The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NBA Draft.
The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Aday Mara with the No. 12 pick on Tuesday in the NBA Draft. Mara averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.6 blocks in his one season with national champion Michigan.
Mara is massive, even for an NBA center, measuring at 7 feet 3 without shoes with a 7-foot-6 wingspan and a 9-foot-9 standing reach at the combine. Those measurements are elite, even among the supergiants in the NBA. Mara has also done a good job adding strength throughout his career and came to the combine at 255 pounds. His superpower is his elite basketball IQ. It’s exceedingly rare to find a player this tall who has developed a remarkable feel for the game. He knows exactly where he’s supposed to be at all times from a spacing perspective and has an innate feel for how to find teammates as a passer. Mara’s an elite playmaker for others at the center position, a creative passer with terrific vision and a sharp mindset for how to get his teammates the ball.
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Mara hasn’t shown that he can play 30 minutes per night as an NBA starter; he averaged just about 23 minutes with the Wolverines, and struggled later in longer rotations when he was out there for more time than he expected.
Sam Vecenie’s draft guide summary
Mara is a polarizing prospect simply because you have to play a very specific scheme and structure with him. You have to be willing to play in drop coverage, and to get the most out of him on offense, you need to be willing to lean into his special passing ability from the top of the court or on the block. There will be teams that aren’t interested in playing that way. But if you’re comfortable with playing such a style, Mara is a terrific get.
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He’s a great finisher around the rim because of his touch and size. His passing ability is sublime, and his rim protection is exceedingly valuable. Yes, he needs to get in better shape and move his feet better so he can run out rotations and games. But it’s really hard to find bigs who are this multiskilled and have this type of basketball IQ. I have him as a late lottery pick, even with those flaws. Yes, there will be matchups that can exploit him and potentially play him off the court.
But by and large, Mara has the look of a starting NBA center with the floor of a backup if he doesn’t improve upon his weaknesses. Barring injury, it’s hard for me to see how he’s not at least a useful NBA player.
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John Hollinger’s analysis
Mara came to UCLA as a freshman in 2023 with a lot of buzz but failed to gain much immediate traction, with his first name accurately reflecting how long it took him to get down the floor.
He’s come a long way since, playing a huge role in Michigan’s run to the national title. Mara’s size makes him a useful rim-runner, but he also maximizes his offensive impact with great short-range touch on hook shots and floaters. He has a nice feel for passing out of the block and knows how to feel pressure on his back and spin away from it to get to this shot.
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Mara is pretty slow on the perimeter and likely will be much more comfortable in drop coverage but commands the lane and posted a 12.0 percent block rate without being particularly foul-prone.
His other big issue is shooting; he has touch, but his form from the perimeter is still a work in progress. Mara shot 56.4 percent from the line last season and 58.5 percent for his college career.
David Aldridge’s draft confidential
Western Conference scout No. 1: He’s built like Chet Holmgren — very narrow shoulders, not going to have much bulk. But he’s 7-3, and he has a 7-6 wingspan. He’s going to be in front of that rim. But he’s very slender. … But, he’s going to be very good. He’s got a 9-9 standing reach. He’s an inch below the rim standing straight up. So there’s a value to that kind of length and size. He’s got excellent footwork, great touch. You can actually throw him into the post a little bit. If you put him in there on a steady diet, they’re gonna beat on him, which is not good for him. But flash post, catch it, he’ll turn around and score. He’s got enough dexterity to catch a lob.
College assistant coach No. 3 (his team played Michigan): I love this kid. I think he’s going to get better and better and better. Inline (out-of-bounds) plays, he guards the inbounders. It’s hard to score against them out of bounds. This guy doesn’t just stand there; he’s doing jumping jacks and things like that. He carried them in the (Big Ten) tournament and many of the NCAA games, because they started to go, they found something. They would run a play and throw the ball to him in the post. And he’s starting to get very accomplished with either hand. And when you doubled, they’re diving Yaxel (Lendeborg) or (Morez) Johnson. When they were at their best was when they were posting Mara. I don’t know him. I know he plays with a lot of energy; he’s always excited, he’s talkative. I think he’s confident in his own ability. He came out after the game and cheered them on. It said something.
This story will be updated.