SECOND ROUND
• Ohio State guard Bruce Thornton, who was selected by the New York Knicks with the 31st pick, is the Buckeyes’ all‑time leading scorer (2,164 points), breaking Dennis Hopson’s 39-year-old record in 2026. (As part of a planned trade, the Knicks will send the draft rights to Thornton to the Houston Rockets.)
• BYU guard Richie Saunders, who was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 32nd pick, became the school’s second selection in the 2026 NBA Draft. It marks the first time the Cougars have had multiple picks in the same draft (AJ Dybantsa, No. 1) since the NBA Draft adopted its current two-round format in 1989.
• Duke guard Isaiah Evans, who was selected by the Brooklyn Nets with the 33rd pick, became the program’s 73rd draft pick since the NBA Draft moved to a two-round format in 1989, the most of any school. (As part of a planned trade, the Nets will send the draft rights to Evans to the Minnesota Timberwolves.)
• Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas, who was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 34th pick, shot 48.7% from three- point range in SEC games in 2025-26, an Arkansas conference play record. (As part of a planned trade, the Kings will send the draft rights to Thomas to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile, who was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 35th pick, joined Darius Acuff Jr. (No. 7) and Meleek Thomas (No. 34) as Razorbacks selected in the 2026 NBA Draft, marking the third time since the NBA Draft moved to a two-round format in 1989 that Arkansas has produced three selections in the same draft (1992, 2023 and 2026).
• Baba Miller (Spain; University of Cincinnati) was selected 36th overall by the LA Clippers, marking the first time since 2009 and second time ever that three players from Spain were selected in the same NBA Draft.
• Miller, the school’s first draft pick since Jacob Evans was selected 28th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, was the first Bearcat to lead the team in points (13.0 ppg), rebounds (10.3 rpg) and assists (3.7 apg) since Oscar Robertson in 1959-60.
• At 17 years old, Miller made his EuroLeague debut for Real Madrid, capping a youth career that began at age 12. Born in Mallorca and developed in Madrid, he won the 2020-21 EuroLeague Next Generation Tournament before averaging 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds for Real Madrid’s B team in 2021-22.
• Louisville guard Ryan Conwell, who was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 37th pick, joined Mikel Brown Jr. (No. 6) to give the Cardinals multiple selections in the draft for the first time since 2015. (As part of a planned trade, the Thunder will send the draft rights to Conwell to the Miami Heat.)
• Purdue guard Braden Smith, who was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 38th pick, finished his career as the NCAA Division I all-time leader in assists (1,103) and is the only player in Division I history to record at least 1,500 career points, 1,000 assists and 500 rebounds. (As part of a planned trade, the Bulls will send the draft rights to Smith to the Indiana Pacers.)
• Jack Kayil (Germany; Alba Berlin) was selected 39th overall by the Houston Rockets , marking the first time since 2024 that two players from Germany were selected in the same NBA Draft. (As part of a planned trade, the Rockets will send the draft rights to Kayil to the New York Knicks.)
• Kayil participated in the 2024 Basketball Without Borders Global camp at NBA All-Star in Indianapolis, Indiana and the 2023 Basketball Without Borders Europe camp in Wroclaw, Poland, where he was named a camp All-Star.
• Kayil joined Franz Wagner and Dennis Schröder this past season as one of the youngest players ever to win the German Bundesliga’s Best Young Player award, putting him in rare company. The Berlin native came up through Alba Berlin’s youth academy before signing with SC Rasta Vechta in 2023, where he won a second straight German U-19 title and took MVP honors at the final tournament.
• St. John’s forward Dillon Mitchell, who was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 40th pick, joined Zuby Ejiofor (No. 23) as Red Storm selections in the 2026 NBA Draft, marking the first time since 2000 that St. John’s has had multiple players selected in the same draft.
• Duke forward Maliq Brown, who was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 44th pick, was the 2025‑26 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and ACC Sixth Man of the Year in his second season at Duke.
• Houston guard Emanuel Sharp, who was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 45th pick, became the Cougars’ third pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, marking just the second time in the common draft era (since 1966) that Houston has produced three selections (Sharp, Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr.) in the same draft.
• Felix Okpara (Nigeria; University of Tennessee) was selected 46th overall by the Orlando Magic. Okpara earned 2025-26 SEC All-Defensive Team honors as a senior in his second season at Tennessee. He ranks second in program history in blocks per game at 1.6 and is one of four Tennessee players to record multiple 50-block seasons. (As part of a planned trade, the Magic will send the draft rights to Okpara to the Washington Wizards.)
• Tobi Lawal (UK; Virginia Tech) was selected 48th overall by the Dallas Mavericks. Lawal did not pick up a basketball until he was 16, growing up in London and starring for the City of London Academy before crossing the Atlantic.
• Lawal started his college career at VCU, then transferred to Virginia Tech, where as a senior he averaged 12.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 29.1 minutes per game.
• Arizona guard Jaden Bradley, who was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the 50th pick, was the 2025-26 Big 12 Player of the Year (coaches) and a 2025-26 All-America Third Team selection (NABC, USBWA, Sporting News).
• South Florida forward Izaiyah Nelson, who was selected by the Washington Wizards with the 51st pick, became just the third Bulls player selected in the NBA Draft since the league moved to a two-round format in 1989, joining Solomon Jones (2006) and Dominique Jones (2010).
• Henri Veesaar (Estonia, University of North Carolina) was selected 52nd overall by the LA Clippers, marking the first time that a player from Estonia was drafted since 1996, when Martin Muursepp was selected 25th overall. Veesaar made his senior debut for the Estonian national team at age 17, suiting up against Iceland in the summer of 2021 as a product of Real Madrid’s renowned youth academy.
• Ugonna Onyenso (Nigeria; University of Virginia) was selected 53rd overall by the Houston Rockets, marking the second time that two players from Nigeria were selected in the same NBA Draft. (As part of a planned trade, the Rockets will send the draft rights to Onyenso to the Detroit Pistons.)
• Onyenso spent three years at NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal, making him the third NBA Academy Africa alumnus and 15th NBA Academy alumnus overall to be drafted into the NBA. At 17 years old, Onyenso became the youngest player ever to suit up for the Nigerian senior national team. The Owerri-born center first picked up basketball after a local coach pulled him away from soccer, then attended NBA Academy Africa before relocating to Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut.
• Vsevolod Ishchenko (Russia; Lokomotiv Kuban) was selected 56th overall by the Chicago Bulls, marking the second time ever that at least one player from Russia was selected in consecutive NBA Drafts (Egor Dёmin was picked eighth overall in 2025 by the Brooklyn Nets). (As part of a planned trade, the Bulls will send the draft rights to Ishchenko to the Dallas Mavericks via the Los Angeles Lakers.)
• Ishchenko made his name early in Russia’s youth basketball system, earning two VTB Youth April MVP awards while dominating the junior ranks for Lokomotiv Kuban-2, where he averaged 16.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 30.0 minutes per game as an 18-year-old.
• Narcisse Ngoy (France; Auburn University) was selected 57th overall by the Atlanta Hawks. Ngoy previously played for Chorale Roanne Basket, Rouen Metropole Basket, and Poitiers Basket 86 in France and represented France at FIBA U-20 EuroBasket 2024. (As part of a planned trade, the Hawks will send the draft rights to Ngoy to the LA Clippers.)
• Malique Lewis (Trinidad and Tobago; South East Melbourne Phoenix) was selected 60th overall by the Washington Wizards. (As part of a planned trade, the Wizards will send the draft rights to Lewis to the Milwaukee Bucks.)
• As a 16-year-old, Lewis moved to Spain to play for Fuenlabrada in the Liga ACB. He joined the Mexico City Capitanes of the NBA G League for the 2023-24 season, where he played in 50 games before signing with the South East Melbourne Phoenix of Australia’s NBL as part of the league’s Next Stars program.
