The college basketball season is nearing a month away, marking an official beginning to a new draft cycle. with some international leagues already beginning play, it’s time to dive all the way into preview content. Over the next few weeks, we’ll break down the class to the six position groups matching with our pre-draft reports — points, guards, wings, forwards, bigs and centers.
Our rankings split guards into “points” and “guards,” with the former players slanting more towards on-ball initiation. These prospects are best with the ball in their hands, often proficient at setting up teammates and bending defenses with their own creation and scoring. Without rambling more, let’s rank my top five points in the 2026 NBA Draft class.
5. Cayden Boozer, Duke, Freshman
Boozer profiles as an ideal modern complementary point guard, his cupboard stocked with two-way skills. He’s a phenomenal on-and-off-ball defender who makes great use of his 6’4 frame, quick hands and instincts. As a senior playing for Columbus, Boozer managed his best shooting stretch, sinking 35.4% of his three 3-point attempts per game, on top of always excellent playmaking (2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio).
Despite his improvement, on-ball creation and paint pressure are both weakness for Boozer, which both made me consider moving him to the “combo” category. Elite point guards must pressure defenses as a scorer, but Boozer is elite in so many other areas. Marginal improvement as a strength creator or ball handler could help vault him towards lottery and top-10 discussions.
4. Kingston Flemings, Houston, Freshman
Though Flemings isn’t as widely known as his point guard peers, playing his pre-college ball on the PUMA Pro16 circuit and a public high school in San Antonio, his talent compares with the best in his class. He’s a nuclear downhill athlete with true point guard passing prowess, capable of carving defenses on drives and out of pick-and-rolls.
i reacted exactly how the goat @_LarroHoops did on the baseline to this kingston flemings almost baptism pic.twitter.com/KRkbCINGXs
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) October 4, 2024
Flemings isn’t a reliable outside shooter yet, especially off of the ball, which could limit his early playing time next to Houston’s other established players and talented freshmen. But guards who pressure the basket, pass and defend like Flemings can often have enormous ceilings, making him worth lottery consideration if he carves a rotation spot as a freshman.
3. Bennett Stirtz, Iowa, Senior
Stirtz is an atypical prospect to consider as one of the elite of his class, as upperclassmen guards rarely land in the lottery (and often fail when they do). But Stirtz is a savant with the basketball, blending his feel, touch and excellent handle to dominate out of pick-and-rolls. He’s a good, not great athlete (though you’ll see him get the bad athlete label) with enough burst and strength to create downhill.
drake soph bennett stirtz has a good case for highest feel player in the class. plays at a dizzying pace, processes the floor quickly and blends passing and scoring together.
he will debut higher than you might expect whenever i drop my next board pic.twitter.com/lbK6v0JEAO
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) January 23, 2025
His main athletic weaknesses relate to defense, where his lack of lateral quickness and size hold him back. Stirtz’s conditioning is an outlier trait, though; he played a record-setting (since 2008) 98.8% of Drake’s minutes as a full-time on-ball engine. Even if Stirtz doesn’t look like a typical lottery prospect, he’ll dominate college basketball next season with the bankable offensive traits necessary to thrive at the NBA level.
2. Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville, Freshman
Similarly to Boozer, I debated whether or not to include Brown Jr. in the “guard,” list because of his weaknesses as a slasher and paint scorer. I ultimately landed on him as a point guard for now, as his rim finishing (59.1%) and foul-drawing numbers (0.38 free-throw rate) as a 6’4 guard from his final AAU season inspire some confidence, even if he doesn’t pressure the basket a ton (20.8% half-court rim frequency).
Brown Jr. has a strong case as the draft’s best shooter, with nuclear shotmaking ability from all spots on the floor. His exceptional on and off-dribble shooting combined with brilliant passing vision, especially on long skip passes, can help him drive strong offense even without cracking the paint as often as many other elite point guards.
1. Darryn Peterson, Kansas, Freshman
There shouldn’t be much debate on who the top point guard in the 2026 NBA Draft class will be. Peterson is the frontrunner to end up as the top pick in the draft for his exceptional athleticism, special handling, elite touch and playmaking. We don’t know exactly what level of shooter he’ll level out as, but Peterson is as good as point guard prospects come on offense.
He’s also a maniacal defensive player with a strong case as the best guard defender in the class. His ability to generate steals, blocks and stop the ball projects him as a potentially all-league defenders in the NBA one day. There aren’t many point guard prospects who resemble Peterson, capable of dominating on both ends of the ball at a special level.
Honorable Mentions
Sergio De Larrea, Valencia
Milos Uzan, Houston, Senior
Donovan Dent, UCLA, Senior
Braden Smith, Purdue, Senior
Boogie Fland, Arkansas, Sophomore
PJ Haggerty, Kansas State, Junior
All Stats via Bart Torvik and Synergy
