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College basketball was the overarching theme of the first round of the 2026 NBA draft.
The first 20 players selected Tuesday all played in college, which was the most to begin a draft since 1994. The only players picked who didn’t play college basketball were international prospects Karim López and Sergio de Larrea.
That marks a drastic shift from only a few years ago. The 2024 draft saw eight players selected in the first round who didn’t play in college, with four of the first six picks playing internationally or for the G League Ignite.
Players being able to benefit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) and be paid directly by their schools as a result of the House v. NCAA settlement is the primary reason for the sudden change. AJ Dybantsa, who the Wizards selected with the No. 1 overall pick, reportedly made between $4 million and $7 million in NIL deals between BYU and sponsors. Former Michigan head coach Dusty May told Front Office Sports in April that he expected the Wolverines’ 2026–27 roster to cost more than $10 million.
Players having the ability to get paid at the college level has altered the NBA’s predraft process. The G League Ignite program—which launched in 2020 as a paid alternative to going to college for NBA prospects—shut down in 2024, with the emergence of NIL in college sports cited as the primary reason. Additionally, more players are staying in college through their senior year, resulting in the draft being less watered down with fringe prospects.
“I think it was about 71 early entry candidates this year, which was down by like two-thirds from what it was in prior years,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas told FOS earlier this week. “For people like me who love college basketball, that’s a good thing.”
NIL has not just helped sway American-born athletes to college but has also convinced several international players to come to the U.S. to play college basketball. Aday Mara (Spain) and Hannes Steinbach (Germany) were foreign-born lottery picks drafted out of Michigan and Washington, respectively, on Tuesday night. Other players with similar backgrounds, such as Henri Veesaar, Baba Miller, and Felix Okpara, are expected to hear their names called during the second round Wednesday night.
The draft being dominated by college players is something fans should get used to. In Bleacher Report’s 2027 mock draft, 27 of the 30 projected first-round picks will play in college this upcoming season.
At the college level, the regular season finished as one of the most watched in recent history, with several networks reporting record viewership numbers. While NIL has been cited as a detriment to college sports and is something politicians are seeking to regulate, the numbers indicate it’s resulting in more NBA prospects playing college basketball while helping the sport reach new heights.
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