Our 2026 NBA Mock Draft is here

Happy July, Hoops HQ Reader. Temperatures across the country are soaring, but if you think the action in the world of college basketball has cooled off, you’re on the wrong planet. All the way over in Switzerland, Team USA is dominating play at the U19 World Championships. A big (literally) reason for that is Koa Peat, who is doing impressive things for U.S. head coach Tommy Lloyd, who also happens to be the coach at Arizona, where Peat will be a freshman next season. Our Krysten Peek is on site and has the scoop.

Also, we know the 2025 NBA Draft is ancient history, which means it’s time to look ahead at how the 2026 draft will play out. Our draft expert Jonathan Wasserman offers up his predictions.

We know it’s hard to keep up with all the roster turnover, so our friends at The Portal Report have ranked all the transfer classes in the Big East Conference. They’ve already done the same for the ACC and will continue to go through all the leagues, both men’s and women’s, in the coming weeks. And this being July, that means the world of high school recruiting is really heating up, so there will be plenty for us to cover in the next few weeks.

Finally, I had a chance to speak recently with Memphis coach Penny Hardaway, who once again had to revamp his entire roster. There are many things working against this proud program — its league, mostly — but Hardaway is fighting the good fight.

I hope you enjoy all these servings as well as the many hot dishes to come this summer. Have a great Thursday, and thanks as always for your support of Hoops HQ. —Seth

2026 NBA Mock Draft: Who's Number One?

By Jonathan Wasserman

The 2025 NBA Draft is done, so that means we need to answer an important question: who’s got next?

I’ve got your answer right here in the form of my first 2026 NBA mock draft. I’ll be updating this frequently throughout the 2025-26 college basketball season, but I can tell you that at this point it looks like we are going to have yet another stellar crop of prospects, especially among the first few picks. Here is how the order looks at the moment.

1. Darryn Peterson, 6-foot-6 freshman guard, Kansas

Peterson looks like the most polished, well-rounded shooting guard prospect to come around in the past decade. While not as explosive as Anthony Edwards, he’s still quick, shifty and bouncy with more refined shot-creation skills and lethal shotmaking ability. He creates separation with ballhandling and change of pace and scores from all three levels. And though not a point guard, as a primary ballhandler, he has proven to be competent in a playmaking role, using his dribble and gravity to set up teammates.

2. ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

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“Where Do We Fit In?”: Penny Hardaway Seeks a Way Forward for Memphis

By Seth Davis

Last year, Coach Penny Hardaway had just one returning player. Next season, he will have none. Memphis graduated eight seniors and lost seven transfers from the squad that went 29-6, won the AAC regular season and tournament titles and earned a No. 5 seed to the NCAA Tournament, where the Tigers were bounced by Colorado State in the first round. That meant another round of grueling days and infinite phone calls in an effort to replace those losses via the transfer portal. Hardaway succeeded in finding 13 replacements, including nine Division I transfers, but the process took its toll.

“It’s exhausting,” he said. “The hours, choosing the right guys. It’s a lot. When you get 13 new guys with different personalities every year, you don’t know who they really are. You only meet them for a weekend and talk to them over the phone.”

Hardaway insists that he is optimistic about the program’s future. The question is how — and whether — the winning will return, and what it will take for the fans to do the same.

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