Teams thought so highly of the 2026 NBA Draft class that we saw historic levels of tanking last season — in the final months of the campaign, nine teams were actively not looking to win games, hoping to improve their lottery odds (even slightly). It bothered Commissioner Adam Silver and the teams’ owners so much that they changed the Draft Lottery rules. Again.
All that begs the question: Is the 2006 NBA Draft Class worth it? Where does this class rank historically?
It’s impossible to answer that properly without a time machine, but it has the high-end talent to rank among the best. Let’s break it down — and consider where the top picks like AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cam Boozer would rank against other recent high draft picks.
2026 vs. All-Time great drafts
It’s unfair to ask if the 2026 Draft Class to live up to what are considered the two greatest draft classes in NBA history:
1984: Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, plus a lot of players who had good careers (Sam Perkins, Kevin Willis, Otis Thorpe, Michael Cage, Jerome Kersey).
2023: LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and another group of players who had impressive careers (Kyle Korver, David West, Boris Diaw, and Kendrick Perkins among them).
Get past those two, however, and the high-end potential plus depth of this 2026 class means it might be able to hang with any other year.
For example, if the high end for the 2026 class pans out — say two of Dybantsa, Peterson, Boozer and Caleb Wilson end up with Hall of Fame worthy careers, plus some of the deep group of point guards (Darius Acuff Jr., Mikel Brown, Kingston Flemmings, Keaton Wagler) pan out as All-Stars or high-level players — could we compare this to the first Draft Lottery class in 1985: Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Terry Porter, Detlef Schrempf, A.C. Green and Joe Dumars (among others).
Perhaps someday we can compare the 2026 class to the 1996 class: Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen and Peja Stojakovic.
Maybe a better high-end comparison is the 2009 class: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, DeMar DeRozan and Taj Gibson.
Those 1996 and 2009 classes have MVPs (plural), more than one multi-time All-Star, and plenty of Hall of Famers, but that is where the bar is set for this 2006 class. The expectations are through the roof.
If you’re looking for a comparison that is more measured and cautious but realistic, let’s go with 1987: David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, and two great point guards, Kevin Johnson and Mark Jackson. The 2026 class can absolutely be that, if their players pan out, which leads to the next question.
Where do 2026 players rank compared to recent drafts?
As with ranking draft classes, this is impossible without a Time Machine. However, we can compare the pre-draft grades and rankings of players from recent drafts with the rankings and ratings of this 2026 class.
When NBC Sports asked a couple of front-office people whether they had Dybantsa or Peterson rated higher than Cooper Flagg — last year’s No. 1 pick — both quickly said no. In a hypothetical mixed draft, Flagg would still go No. 1, they said.
Jeremy Woo, ESPN’s draft insider, did a combined draft for the past two years, and his top five were:
1) Flagg; 2) Dybantsa; 3) Peterson; 4) Boozer; 5) Dylan Harper.
Which is incredible, given that we just witnessed how well Harper performed in the NBA Finals, outplaying teammate and All-Star De’Aaron Fox. (Again, these rankings were based on pre-draft grades for everyone.) Also, Woo has North Carolina’s Wilson graded out higher than VJ Edgecombe, who had a fantastic rookie season.
As for how the top of the 2026 draft class would shake out against the last decade of picks, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic — for my money, the best of the public draft experts — went back to 2015 and revealed who he graded the highest in the past decade. His top 10 looked like this:
1) Victor Wembanyama; 2) Flagg; 3) Zion Williamson; 4) Cade Cunningham; 5) Karl-Anthony Towns; 6) Dybantsa; 7) Boozer; 8) Peterson; 9) Ben Simmons; 10) Markelle Fultz.
First of all, this list is a reminder that drafting and developing players is an inexact science. Zion was essentially can’t miss, but he has never lived up to expectations. Simmons’ career started impressively, but the lack of shooting — and a sudden drop in confidence — rapidly changed its course.
It also shows how highly rated this class is. The Dybantsa/Peterson/Boozer trio is ranked higher than Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Chet Holmgren and Evan Mobley, for example.
That’s high praise, but it’s fitting — this class is that good. It was worth tanking for. Now it just has to live up to the hype.
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