Just when you thought basketball season was over until the fall! The New York Knicks win their first NBA title since the Nixon administration and they get precisely 10 days to enjoy it, as the NBA calendar quickly moves on to the the NBA Draft and later free agency set to begin on June 30. And that doesn’t even include trade season – Giannis is already on the move to Miami!
Tonight’s draft will have an Iowa tinge to it, as Bennett Stirtz looks set to become Ben McCollum’s first NBA draft pick and Iowa’s third first rounder since 2022, after Keegan and Kris Murray joined the Association in 2022 and 2023, respectively. After a huge drought of first round picks between Ricky Davis and Keegan, Iowa now looks to get three in a four-year window.
The Scout
You all saw Stirtz play, both at Drake two seasons ago and then at Iowa this past season. The shot making. Don’t let anyone else tell you he’s a bad athlete – he’s not. At times, excellent defense. The near-iron man minutes. Stirtz lived up to all of the billing that accompanied him from Drake in his lone season at Iowa, a season that – remember this?? – ended with the Hawks making the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987. Stirtz averaged 19.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game in that lone campaign in Iowa City. Oh and he finished with 48/36/85 shooting splits. Not bad! He backed that up at the NBA combine in Chicago on May 11. Stirtz measured in at 6-2 1/2 without shoes with a 6 1/2-foot wingspan. He had a 37 1/2-inch vertical at the combine, with a 30 1/2-inch no step vertical. Stirtz also had a 3/4 court sprint time of 3.17 seconds, which was good for fourth in the combine.
Those are pretty good numbers overall and put to bed most worries about his athleticism, but where Stirtz really blew up was in the shooting categories. Stirtz was 20/25 on spot-up jumpers and 23/30 off the dribble. The spot up number was the best at the combine (out of 26), while he tied for third in off the dribble shooting (also out of 26.) In the 3-point star drill, he made 16 of 25 attempts, which tied him for 6th out of 25. He’s impressed enough that Jay Bilas finally found it in his heart to mention Iowa, where he has Stirtz listed as the sleeper of the draft.
The Draft Projections
Prior to his excellent combine, mock drafts such as The Athletic had Stirtz going at 26 overall to the Denver Nuggets. Not bad for a former D-II player, finding yourself in late first round territory. And also, yes, please on that draft – Denver needs another player that can shoot and take the ball handling burden off of Jamal Murray and to an extent, Nikola Jokic.
But that was pre-Combine. Post-Combine, every mock I’ve found has Stirtz moving into the top 20. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has Stirtz at 19 overall to Toronto. Vecenie notes hearing Stirtz in a tight range from 16 to 21, which would be landing spots in Memphis, Oklahoma City, Charlotte, the aforementioned stop north of the border in Toronto, San Antonio, or Detroit. ESPN’s latest mock has Stirtz at 17 to Oklahoma City. J. Kyle Mann’s last mock at The Ringer has Stirtz at 21 to Detroit. One could do worse than Toronto, Oklahoma City, or Detroit. All three were in the playoffs, and Oklahoma City was a game away from a shot at defending their 2025 title.
The 2026 NBA Draft begins at 7:00 p.m. central and will air on ESPN/ABC.
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