The NBA has finished conducting the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft tonight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn (June 23), which started at 8 PM ET. The best prospects in the country were up for selection tonight, as some would argue this was the most stacked draft class in terms of talent since 2003.
Let’s take a look at the selections that each team made in the first round, which are the first 30 picks. While the top four picks were essentially locked in between AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson, and Caleb Wilson, it was not clear until the last second which of the four was the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick.
But at the end of the debate, it came down to a selection between Dybantsa and Peterson, and the Wizards selected AJ Dybantsa to join their stacked roster with Trae Young and Anthony Davis. Meanwhile, Peterson went second overall to the Jazz, where he has also joined a promising young team. Here is the full list of selections made in the first round.
1. Washington Wizards: AJ Dybantsa (F, BYU)
2. Utah Jazz: Darryn Peterson (G, Kansas)
3. Memphis Grizzlies: Cameron Boozer (F, Duke)
4. Chicago Bulls: Caleb Wilson (F, UNC)
5. Los Angeles Clippers (via Pacers): Keaton Wagler (G, Illinois)
6. Brooklyn Nets: Mikel Brown Jr. (G, Louisiana)
7. Sacramento Kings: Darius Acuff Jr. (F, Arkansas)
8. Atlanta Hawks (via Pelicans): Kingston Flemings (G, Houston)
9. Dallas Mavericks: Morez Johnson Jr. (F, Michigan)
10. Milwaukee Bucks: Brayden Burries (G, Arizona)
11. Golden State Warriors: Yaxel Lendeborg (F, Michigan)
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Clippers): Aday Mara (C, Michigan)
13. Milwaukee Bucks (via Heat): Nate Ament (F, Tennessee)
14. Charlotte Hornets: Hannes Steinbach (F, Washington)
15. Chicago Bulls (via Trail Blazers): Dailyn Swain (G, Texas)
16. Memphis Grizzlies (traded to Thunder): Bennett Stirtz (G, Iowa)
17. Oklahoma City Thunder (traded to Pistons via Grizzlies): Ebuka Okorie (G, Stanford)
18. Charlotte Hornets (Magic via Suns): Christian Anderson Jr. (G, Texas-Tech)
19. Toronto Raptors: Allen Graves (F, Santa Clara)
20. San Antonio Spurs (via Hawks): Jayden Quaintance (F, Kentucky)
21. Memphis Grizzlies (via Pistons): Karim Lopez (F, Mexico)
22. Philadelphia 76ers (Rockets via Thunder): Labaron Philon Jr. (G, Alabama)
23. Atlanta Hawks (via Cavaliers): Zuby Ejiofor (F, Saint Joseph’s)
24. Los Angeles Lakers (via Knicks): Cameron Carr (G, Baylor)
25. New York Knicks (via Lakers): Sergio De Larrea (F, Spain)
26. San Antonio Spurs (via Nuggets): Tarris Reed Jr. (C, UConn)
27. Boston Celtics: Chris Cenac Jr. (F, Houston)
28. Brooklyn Nets (via Timberwolves): Joshua Jefferson (F, Iowa State)
29. Sacramento Kings (via Cavaliers): Alex Karaban (F, UConn)
30. Phoenix Suns (Knicks via Mavericks): Koa Peat (F, Arizona)
In total, 17 forwards, 11 guards, and two centers were drafted in the first round today. But unlike last season, when the Nets had five first-round picks, no single team has made an overhaul in terms of players selected.
At most, a team has two new additions from the first round, while some teams did not even have a single pick. So the distribution of talent from this draft class has been equitable across the league.
Small-market teams like the Jazz and the Grizzlies have secured potentially franchise-altering pieces in Peterson and Boozer. While the Wizards, who want to jump to championship contention this season, have acquired the most promising prospect of them all: AJ Dybantsa.
Going into free agency, we anticipate that while some of these players could get traded, there would not be any major moves among the prominent selections.
The second round of the draft is scheduled for tomorrow, June 24, at the same time (8 PM ET). It will be interesting to see how some teams that did not make any additions to their roster tonight will use the remaining talent of this draft class tomorrow.
