of the best and most versatile defenders in this class, showing the ability to wall up inside despite being a couple inches short for a center, while also having quick feet on the perimeter and the ability to switch assignments.
This is a big dude moving really well:
I had Johnson going No. 20 to the Spurs in my instant mock after the lottery, and it already feels too low. Charlotte at No. 14 and Chicago at No. 15 would both make a lot of sense.
Wagler is more than just a great story. After entering Illinois as the No. 150 recruit in the freshman class, the 6’6 guard blossomed into a lottery pick while leading Illinois to the Final Four for the first time since 2005. Wagler’s 46-point explosion at Purdue might be the single best game any prospect in this draft class had all year. His intersection of positional size, pull-up shooting, and turnover avoidance while running the offense efficiently is going to make him a very high pick in this draft. We had Wagler going No. 5 to the Clippers in our instant mock.
There wasn’t much information on Wagler outside of the tape because he flew so far under the radar before this year. His combine measurements didn’t do him any favors. The Illini guard posted an underwhelming 6’6.25 wingspan measurements, which offsets some of the advantage he gets from his height. Wagler was already considered a poor athlete after finishing the season with zero dunks. A lack of length and lack of explosiveness is a bad combo.
Wagler shot the cover off the ball in drills, and posted a very respectable 36-inch max vertical leap. That’s cool, but no one is going to be convinced that he’s some high-level athlete with zero dunks and a low steal rate. Granted, Illinois forced fewer turnovers than any DI team this year, so part of it could be attributed to the system.
I don’t see Wagler as a top-5 pick anymore after the combine. Now, he could be available for the Nets at No. 6, the Hawks at No. 8, the Mavericks at No. 9, or the Bucks at No. 10.
Winner: Cam Boozer
Boozer is the best player in the draft, and he should be the No. 1 overall pick. It feels like he moved closer to that being the reality during the combine, where he measured well and surpassed expectations with his athletic testing.
Boozer checked in at 6’8.25 barefoot with a 7’1.5 wingspan and 253 pound frame. That’s great size for a power forward, and even lets him play a little bit of small ball center.
The knock on Boozer is his athleticism, but that shouldn’t be used as a blanket statement. Yes, Boozer struggles to contain faster guards on the perimeter at times, and he has trouble finishing over length inside. He still has good lateral quickness, and he proved it during testing. His lane agility score was better than Darryn Peterson and Caleb Wilson, and tied with A.J. Dybantsa.
He’s a really smooth mover who never looks awkward changing directions.
I still think Boozer goes No. 3 to the Grizzlies. Memphis would be thrilled with that outcome, I’m sure. He should go even higher than that.
Winner: Aday Mara
How Aday Mara played his way into the lottery of our latest NBA mock draft
Everyone knew Mara was gigantic, but seeing these official numbers is still startling.
I spoke to Mara throughout Michigan’s March Madness run with a credential to the Big Ten Tournament, Sweet 16, and Final Four. He was wonderful in interviews with the media, and I’m sure he’s going to impress teams in that area, too. There are only so many people in the world with Mara’s length. Zach Edey and Donovan Clingan have both looked good when healthy in the NBA, and their success should only help Mara’s case.
I think Mara has a good chance to go No. 5 overall now to the Los Angeles Clippers. If not, he should be a legit option for the Atlanta Hawks at No. 8.
Flemings was spectacular this year at Houston as a freshman point guard who combined nasty driving ability with knockdown mid-range shooting off the dribble, terrific live-dribble passing, and defensive playmaking to establish himself as a likely top-10 pick. I’ve been leaning towards having Flemings at No. 5 overall on my board, but it’s a harder case to make now that he measured so small at the combine.
Flemings measured at 6’2.5 barefoot with a 6’3.5 wingspan. That’s pretty tiny for an NBA point guard, and honestly it makes his production this year even more impressive. Flemings is smart and tough and plays with a high motor, and he’s also super athletic. He crushed the athletic testing at the combine.
Flemings is going to be a good NBA guard for a long time, I’m confident in that. I just don’t know if a top-5 pick can really be that small. He’s not a true loser of the combine because his testing was so good, but he did come in smaller than expected.
I’m also giving Flemings the nicest guy award for the 2026 draft class. I loved his film breakdown with my guy Ben Pfeifer. Someone is going to get a leader and a two-way guard in the lottery. He should be an option for the Nets at No. 6, the Kings at No. 7, and the Hawks at No. 8, but his poor measurements could lower his floor on draft day if those teams decide to go in another direction.
Cenac has some of the best tools in the draft. Houston’s freshman big man measured 6’10.25 barefoot with a 7’5 wingspan, a 9’0.5 standing reach, and a 240-pound frame. He also proved he can jump out of the gym by crushing the vertical leap testing:
What makes Cenac so intriguing is that he can actually play on the perimeter offensively with tools like this. He made 30-of-90 three-pointers this year, and a solid 43.3 percent of his non-rim two-pointers. Cenac has a fluid stroke and a high release that’s almost impossible to contest. He’s one of the best stretch five options in this class, because he’s also great on the glass with a 26.1 percent defensive rebounding rate and a 10.1 offensive rebounding rate.
Cenac is still pretty raw as a player, but it’s encouraging that he chose to commit to Kelvin Sampson and Houston over a less demanding program. I asked him if he ever regretted committing to the Cougars at the draft combine, and he said “every other day” before acknowledging that he knew what he signed up for.
I had Cenac at No. 19 to the Raptors in my mock draft. That might not be his exact landing place, but it feels like the right range.
Steinbach was listed at 230 pounds during his freshman season at Washington, which felt pretty light for a player who will probably spend half of his time playing center in the NBA. His length was also question. Steinbach measured very well at the combine, weighing in at 248 pounds while being just below the average wingspan for an NBA center.
Steinbach’s offensive rebounding is one of the best individual skills in this draft class. He has great hands and catches everything thrown at him, which produces some awesome finishes cutting to the basket or filling the lane in transition. He showed a little promise with his jump shot this year, but he’ll need to prove he has NBA range. Who he guards has also been an open debate.
I feel better about Steinbach as a lottery prospect after the way he measured. He’s still a 4.5 to me positionally, but that’s just fine with two big lineups back in vogue around the league. I had Steinbach at No. 17 to the Thunder in my instant mock, and he might not last that long.
Winner: Cam Carr
It was surprising to see Carr was playing in the combine scrimmages, because he’s considered a possible top-20 pick. Teams wanted him to look like the best player on the floor in this setting, and that’s exactly what happened. The Baylor wing went nuclear in the second scrimmage of the day on Wednesday, exploding for 30 points on 6-of-12 shooting from three.
Carr measured at 6’4.5 barefoot with a nearly 7’1 wingspan. He also had the combine’s third-best max vertical at 42.5 inches. Want a long wing who can rip threes and jump out of the gym? Who wouldn’t? I had Carr at No. 21 to the Pistons in my instant mock, and now I don’t think he lasts that long.
It’s no surprise that Gillespie also shined in the scrimmages. The Tennessee point guard clearly won his matchup against Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner, finishing with 28 points, five assists, and three steals on 10-of-17 shooting, including five made three-pointers.
Gillespie’s measurements were small, as expected. He’s a hair under 6-foot with a 6’4 wingspan. Don’t let that fool you. It feels like there’s a senior guard who gets drafted in the second round and beats expectations every year, and Gillespie is an obvious pick to fit that mold this year.
Gillespie shoots a ton of threes (more than 14 per 100 possessions this season), he’s a very good passer who avoids turnovers, and he’s capable defensively despite his lack of size. He’s going to make some team very happy in the mid second round.
It’s no surprise that the Arizona freshman shot really poorly in drills — anyone who has watched him play could have guessed that. While he tied for the fifth-best standing vertical leap, he also had the slowest time out of anyone who did the shuttle run. Peat feels caught in between positions without enough size to play the frontcourt or enough shooting to play the perimeter.
It’s never a good sign when a player is reworking their jumper during the pre-draft process, and that’s exactly what’s happening with Peat. He played decently well in Arizona’s March Madness run to the Final Four, averaging 17.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game on shaky efficiency, but it might not be enough to keep him in the draft. There’s already talk that he should return for his sophomore year.
I didn’t have Peat as a first-rounder in my instant mock. He probably isn’t making it in the next update either after his combine performance.
Loser: Tyler Tanner
Tanner was always going to measure really small, and he did at 5’10.75 barefoot with a 6’4.25 wingspan. His weight was even more concerning. Tanner only checked in at 166.8 pounds, which is going to contribute to skepticism about he’ll translate to the NBA.
Tanner decided to play in the combine scrimmage to help his stock, but he didn’t dominate like he hoped. His team got blown out and he was out-played by the other small guard from a Tennessee university in Gillespie. He finished with 13 points and five assists on 4-of-11 shooting from the flor with two steals and two turnovers.
Tanner is advanced analytics darling, but you only need to turn on the tape to see how good he is. He was legitimately one of the best players in college basketball this year as a sophomore, and a mediocre combine performance isn’t going to chance that.
I’m a big Tanner fan, but it’s hard to watch the playoffs and think he can survive being targeting defensively. He’s also not a great shot-creator or a great shooter. He’s damn good at basketball, and I think he’ll make it work eventually, but I wouldn’t be surprised if NBA scouts aren’t super high on him after this week.
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