2026 NBA draft thread

[hakeemfaan]

Not likely at all (even though the gurus would probably tease it like you say it is). But the NBA teams have gotten way better at grabbing the good players in round 1 rather than letting them fall though the cracks. 

In the last 10 years, if you were picking at 30, the one and only time (unless I missed someone) you had a shot at an all-star was 2018 (Brunson).

Also the draft is always a crapshoot even at the top let alone at 30. 

Even with Masai’ success with lower picks, the percentages of finding a solid player that low increases when you have more such players. The other problem is when the pool of better players is more you can convince a team to give up a late teens or early 20s pick in a trade. As the pool gets diluted , teams will be less reluctant to trade down.