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NBA Draft 2026: Analyzing the Class’s Top Five Defenders

Ben Pfeifer Written by Sports EditorBen Pfeifer
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NBA Draft discussion often glosses over evaluating defenders and analysis aside from mentioning steal and block totals. Defensive stats aren’t as readily available, and measuring and projecting defensive translation is challenging, but teams consistently identify undervalued defensive talent and reap major rewards.

As a part of my draft scouting process, I’m creating a film-based Pro Football Focus-style grading system for 2026 prospects, assigning credit to every play a prospect makes in a game, even ones not represented in the box score. I’m currently working on an updated, detailed explainer for how I watch film and assign credit, but this one from Fall 2024 does the job for now.

Evaluating defense is a primary use case for a film-based analysis like this, as so much of defense — weak-side, stunting and recovering, on-ball stops, rim contests, ball watching, etc — don’t show up in traditional defensive numbers. And the 2026 NBA Draft features plenty of high-caliber defensive talent at all positions, reflected in their projectable impact scores.

Let’s break down the top-five defenders in the 2026 class so far based on my unscientific “Defensive Net Impact Plays”  metric, normalized on a per 40-minute scale. The samples are all still fairly small, as it’s early in the season and samples are still incomplete. These aren’t necessarily my five best defensive prospects in the class, but all five of these players change games defensively and we’ll discuss what contributed to their high grades.

Click here for play-by-play offensive, defensive and overall impact scores for 52 2025 prospects.

5. Darryn Peterson, Point Guard, Kansas: 6.15 Defensive NP/40 (26 minutes per game)

Games Evaluated and Graded (4): UWGB, North Carolina, Missouri, NC State

Peterson’s elite defensive impact and production translated immediately from the high school to the college level, grading out well in his limited court time by my metrics and traditional defensive statistics (2.8% steal rate, 3.2% block rate, 5.7 Defensive Box Plus-Minus). He’s long, athletic, instinctual and, to this point, continues to succeed defensively with a massive offensive load.

Those long arms and sniper hands make Peterson an ideal candidate to star in an off-ball playmaker role, stunting and digging from strong and weak-side help positions. Beyond his obvious athletic advantages, he always seems a step or two ahead of offensive players, anticipating movements and passes like a veteran.

He posted above-average defensive net impact plays scores in all four of his games, including his most recent against NC State (5.16 DefNP/40), where he played injured and in early foul trouble. Even with opposing offensive players targeting him, Peterson found ways to combat their aggression and physicality, like this beautiful chair pull to force an off-balance shot.

But the special sauce that raises Peterson to the highest echelon of perimeter defensive prospects is his shot blocking and rim protection; he’s one of eight high-major players 6-foot-5 or shorter with a block rate at or above three percent. I’m not sure why Peterson drifts away from the paint initially, but his athleticism and skill on the subsequent rotation and block are eye-popping.

Peterson’s health muddies his immediate future, but he’s played like a superstar NBA Draft prospect when he’s been available. As long as his long-term medicals clear with teams, he’s a bona fide franchise star and his all-encompassing defensive impact is a major part of that.

4. Caleb Wilson, Forward, North Carolina: 6.45 Defensive NP/40 (30.3 minutes per game)

Games Evaluated and Graded (8): Central Ark., Kansas, Radford, Navy, Michigan State, Kentucky, Georgetown, Ohio State

Of all 52 prospects I’ve charted for so far, Wilson’s game-to-grades are the least consistent, and most of that inconsistency stems from his defense. His defensive net impact plays scores range from well below average (Kentucky, Georgetown) to some of the best performances of any prospect this cycle (Kansas, Ohio State).

I’m not concerned about Wilson’s long-term defensive outlook as highly-touted freshmen often struggle defensively on a play-to-play basis, especially early on. He understandably leans hard on his otherworldly physical and athletic tools, but that strategy won’t work as well for Wilson as it did at the high school and AAU levels.

Offenses predicated on off-ball movement and cutting give Wilson trouble, who will ball watch and fall asleep defending away from the ball. He’ll always try to recover and make a play after these lapses, but sometimes those efforts can’t compensate for the initial off-ball mistake.

Wilson loves to reach and swipe at live dribbles but his accuracy stabbing at the basketball on the move has been inconsistent, resulting in fouls instead of steals and deflections despite his length and size:

That’s as far as nitpicking Wilson’s defensive projection goes, though, as despite significant room to grow, he is a high-impact defender already. His blend of explosive vertical athleticism, speed, mobility and length let him take over games defensively, as he’s done a few times already this season. And it’s understandable for a player who makes plays like this:

And this:

To lean on his tools a bit more than he should. Wilson will figure it out. When he does, NBA offenses won’t be happy.

3. Killyan Toure, Guard, Iowa State: 7.06 Defensive NP/40 (25.5 minutes per game)

Some sharp draft scouts have already tabbed Toure, a 6-foot-3 freshman who lacked serious draft buzz entering the year, as a blue-chip point-of-attack defender prospect. I tend to agree, evidenced by his high defensive impact scores, elite steal rate (4.1%) and enormous wingspan (plus-six) fueling some dominant defensive performances on the ball.

Josh Hubbard turned the ball over seven times in Mississippi State’s loss to the Cyclones. Braden Smith scored 11 points in his home loss to Iowa State and Bennett Stirtz had one of the worst offensive performances of his career with Toure glued to their hip pockets. He’s effectively a number-one corner on defense, loaded with the length, speed, flexibility and balance to mirror handlers, dip around screens and blow up handoffs.

Toure certainly showed his face in Stirtz’s nightmares after their matchup, who couldn’t muster much of any on or off-ball separation:

Hubbard canned some tough jumpers against Iowa State as he often does, but Toure made sure he wouldn’t see any unimpeded routes to the iron on his watch:

 

Games Evaluated and Graded (4): Mississippi State, St. John’s, Purdue, Iowa

His off-ball defense isn’t too shabby, plagued by typical freshman struggles with off-ball switching and more complex rotations, but his length and instincts shine as a playmaker in help. But his on-ball defense and screen navigations are special traits that earn players like Toure serious NBA Draft considerations despite significant room to grow on offense and tons of muscle to add.

2. Morez Johnson, Big, Michigan: 7.35 Defensive NP/40 (22.7 minutes per game)

Games Evaluated and Graded (6): Wake Forest, TCU, San Diego State, Auburn, Gonzaga, Maryland

Michigan’s stable of elite front-court players forced Johnson into a new, potentially uncomfortable position defending on the wing more than he did at Illinois, where he played mostly center. His Wolverines boast the nation’s best defense and Johnson’s seamless transition to more perimeter defensive responsibilities catalyzed it.

Transitioning to a wing/forward role suits the 6-foot-9 big man well, who likely lacks the height to primarily play center in the NBA. No matter, as Johnson’s ridiculous explosiveness and mobility let him defend the ball in space and cover acres of ground to blow up plays. He’s one of 16 high-major players posting a block rate at or above six percent and a steal rate at or above two percent, making plays constantly on defense.

His remarkable speed off the ball covers for countless defensive mistakes and clogs seemingly wide-open driving gaps. Nope, that’s not sped up:

Few forward-sized players possess the agility and balance to tiptoe through traffic on the perimeter like Johnson, who rips through screens and handoffs like an elusive guard defender. Switching Johnson onto guards doesn’t compromise his team’s defense (and boosts it at times, if anything):

But Johnson’s defending from disadvantaged positions might be his strongest and most valuable defensive skill, possessing the rare combination of physical traits, motor and mental acuity to turn numbers deficits into positive plays for the defense. He’s constantly tipping passes and bailing out teammates with big-time plays:

Aggressive playmakers like Johnson struggle with foul trouble and gambling for ill-advised steals and blocks, but those negative points don’t come close to outweighing his defensive pluses. I didn’t previously view Johnson as much of an NBA prospect before this season, but his defensive play so far is changing my mind.

1. Aday Mara, Center, Michigan: 13.99 Defensive NP/40 (23.4 minutes per game)

Games Evaluated and Graded (6): Wake Forest, TCU, San Diego State, Auburn, Gonzaga, Maryland

Another Michigan big man tops the class in defensive impact and Mara’s lead is gigantic; the gap between Mara and second-place Johnson is about the same as the distance between Johnson and 50th-place Darius Acuff (0.75). It’s the kind of production that screams small sample anomaly, especially considering Mara’s low minute share, usually contributing to huge Wolverine blowouts.

This absurd production somewhat reminds me of Rocco Zikarsky’s first NBL season, where he topped early editions of my impact charting with low-minute defensive dominance. That didn’t hold up in a higher-minute role, but Mara’s 37-minute evisceration of Wake Forest is a nice starting point for his case as a full-time defensive anchor.

Regardless of how the rest of Michigan’s season plays out, Mara’s early-season defense has been outstanding, also ranking third nationwide in Defensive BPM (7.1) and top-15 in block rate (12.3%). He’s an impregnable wall at the basket who contests shots accurately with both hands and showcases more discipline than many college bigs.

The 7-foot-3 Spaniard leveled up his mobility this season, now more comfortable defending in space and moving up closer to the level of high ball screens. It’s staggering to watch a human being as large as Mara flip his hips and change directions this smoothly defending the pick-and-roll:

He’s reading the game at a high level when defending the rim, absorbing multiple attacks without biting at fakes and aggressive drives. When Mara stays down and picks his spots as a shot blocker with this kind of discernment, offenses have an extremely tough time shooting over him:

I’m fascinated to chart and watch Mara in conference play and eventually the tournament. If he maintains anywhere near this level of defensive impact, especially with higher minute totals, he’ll cement himself as a lottery prospect for me. Centers who depress opposing rim frequency and accuracy are always valuable commodities, especially ones with Mara’s offensive acumen.

Ben Pfeifer Written by Sports EditorBen Pfeifer
Ben Pfeifer graduated from the University of Missouri with degrees in Psychology and Journalism. He has worked in basketball scouting covering the NBA and the draft for over a half-decade, working for various outlets. Now, he covers the NBA, the draft and high school basketball.
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