The Athletic: Scouting 2026 NBA Draft’s top prospects in Las Vegas and other big holiday tournaments
Duke’s Cameron Boozer tallied 35 points against Arkansas on Thanksgiving night.
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LAS VEGAS — Even without its marquee star, the Players Era Festival provided quite a one-stop shopping event for NBA scouts. Despite the absence of injured Kansas star Darryn Peterson, talent evaluators got a look at least 10 other first-round prospects over the three days of the tournament action, as 18 major-conference programs took part in the event — including eight ranked in the most recent AP Top 25.
Between that and marquee Thanksgiving games for BYU, Duke and North Carolina — the three programs with the best prospects who weren’t playing in Vegas — it seems like a good time to catch up on the state of the draft in general and who stood out in Sin City this past week.
Let’s start at the top and work our way down:
The top two
Peterson didn’t play and Duke’s Cameron Boozer wasn’t in Vegas, but they have separated themselves as the clear top two thus far. Peterson has only played two games, but his electric performance in a loss to North Carolina still had scouts buzzing, while Boozer’s awesome 35-point outburst in a Thanksgiving night win over Arkansas continued his destruction of college basketball in the early part of the season.
Boozer, in particular, has shown enough perimeter game to ease worries about him being shoehorned into playing. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound freshman repeatedly beat Arkansas on attacks off the dribble from the 3-point line, and he has made 38.7 percent from 3 this season. Watch here as he goes to a common ploy we’ve seen from him: attack off the dribble left, spin right and overpower a defender at the cup. (Although right-handed, he loves going left. Bulls fans will also note that he’s not the first family member to get an and-1 on that floor.)
His 39.6 PER in eight games leads college basketball, and he’s not just doing it as a scorer — he’s also averaged three assists for every turnover and repeatedly made the right pass. One play early in the Arkansas game stood out, a short roll in which he could have forced a tough 2 and instead skipped it immediately to an open shooter in the far corner. The shot missed, so he didn’t get an assist, but the decision stood out.
As for Peterson, the question came up whether he might shut it down the rest of the year now that he’s more or less cemented into a high draft slot, but both the scouts and the college hoop experts I talked to thought that was unlikely. Scouts were hoping he would return from his hamstring injury in time for another marquee game: Tuesday’s meeting against UConn in Lawrence, Kan.
The big wings
Three wings are popular names in the next three spots in the draft, and all three played major games last week. I’ve already written about BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, who had a meh performance against Miami on Thursday followed by scoring 18 against Dayton on Friday night. He’s a huge wing who can score, but he continues to give off some questions with his feel and motor.
North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson, meanwhile, keeps generating jaw-dropping highlight clips. I mean, look at this coast-to-coast trip against Michigan State on Thursday that ends with a poster dunk:
Wilson had four dunks against the Spartans, including one on a half-court spin move that was arguably even more awesome than the clip above. While the rest of his performance against Michigan State was more forgettable, it’s hard not to get excited about the ceiling of a 6-10 forward who can handle the ball and move.
Wilson has also been a monster on the glass despite his skinny frame, but the next stop is proving he can shoot; he’s only made two 3-pointers all season. Scouts who want to see more of Wilson against elite opponents won’t need to wait long, as the Tar Heels have a highly anticipated matchup against Kentucky on Tuesday, followed by games against Georgetown and Ohio State later this month.
Which takes us to Vegas and the other player in this mold, Tennessee’s Nate Ament. He might be the most Jekyll-and-Hyde player in this cycle — even more than Dybantsa — capable of producing mouthwatering highlights in one instant and then puzzling questions the next. He had a spectacular opener against Rutgers but then struggled mightily against Houston and had an uneven performance versus Kansas, as those last two were by far the best opponents the Vols have faced all season.
The main selling point on Ament right now is that he’s a huge (6-10) wing who can handle the ball and get to the rim, and the result is a parade of free throws when he’s not laying the ball in. He already has 62 free-throw attempts in eight games, and some of the technical stuff that goes into generating them is impressive. For a player his size, Ament stops and changes direction with remarkable ease; he also shows tremendous footwork coming off screens for jump shots, even if he’s not shooting particularly well just yet.
On the other hand, those free throws have offset some pretty underwhelming shooting numbers. Ament is at 30.5 percent from 3 and, more worryingly, just 46.5 percent on 2s so far this season. The decision-making off the bounce has shown flashes, but he doesn’t always see secondary defenders and doesn’t have the strength to muscle through them. Too many of his drives end up in forced misses after he has to navigate through the second level, and for a 6-10 guy he sure gets his shot blocked a lot:
(Side note: That was Houston’s Chris Cenac Jr., who is discussed below, with the block.)
Ament’s height hasn’t impacted the game in other ways beyond the limited finishing, as he doesn’t exactly explode off the floor. While his long arms generate oodles of steals, he has somehow blocked only one shot all season.
Nonetheless, Ament has had to play a major offensive role for a Tennessee squad that, as ever, seems over-indexed on defense and with clear offensive limitations. For a guy whose biggest selling point is his long-term runway, the advanced stats are already really good. He’ll be right there with the other two big wings on scouts’ boards all season.
The big riser: Kingston Flemings, PG, Houston
Every year there is one guy who seemingly rockets out of nowhere into lottery consideration, and this year that guy is unquestionably Flemings. The freshman looked every bit the part of a top-10 pick in three games, especially during a 25-point effort in the Cougars’ loss to Tennessee, a contest every scout in Vegas had circled on their programs. A pair of scouts seated near me were guffawing at this move in which he put on the brakes to change direction, baited his defender cleanly without a screen and then glided past the rim protection for a layup:
At 6-4 with plus athleticism, Flemings has the raw ability to get buckets, but what really makes him stand out is his ability to fling one-handed lasers across the court to shooters in the opposite corner. Check out this dart he threw on the full gallop:
Flemings has been so good that the Cougars have moved him into the primary ballhandling role despite having two other highly established guards (Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp) who led them to the championship game a year ago.
Nitpickers will note that Flemings is very right-handed, although opponents seem powerless to stop him from going that way once he gets a ball screen. I also have some questions about his shooting, and the form will likely need additional work. He doesn’t get great arc on his ball, and it comes out with sidespin at times, something more noticeable watching him from courtside before the game. Let’s just say I don’t think his 52.4 percent mark from 3 is sustainable all season.
On the other hand, he has a great pop into his jump shot off the dribble and gets tremendous elevation on it, something that bodes well for his ability to create shots at the next level.
Flemings’ consistency has also wavered; he was far less effective in games against Syracuse and Notre Dame last week. Scouts will be monitoring him closely in conference play (as well as a late-December nonconference showcase game against Arkansas) to see if he can sustain the same level he showed against Tennessee and in an earlier win against Auburn.
The big question: Chris Cenac Jr., C, Houston
While Flemings came in with little buzz and now has lottery hype, it’s a bit of the opposite for Cenac, a major recruit thought to be a one-and-done. I should point out first that his usage situation isn’t exactly showcasing him; the Cougars often have the 6-11 big man stationed in the corner not really doing much while teammate JoJo Tugler operates as a rim-runner.
Those corner reps have at least shown that Cenac can genuinely shoot it when he has time and space, offering more hints of stretch-five potential at the next level. However, his impact on the rest of the game has been negligible. He’s only shooting 50 percent on 2s, has seven free-throw attempts in eight games and has made minimal impact as a shot-blocker. (He did, however, warm my heart by calling out a kickout switch with Flemings on the weak side of a play.) He’s been an “empty notebook” guy for scouts; you leave without that many observations because he’s just not that involved.
This is where the “it’s a long season” mantra applies. Checking out one-and-dones in November is great, but it’s how they progress through March that really matters. It applies double for Cenac, playing out of position on a veteran team where he has to fit in (rather than the opposite for most one-and-dones). Nonetheless, it hasn’t been a rousing start.
The other potential first-rounders in Vegas
Labaron Philon Jr., 6-4 Soph., PG, Alabama — Philon scored a lot in Vegas, but I’m not sure he did much to change his projected status in the back half of the first round. Partly that’s because scouts need answers to some questions that require a bigger sample than a 72-hour Vegas jaunt. Those two questions — Can he shoot? And is he really a point guard? — still have mixed answers through seven games. Philon scored 29 points but committed six costly turnovers in the Crimson Tide’s loss to Gonzaga in the opener, and then Alabama faded from scouts’ itineraries as they played their last two games against overmatched opponents: UNLV and a depressing Maryland squad.
Maybe that’s for the better; even against an overmatched Terrapins squad, his tape included this tragic sequence:
However, focusing on the mistakes ignores all the progress in other areas. Most notably, it’s encouraging that he’s up to 38.3 percent from 3 on greater volume after making just 31.5 percent as a freshman. We need more than a seven-game sample to believe, but the shots he took looked for real.
And of course, the reason to buy on Philon in the first place is his ability to get downhill and score at the cup. Philon doesn’t have elite explosiveness, but he has a real knack for wandering his way to the cup and then displays a pretty extensive finishing package once he gets there: Euros, slo-mo gathers, little hook shots with either hand. He almost never shoots pull-up jumpers; instead he’s trying to get within 5 feet of the cup and gather into a finish, and he’s quite good at it.
Where does that leave us? Looking for more info from upcoming showcase games, of course. Alabama has a showdown on Dec. 13 against Arizona (whose own Koa Peat has markedly improved his draft profile) that should have top billing on most scouting itineraries that day.
Miles Byrd, 6-6 Jr., SG, San Diego State — Scouts made sure to get a long look at Byrd last week, as he’s a Bad Geography Guy who will have few marquee games during his conference season in the Mountain West. (One of the drawbacks of the NIL era is that, aside from Byrd, even relatively strong non-P5 leagues such as the Mountain West and the American have basically no top-40 NBA prospects.)
Things didn’t go so well in a 40-point loss to mighty Michigan in the opener, but Byrd redeemed himself with a strong performance in a rousing win over Oregon the next night. The ability to make spectacular defensive plays off the ball showed itself again and again. Watch here as he comes off the play for a monster rejection on Michigan’s 7-2 Aday Mara:
Byrd also added a highlight dunk in transition against Oregon, but his limitations as an offensive player continue to concern evaluators. His push shot from the waist is moderately effective, but he probably has to knock down 3s at a 40 percent clip to have a strong 3-and-D case at the next level, and he has yet to come close to that as a collegian.
Also, the rest of his off-the-dribble game remains much less impactful: He has a PER of just 13.8 through six games, and concerns remain about how his slight frame will handle NBA physicality. I will point out that he played in Vegas with a wrap to protect a finger on his left hand, something that may have impacted his offense.
Yaxel Lendeborg, 6-9 Sr., SF/PF, Michigan — Lendeborg is an older player (23) and thus is graded more harshly, but his adaptation from UAB to Michigan could hardly have gone better. The Wolverines absolutely smoked the field in Vegas, winning three games by a staggering 110 points, while Lendeborg looked every bit the part of an NBA combo forward, checking wings through much of the week while knocking down the corner 3s that came his way and operating comfortably out of ball screens in the half court. He’s 6-8 and can handle, pass and run the floor.
I’m still a bit suspicious of the shooting — Lendeborg sprayed misses all over when I saw him in warmups before he made 7 of 16 during the games last week — but everything else checks out. He has missed four 2-point shots the entire season (!), and his mobility on defense as a small forward stood out, allowing the Wolverines to play huge lineups that smothered their opponents.
Watch here as he tracks Byrd through multiple direction changes along the perimeter, and then comes back into the play to block the big man’s shot from behind:
After playing as a four and sometimes five at UAB, Lendeborg was rated by most as a late first-rounder a year ago before he took the NIL bag from Michigan and pulled out of the draft. If anything, his stock has only gone up in the early part of this season as he’s showcased more of his perimeter skills.
Tounde Yessoufou, 6-5 Fr., SG, Baylor — Yessoufou’s performance in April’s Nike Hoop Summit had him getting lottery talk. That still might happen given his powerful frame and athletic gifts, but the Vegas week showed his limitations as an offensive player. He’s a lightly threatening shooter (9 of 33 so far this year) whose form needs some refinement, while his handle gets away from him off the dribble and can lead to some awkward finishing attempts. He’s also, um, probably not 6-5.
Yessoufou has the athleticism and strength to finish some plays despite the iffy skill level, and his chops as a defensive player are more readily apparent. Here’s one clip from the Creighton game that shows the whole messy package, as he rockets into the passing lane for a steal, misses badly on a Eurostep finish and then explodes off the floor for the offensive rebound and draws a foul.
In a draft class that might lack 15 surefire one-and-dones, Yessoufou still has a chance to sneak into the back half of the lottery. He’s still really raw, however, and much will depend on the in-season work he can show on his jump shot and overall craft as an offensive player.
Cameron Carr, 6-5 Jr., SG, Baylor — Other than Flemings, the guy who did the most to play his way onto draft radars in Vegas was Carr, the Tennessee transfer with pogo leaping ability. He had 65 points in the three games in Sin City, a stretch that notably included five made 3s in a loss to St. John’s.
After hardly sniffing the court in two years with the Vols, Car has been a hugely efficient offensive player (70.5 percent true shooting) from the wing for Baylor. His tremendous elevation on his jump shot bodes well for his ability to keep firing at the next level, especially since he bounds into it easily off the dribble.
He also uses those hops on defense to spike shots by surprise. Literally the first play I saw in Vegas was Carr bailing out his teammate Yessoufou with some rim protection (watch No. 43 in white):
Carr is a plus athlete and finisher, but his playmaking remains raw, which is probably the biggest concern. He has only eight assists in six games, and in transition sequences in particular he missed multiple opportunities when I watched him against Creighton.
He’s also very thin, so the same concerns about Byrd above also apply to Carr when it comes to the next level. Between that and his age (21), he probably tops out as a pick in the 20s. But he’s definitely on the “must-see” list now.
Zuby Ejiofor, “6-9” Sr., PF, St. John’s — The most hilarious line in the program for this event was the one that listed Ejiofor as “6-9.” Before the Red Storm’s game against Iowa State tipped off, the Cyclones’ 6-10 Blake Buchanan towered over him in the jump ball circle.
Nonetheless, Ejiofor has a lot of positives that would allow him to translate as a power forward at the NBA level even if he only measures 6-7 or so at the draft combine. He doesn’t always get to show perimeter skill playing as a college center, but it’s clear he can really pass from the elbows and has a good feel for the game. Watching his stroke in pregame, I don’t think the move to the NBA 3-point line will overwhelm him. (He’s only attempted seven 3-pointers this season, one of which came in desperation at the buzzer of the Iowa State loss.)
Ejiofor is also strong, aggressive and throws his body around; he even blocked a shot with two hands against Iowa State. He’s an older player (21) who took a minute for his career to gain traction after playing little in his first two years at Kansas and St. John’s. His handle is a bit limited, but his IQ and strength could allow him to carve out a role at the next level. He’s probably more of a second-round prospect than a first-rounder, but this draft could get thin once we’re past the one-and-dones.
Lightning round
Darrell “Elzie” Harrington, 6-5 Fr., PG, San Diego State – The one bright spot in the Aztecs’ 40-point beatdown by Michigan, Harrington showed unusual craft as a pick-and-roll operator for his age, carefully manipulating around screens to get to his spots for short pull-ups. While he’s not starting, he’s fourth on a veteran team in scoring and, despite middling-at-best athleticism, might have enough craft to take his game to a higher level. He’s an unlikely one-and-done, but almost certainly an NIL poach target for Power 5 programs this summer who would likely appear on draft boards a year from now.
Mario Saint-Supery, 6-4 Fr., PG, Gonzaga – Scouts were excited to get eyes on the Zags’ Spanish import last week, but the general consensus is that he’s probably a year away from being draftable, as he’s still getting his sea legs in the college game. Saint-Supery has great instincts but has been pretty timid offensively, rarely touching the paint and mostly subsisting on catch-and-shoots. His release is a bit flat and can roll off the side of his middle finger, creating sidespin, so that piece needs addressing, too. On the other hand, he has 15 steals in 178 minutes and three assists for every turnover; there’s clearly something here.
Flory Bidunga, 6-10 Soph., PF, Kansas – A wiry athlete who got a chance to be the main man for Kansas with Peterson out, Bidunga hit a few jump shots in addition to his shot-blocking and play around the rim; his 10.5 percent career block rate is certainly notable, but Bidunga has a thin frame and will be very undersized to play center at the NBA level. Scouts will monitor his skill development, but for now he’d grade out as an energy guy who would go in the mid-second round.
JoJo Tugler, Houston, 6-8, Jr. C, Houston – Tugler has crazy long arms that allow him to play bigger than his listed height, and he certainly has value as a mobile defender who can get his hands on basketballs. He has 33 “stocks” in eight games. Alas, his being a zero on offense likely limits his NBA value. Forget the lack of 3s; he’s only shooting 47.5 percent on 2s.
Tahaad Pettiford, 6-1 Soph., SG, Auburn – Pettiford came into the season with first-round buzz after nearly entering the draft a year ago, but his start to the year has been dreadful. The good news is that he played much, much better in Vegas than he had in his first six games, scoring 67 points in three games with a series of quick bursts and hesitations to either free up his left-handed jump shot or get to the rim. Now the test is for him to do this more consistently, especially from the perimeter, where he’s at just 34.6 percent from 3 for his career.
Braden Huff, 6-10 Jr., PF, Gonzaga – Probably a guy for 2027 more than this year, Huff has real shooting touch despite rarely launching from 3 as a collegian, something that he showed during his pregame warm-ups in Vegas. The Zags use him as an interior player, and he can score around the basket, but his NBA fit will be as a stretch four who can either space the floor or attack mismatches.
Isiah Harwell, 6-6 Fr., SG, Houston – Harwell came into the season with one-and-done buzz but will have to make dramatically more impact offensively to be draftable. He had one notable hustle play diving after a loose ball against Tennessee, which is always appreciated, but he seems at least a year away.
Killyan Toure, 6-3 Fr., SG, Iowa State – The Cyclones’ French import profiles as a lesser version of Yessoufou, a raw athlete at the off guard spot who can make plays with power and quickness but needs to refine his skill and feel for the game. Still, he’s averaging double figures as a freshman in the Big 12 and flashed some real potential at the defensive end especially.
Nate Bittle, 7-0 Sr., C, Oregon – Bittle is 22 but looks at least twice that age on the court, with a mullet on loan from your Iron Maiden-loving uncle. More notably, he appeared to injure something in his left leg late in the first half of the Ducks’ game against San Diego State; he tried to waddle up and down the court for a few minutes but was quickly pulled and sat out the Ducks’ finale. Bittle is big and can shoot decently enough to stretch the floor, but his athletic limitations likely consign him to the late second round.
Milos Uzan, 6-4 Sr., PG/SG, Houston – Uzan has been ice cold to start the season but is a known quantity for scouts from his role in Houston’s run to the title game a year ago. He can handle, shoot and pass but isn’t elite in any one category and won’t blow anyone away with his combine testing. He’s more like a late second-rounder or two-way.
Milan Momcilovic, 6-8 Jr., SF, Iowa State – Momcilovic had faded from most draft radars after a middling sophomore season, but shooting 13 of 23 from 3 at a tournament has a way of getting you back in the mix. Even his misses last week looked like they were going dead center, and if he can stay on this kind of heater all season (he’s currently in the 50-40-90 club), that’s going to push him up draft boards as a specialist if nothing else.
Blake Harper, 6-7 Soph., SF, Creighton – Scouts had some interest in Harper after he had a huge freshman year as a scorer for Howard. He’s a big wing with a nice shooting touch, but a middling athlete, at best, who will have to figure out how to create advantages against P5 athletes. His size and 40.0 percent career 3-point mark are going to get him looks, but he’s probably a 2027 or 2028 guy for the draft.
Magoon Gwath, 7-0 Soph., PF, San Diego State – Gwath is intriguing enough that he’ll surely get at least a two-way once he turns pro; he’s a rail-thin 7-footer who can shoot 3s and has a real knack for shot-blocking. He played wearing a knee brace and doesn’t move particularly well, and he constantly gets shoved around under the basket.
Joshua Jefferson, 6-9 Sr., PF, Iowa State – Keep an eye on this guy. He’s not going to pop as an athlete, but Jefferson has a good feel for the game and his consistent production is going to start demanding scouting attention. He had 18 assists in three games in Vegas, but the thing that would really help his case is knocking down more 3s — he’s at 29.2 percent for his college career.
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John Hollinger ’s two decades of NBA experience include seven seasons as the Memphis Grizzlies’ Vice President of Basketball Operations and media stints at ESPN.com and SI.com. A pioneer in basketball analytics, he invented several advanced metrics — most notably, the PER standard. He also authored four editions of “Pro Basketball Forecast.” In 2018 he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Follow John on Twitter @johnhollinger
