2026 NBA Mock Draft: Projecting all 60 picks in Adam Finkelstein's first two-round forecast

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- Adam Finkelstein released CBS Sports' first two-round 2026 NBA mock, projecting all 60 picks while conceding that "beyond the first few picks... there are still more questions than answers" and that the Wizards have yet to confirm their No. 1 plan.
- AJ Dybantsa (BYU freshman, 6'9", 25.5 PPG) is the projected No. 1 pick to Washington, but the Wizards have not told him he's the pick — a detail Finkelstein uses to argue the selection "isn't the foregone conclusion some are suggesting."
- Darryn Peterson (Kansas) is projected No. 2 to Utah over Cameron Boozer, with Finkelstein citing Peterson's fit alongside Keyonte George and the awkwardness of slotting Boozer next to Jaren Jackson and Lauri Markkanen.
- Cameron Boozer (Duke, 22.5 PPG, 10.2 RPG) falls to No. 3 Memphis, where he'd join Zach Edey and Cedric Coward in what Finkelstein calls a "frontcourt of the future" — citing Boozer's "unmatched overlap of size, physicality, skill, and feel."
- Caleb Wilson (UNC) lands at No. 4 Chicago, where new EVP of Basketball Operations Bryson Graham would inherit a "legit star type outcome" prospect whose perimeter skill and defensive polish still have "immense room for progress."
- Four freshman point guards — Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff Jr., Mikel Brown Jr., and Kingston Flemings — could go consecutively in picks 5-8, a scenario Finkelstein flags skepticism about but says is driven by Atlanta, Sacramento, and Dallas needing backcourt help.
- Aday Mara (7'3" Michigan junior) is projected No. 11 to Golden State, with Finkelstein noting the center "has real momentum and could be off the board before this" — a fit for Steve Kerr's returning system because of Mara's passing and vertical spacing.
Why it matters: The Wizards are still driving the entire top of the board two weeks out, and Utah's choice at No. 2 is explicitly "predicated on what the Wizards do" — meaning one decision in Washington could shift at least the next three or four picks. The prospect of four freshman point guards going back-to-back (picks 5-8) would also reshape the consensus read of this class as guard-heavy, while any of the still-possible trades Finkelstein flags could scramble the whole mock.




