The road to the 2026 NBA Draft begins on Sunday with the lottery, and CBS Sports' Bracket Club crew opened their preview with a reminder of how stacked the top of the class looks. Hosts Adam Tagnik, Mike O'Donnell and Noah Bono framed Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson as the headliners of an already-loaded board, while spending almost as much time on the players who chose to stay in college as those who are expected to hear their names called in June.
Tagnik told viewers that Boozer remains a near-certainty to declare despite a wider debate the panel had run for weeks about whether the changing economics of college basketball were starting to keep blue-chip prospects on campus longer. With NIL collectives now offering competitive money, the trio argued the calculus has shifted for prospects who project outside the lottery — a shift that played out on the page once underclassmen made their decisions.
Noah Bono pointed to UConn guard Brilan Mullins as the most striking example. Mullins, who had been viewed as a potential late first-round pick after a strong NCAA Tournament run, opted to return to Storrs rather than chase a rookie-scale contract. Bono argued the move made obvious sense for a player in Mullins' bracket: stay in a stable program with Dan Hurley, take on a bigger offensive role with Solo Ball gone, and earn comparable money through NIL while playing for another deep tournament team.
Mike O'Donnell agreed that Mullins' decision summed up the broader trend, suggesting fringe first-rounders have less to gain financially by jumping than they did even a year ago, especially if their draft projection is unstable. The panel suggested teams picking late in the first round may quietly be relieved by the trend, since it thins the crop of risky swings and pushes more polished prospects toward the lottery range.
At the top of the board, the panel was unanimous that Boozer, Dybantsa and Peterson would dominate the conversation once ping-pong balls start bouncing. Beyond the obvious three, the group circled North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson as the cleanest fit for whichever franchise lands the No. 4 pick. Tagnik went a step further on the late-lottery names, suggesting Kayan Wagler's gravity and pace would slot beautifully into Steve Kerr's system if the Warriors fall into the six-to-nine range and want to give Stephen Curry one more credible co-star.
The broader point from the Bracket Club was that the 2026 lottery is unusual in two directions at once. The top is heavier than most recent years, with three legitimate franchise-altering prospects rather than one or two. And the bottom of the first round has been thinned out by college returns, with Mullins the most prominent name to bet on himself rather than rush the league.
For Orlando, Brooklyn, Washington and the rest of the lottery field, that combination raises the stakes on Sunday's draw. Falling out of the top three could mean missing the franchise-tier prospect entirely, while landing inside it now offers a credible chance at a second cornerstone alongside whichever superstar already calls the city home. With the lottery only days away, the panel agreed the next 72 hours will reshape every front office's offseason plan.
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*Originally published on [NBA News Global](https://nbanews.global/article/nba-draft-lottery-preview-boozer-dybantsa-peterson-mullins-may-2026). Visit for full coverage.*
