How Miami acquired Giannis Antetokounmpo in a blockbuster deal
Prince Grimes details Giannis trade to Miami Heat
Editor’s note: See all first-round picks for the 2026 NBA Draft.
NEW YORK — The common thread in the first round of this draft was that it started after the No. 4 pick.
And while certainly AJ Divanza, Darrin Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson were widely seen as the top four players in the 2026 NBA Draft, this was still projected to be one of the deepest classes seen in the past decade, especially at the guard position.
All of this means there are a lot of implications to sort out before the first round concludes on Tuesday 23rd January.
Here are the winners and losers of the 2026 NBA Draft.
winner
AJ Divantha and the Wizards
Washington acquired that talent, and suddenly the Wizards were a team with young, dynamic talent and veteran leadership. Granted, it will take some time for Washington to integrate Trae Young and Anthony Davis into the program, considering they only played a combined five games with the Wizards despite acquiring them in January and February.
Either way, Dybantsa is built for the modern NBA. He is tall, athletic, and can create his own shot. As long as coach Brian Keefe can pull all these pieces together, the Wizards could be in for the first sneaky tough battle in a while.
BYU Cougars
For the first time in Brigham Young history, a player was selected with the first overall pick in the NBA draft. The Cougars’ previous top draft pick was Shawn Bradley, who went No. 2 to the Philadelphia 76ers in 1993.
Tanks are rewarded with jazz
It turned out that all the losses were worth it. With the Jazz blatantly attempting to self-sabotage and substituting their best player late in games, Utah has quickly emerged as the team most likely to make a big jump next season.
Rookie guard Darin Peterson will join Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and last year’s No. 5 overall pick, Ace Bailey. Peterson is the most naturally gifted scorer in this class, and the Jazz, who tied for the worst record in the West at 22-60, should contend for a playoff spot next season.
Los Angeles Lakers pick #1 in the draft
Although they reportedly had to trade one spot to acquire him, former Baylor guard Cameron Carr should be a great fit for a Lakers team that could always use another scoring threat to pair with Luka Doncic. That’s especially true now that Austin Reeves is very likely opting out of his player option and testing the market as an unrestricted free agent.
Carr is a dynamic athlete who tested very well during the NBA Combine, but he drained 37.4 percent of his threes last season at Baylor. Act decisively and give it to LA, who took advantage of Kerr’s mini-slide.
michigan wolverines
Not only did the national champions draft three players in the first round, but all of them were selected in the lottery with four picks.
New Mavericks coach Dusty May, who led the Wolverines to a win over U.C. in the title game, will coach former player forward Mores Johnson Jr. (9th overall pick). Johnson will be named as a first-round pick for Michigan, along with Jaxel Lendeborg (No. 11 to the Warriors) and Aday Mara (No. 12 to the Thunder).
Post Giannis Bucks begins to lay the foundation
Milwaukee won’t replace Giannis Antetokounmpo with a single draft pick, but they took steps to replenish their roster after a blockbuster trade with the Miami Heat.
The Bucks drafted guard Brayden Burries with the 10th pick and added former Tennessee forward Nate Ament, acquired from Miami, with the 13th pick. For the Bucks, it’s all about drafting players who can not only start contributing, but develop consistently.
Ament will need reinforcements and could be more of a project, but Berries is a strong guard who can score from all over the floor.
Considering Antetokounmpo was leaving the franchise, and considering this was a necessary trade for Milwaukee, the Bucks took several steps to rebuild.
The Warriors need help now. Jaksel Lendeborg offers just that
With Golden State rebuilding itself at least once more with coach Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry in place, the Warriors need to give Curry another spot on offense.
Jaksel Lendeborg, 11th, was the obvious plug-and-play option. He will be 24 years old before the start of his rookie season and will be NBA ready from the moment he steps into the facility. The Warriors need perimeter shooting, and Lendeborg has worked on his threes, shooting 37.2% against Michigan. He will contribute from day one.
loser
Draft surprises and drama
Picks 1 through 4 went basically as everyone expected them to. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it didn’t make sense to draft fans who were looking for drama. More than anything, it’s a testament to the quality of Divanza, Peterson, Boozer and Wilson as players and how they differentiated themselves from the rest of the field.
However, the overall theme of this draft was pretty predictable and pretty chalky. All things considered, there were no drastic reaches or head-scratching picks. This tends to be the case when there is an abundance of human resources overall.
Labalon Fillon Jr.
In a very deep draft, one player who noticeably slipped off the board was guard LaBaron Fillon Jr. He averaged 22.0 points in his second year at Alabama and was a unanimous third-team All-American selection.
The 76ers certainly drafted Philon at No. 22, joining a deep backcourt that already includes Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecomb, so he enters the organization with a little less pressure and an advantage. But no player wants to stay in the green room waiting for their name to be called.
Isaiah Hartenstein may be OKC’s odd man out.
The Thunder are stocking up on bigs.
Oklahoma City selected Adei Mara, a 7-foot-3 center from Michigan, to join Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and last year’s first-round pick Thomas Sober, who missed this season due to an ACL repair.
The Thunder have a $28.5 million team option on Hartenstein and will need to make a decision on his future, but OKC will likely get over a tight salary cap. So Mara, who shines on defense, could be more than an insurance policy. Hartenstein was extremely valuable against Victor Wenbanyama, so it will be a tough call. But at some point, the Thunder will have to let a good player walk. Hartenstein may be one of them.
NCAA continues to see top talent move on to the next level
It wasn’t just your imagination. A large number of freshmen were selected early in the first round of the NBA Draft. The first eight picks made Tuesday night were college freshmen, tying the record for most freshmen selected in the draft. That record…was set last year.
While the one-and-done path remains the preferred path for top players, holes continue to remain in college hoops. This trend is expected to continue even as NIL funds flow to prospects.
