The 2025 NBA Draft was over for approximately 14 seconds before the 2026 NBA Draft lookaheads to Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa began, but there are real lessons that can be gleaned from a draft cycle that featured way more than just the Cooper Flagg Sweepstakes.
Let’s dive into how college basketball programs will react to the NBA Draft.
RJ Luis’ market fizzles
Luis was the lone college player on the NBA’s early-entrant list who wound up going undrafted even amidst a watered-down second round. Alabama’s Labaron Philon, UAB’s Yaxel Lendeborg and Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford all had more NBA Draft buzz than Luis and chose to return to school. Luis did not, instead choosing to bet on himself in the pre-draft process and eschew the lucrative seven-figure offers from transfer portal suitors.
The Big East Player of the Year was unable to raise his stock considerably, as questions about his jumper remained unanswered.
Going undrafted is not a death sentence, especially after multiple NBA decision-makers hinted that numerous agents spent Day 2 of the NBA Draft asking for their respective clients not to be picked in the second round in lieu of a better undrafted free agent offer. That could be the case with Luis, who signed a two-way deal with the rebuilding Utah Jazz. Luis is expected to team up with Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. in the Las Vegas-held NBA Summer League, which gets underway in less than two weeks.
2026 NBA Mock Draft: BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa soars to top of way-too-early lottery projection
Gary Parrish
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