{"id":2005140,"date":"2026-06-22T18:09:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T15:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2005140"},"modified":"2026-06-22T18:09:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T15:09:38","slug":"nba-mock-draft-2026-the-real-drama-starts-at-no-5-with-the-la-clippers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2005140","title":{"rendered":"NBA mock draft 2026: The real drama starts at No. 5 with the LA Clippers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s NBA Draft week, and time for\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s <\/em>live NBA mock draft.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

For the next two days, this is your home to find where I\u2019m predicting each player will be taken. So if you\u2019re repeatedly refreshing to find new information, this is the link you\u2019ll want to bookmark.<\/p>\n

This draft is considered a strong one at the top and throughout the lottery, although withdrawals of college players lured by NIL riches have substantially impacted the depth of the class. Most executives I\u2019ve spoken with have first-round grades on about 20 to 25 players and think the final 20 picks of the draft could result in some interesting<\/em>\u00a0selections. They say teams could be making deals with players ahead of time to lock them in on two-way contracts, as they don\u2019t see much difference in talent level between players ranked from, say, No. 45 to No. 100.<\/p>\n

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This year seems to be much more active with trade discussions than I can remember. Now, it\u2019s worth noting that teams tend to be aggressive in discussing trades for draft picks before the draft if only to understand what their options will be on the night of the event. NBA teams \u2014 typically, at least \u2014 don\u2019t just come up with trade frameworks out of nowhere. They\u2019re in communication with one another in the days leading up to the event, coming up with scenarios depending on how the board shakes out. So when you see that teams have discussed these picks, it\u2019s worth understanding that these talks are oftentimes just pre-planning for potential scenarios.<\/p>\n

A few notes before the mock:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Each first-round pick features a link to the in-depth scouting report in my\u00a0NBA Draft Guide<\/a>\u00a0on that player.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ages are as of Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Heights are from the NBA Draft Combine in May.<\/p>\n

\u2022 NBA executives, scouts, agents, players and other sources across the basketball ecosystem were granted anonymity in exchange for speaking freely about prospects.<\/p>\n

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1.\u00a0Washington Wizards<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m sticking with Dybantsa here for now, as we have since lottery night. The team has done a lot of research into Peterson to understand everything it needs to know about him. But Dybantsa remains the pick as the most likely option for the Wizards and the best fit for what the team needs, according to league-wide sources.<\/p>\n

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Why AJ Dybantsa is the no. 1 prospect in this year’s NBA Draft<\/div>\n
Sam Vecenie<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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