Draft 2026 NBA Draft Prospects Thread

[Bruno]

Correct, but he also didn't start playing organized ball until 17.

It wasn't a knock on him, I just find that surprising. There are more and more weird stuff in NCAA with the NIL money. In addition to having starting playing late, he hasn't played in high level programs until this season and his first couple of seasons should have been perturbed by COVID.

I haven't seen enough of Lendeborg to have a fully formed opinion but I like his profile a lot. Spurs would greatly benefit to have a player with a true PF body like him and he seems to have all the right skills (shooting, rebounding, defense and BBIQ) to succeed with the rest of the roster.

 

[Correct Crusader]

It wasn't a knock on him, I just find that surprising. There are more and more weird stuff in NCAA with the NIL money. In addition to having starting playing late, he hasn't played in high level programs until this season and his first couple of seasons should have been perturbed by COVID.

I haven't seen enough of Lendeborg to have a fully formed opinion but I like his profile a lot. Spurs would greatly benefit to have a player with a true PF body like him and he seems to have all the right skills (shooting, rebounding, defense and BBIQ) to succeed with the rest of the roster.

I'm patiently waiting for February 21st when Michigan plays Duke. I want to see Yaxel against Boozer so bad.

 

[Bruno]

Wow. Why has he played so long (just saw CC mention that he didn't start playing organized ball until 17).

Also, what is NJCAA compared to NCAA. Can someone explain that to me as I don't know much about the US school system.

My french understanding of the American youth basketball system:
Best high school players receive scholarship offers from college to play in NCAA.
When a high school player don't receive scholarship offers from colleges, one of his option is to go to a junior/community college and play in NJCAA.

 

[scott]

My french understanding of the American youth basketball system:
Best high school players receive scholarship offers from college to play in NCAA.
When a high school player don't receive scholarship offers from colleges, one of his option is to go to a junior/community college and play in NJCAA.

There are also sometimes academic causes for players to go the JuCo route.

 

[OK Computer]

Not trying to be a hall monitor but what’s the diff between this one and the other draft thread?

 

[scott]

Not trying to be a hall monitor but what’s the diff between this one and the other draft thread?

I am very likely going to be merging them (hopefully I can do it correctly this time)

 

[Correct Crusader]

I didn't even know there was another one. It didn't show up in the similar threads section

 

[BatManu20]

- Hannes Steinbach
- Yaxel Lendeborg
- Aday Mara
- Thomas Haugh
- Patrick Ngongba

Assuming we draft somewhere in the 10-15 range, these are my fav semi-realistic targets so far. Think Steinbach ends up going top-10 so we'd need the Hawks to really implode to have a shot at him imo. Lendeborg is borderline top-10 but hoping he falls a bit due to his age (turned 23 in Sept.). He'd fit nicely beside Wemby as a two-way stretch-4 with an elite wingspan (7'4) and NBA-ready body. Mara is slow-footed which worries me a bit, but he's a highly-skilled C with elite size and length who has the potential to be a really good backup C at the NBA level. Haugh is a Swiss-arm knife stretch-4 who is a good athlete and excels in the open court. Ngongba is another big-bodied C at 6'11 255 lbs. who excels as a passer and rebounder and has the physique to play in the NBA right away, though his scoring leaves a lot to be desired. Any of these guys would be a welcomed addition to the team though.

 

[scott]

Threads have been merged.

 

[LeBowen]

Threads have been merged.

What have you done since I still see both threads in the topic list, but opening the new one redirects to this topic.

When I took care of duplicate threads, I just used the move function.

 

[Correct Crusader]

Man now it's gonna be hard to find my original predictions months from now since it's on page 9

 

[scott]

What have you done since I still see both threads in the topic list, but opening the new one redirects to this topic.

When I took care of duplicate threads, I just used the move function.

I selected to leave a redirect for 1 day. Tomorrow the moved thread will disappear.

 

[Exstatic]

What's weird about Lendeborg is that he has played 3 years in NJCAA before playing 3 years in NCAA. Technically, he is a 6 years college player.

I think you’re allowed 5, and COVID added another year.

 

[Ice009]

My french understanding of the American youth basketball system:
Best high school players receive scholarship offers from college to play in NCAA.
When a high school player don't receive scholarship offers from colleges, one of his option is to go to a junior/community college and play in NJCAA.

Thanks. Probably a question for US posters - Do most of the players that play on NCAA teams, would they have all been recruited and offered scholarships? Do many teams have walk-ons that can tryout for the team and make it? I assume some of the lesser basketball colleges have walk-ons?

There are also sometimes academic causes for players to go the JuCo route.

Overlooked that. I guess you also have to go to classes and pass them and some people just aren't great academically to do that.

I think you’re allowed 5, and COVID added another year.

I also thought 5 was the max, but then I thought maybe playing NJCAA had something to do with him being allowed to play more.

 

[Bopper]

I'm not really interested in draft-and-stash anymore myself. That strategy seems to be a thing of the past these days as overseas player development and scouting isn't some land of dark magic and hidden gems anymore.

I do want to see us use our SRPs more effectively. There have been lots of guys available to be picked in our range that we have passed on (Ajay Mitchell and Reynaud for example). I know there is the issue of SRPs having some level of empowerment of where they go, so I'm not fixated too much on those specific guys... but rather they are an example that there are ready-to-play contributors to be had in the second round (and especially with NIL coming into play). No need for spray-and-pray... just pick one good one to add to the deep bench each year.

Absolutely, we need to capitalize on some of these early 2nds we have been wasting in the past few years. I don't think we have a ton of roster space currently, but as the roster gets more expensive it will be crucial to find some diamonds in the rough. Champagnie is a good example of a solid find. Harrison Ingram's days should be numbered on the other hand.

 

[Bopper]

I think you’re allowed 5, and COVID added another year.

New interpretations within the court on how Juco eligibility works (or doesn't). Recent rulings are showing that JUCO eligibility does not count at all towards NCAA eligibility. It all started with the QB from Vandy (Pavia) and his eligibility beef with NCAA.

Recent Article about JUCO eligibility

 

[BatManu20]

Saw a couple recent mocks that have Yaxel Lendeborg going top-10 now. He'll be out of the Spurs' range too if that's the case which would be a bummer.

 

[BatManu20]

This guy hasn't even been mentioned in here yet but another quick-rising prospect is Henri Veesaar out of UNC. 21 year-old big man from Estonia who is mobile and can shoot the 3 a little bit. Feels like a very modern Center. I'd bet the Spurs bring him in for a Pre-Draft workout

https://twitter.com/x/status/1996725458230997431

 

[SpursBills]

As currently constructed, Spurs are probably in the market for a do-it-all forward with size. Dribble-pass-shoot-rebound-defend with size. If they're primarily drafting for need, there's really only a few guys that fit this bill. The question is whether they're talented to enough to end up starting.

Top 3: Cam Boozer
Lottery to 20: Yaxel Lendeborg
20-40: Josh Jefferson
Deep second round/undrafted: Alvaro Folgueiras, Kwame Evans Jr

There are other guys who are more talented per draft slot, or will probably put up better numbers, or will work better as either backup center. But of the versatile role playing forward types who are sort of well rounded, these are probably who I'd be looking at depending on which draft slot they want to use

 

[Exstatic]

All I care in our replacement PF (and we badly need one) is shooting and rebounding. We have enough defenders that he’s acceptable as defensively neutral.

 

[BatManu20]

 

[spurraider21]

Roster is stacked and no playing time for rookies.

you're telling me a rookie cant have biyombo's roster spot and be playing in the gleague?

 

[Guru of Nothing]

I'm still seeing Mara projected in the 2nd round, which excites me. We don't need him to handle the ball and his mobility looks decent. Just has to step on court and be big.

 

[Vienna]

Momcilovic was 8-10 from 3 last night. On track for one of the greatest shooting seasons in college history. He is now 56% on 7.2 attempts.

 

[Robz4000]

Draft has crazy talent at all levels imo. That said, assuming the Spurs get lottery luck again I'm starting to think they should trade their pick if its in the top 3 (if 4 I'd gamble on Wilson's three point shot coming around unless they get a great offer). The fit of Petterson, Dybantsa, and Boozer is starting to look dicey for the latter two and already is rough with the former. A team like Brooklyn or Washington would pay heavy for a centerpiece (would include Utah but Ainge will never offer a fair deal) and the Spurs will need picks down the line to replenish the talent around Wemby/Castle/Harper. Wouldn't hate trading down for someone like Steinbach or Ledenborg while netting a trove of future assets.