May 15, 2026
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Could the Sixers land one of the best defensive players in college basketball?
No matter how many criticisms Daryl Morey inspired in his six years running the Sixers, it was hard to argue the strength of his track record when it came to the NBA Draft.
Now, for the first time since the franchise traded up for Washington wing Matisse Thybulle in 2019, the Sixers are set to make a first-round pick with someone other than Morey making the final call.
The Sixers own the No. 22 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and it comes courtesy of Morey's final trade of consequence in Philadelphia: dealing Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for four draft picks.
With Sunday's lottery solidifying the draft order and the combine underway, plenty of new mock drafts have been released. Let's get to know some prospects the Sixers could end up with, according to those mocks:
Jeremy Woo predicts the Sixers will land a prospect that is likely to be mocked to them throughout the draft cycle – assuming he does not return to college. Graves is arguably the top player in the NCAA transfer portal and could stand to make major money from a high-level program if he stays in school:
"Graves is one of the unique stories of this draft cycle and has gathered first-round momentum, thanks in large part to his strong analytic profile. He maintains the ability to return to college, where he is also in the transfer portal, making this one of the more interesting stay-or-go decisions as the combine approaches. While still somewhat polarizing among scouts and not a top-end run-jump athlete, Graves' skill level, feel for the game and productivity have continued to pique NBA interest, giving him a pathway to rise into the top 20 with a strong predraft process." [ESPN]
It is fair to wonder if Graves staying in the draft would imply he has a floor higher than the Sixers' pick at No. 22 overall, but if he ends up available to the Sixers they would have a chance to draft an outstanding defensive player. Graves averaged 3.4 steals and 1.7 blocks per 40 minutes as a freshman and shot 38-for-92 on threes – 41.3 percent. He has the makeup of a terrific role player, with a very sturdy forward frame.
MORE: How Morey's Sixers tenure reached its end
Another sturdy wing – though he is not quite as sizable as Graves – Sam Vecenie goes with Allen here, and compares him to a player many Sixers fans have long been frustrated the team did not draft out of Villanova:
"Allen is a terrific Swiss Army knife wing who excites scouts, even though it might make more sense for him to return to school. He averaged 11.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, one steal and nearly one block per game while shooting 44 percent from the field, 34 percent from 3 and 74 percent from the foul line. Like a younger Josh Hart, he does a little bit of everything without truly excelling in an area outside of rebounding. But NBA teams are always looking for wings who can dribble, pass and shoot while providing at least solid size on the defensive end." [The Athletic]
Allen's statistical profile truly represents the jack-of-all-trades sort of mold; as Vecenie indicates, rebounding is his only major strength but he arguably does not have any weaknesses. Given the Sixers' lack of depth on the wing – Justin Edwards stagnated in his second season and Kelly Oubre Jr. is headed to unrestricted free agency – they could use a trusted presence there.
Jonathan Wasserman highlights a player who, if things break right, would fit an archetype that remains especially valuable to the Sixers:
"Despite flaws in Chris Cenac's statistical profile, there will be teams willing to bet on a 19-year-old with his 6'10" (barefoot) size, 7'5" wingspan, 240-pound frame, shooting confidence and motor. He'll be a popular reach candidate for teams looking to fill gaps and aren't concerned with finding high-upside scorers." [Bleacher Report]
If Cenac turns into the player many believed he could be when he was one of the highest-touted recruits in the country a year ago, someone might get a steal in the middle of the first round after his up-and-down season at Houston. For the Sixers, a multi-positional big with some ability to step out and knock down a three-point shot – Cenac shot 30-for-90 from beyond the arc last season – would be a particularly helpful piece to have on a Joel Embiid-led team.
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The only true big mocked to the Sixers this week was Veesaar, who broke out after transferring to North Carolina. Kevin O'Connor writes:
"Finding better bigs needs to be prioritized instead of relying on Andre Drummond to launch corner 3s. Veesaar is an agile big with actual shooting touch, connective playmaking, and baseline big skills with the ability to set screens and catch lobs. He also offers rim protection and is a locked-in help defender. In all three of his collegiate seasons, he made a massive leap in production each year. But he's 225 pounds so his lanky frame can get pushed around, plus he still hasn't fully defined his cornerstone skill. That’s OK in Philadelphia though. He could anchor bench units when Embiid is healthy, and potentially play a bigger role when he’s not, while serving as a key figure alongside Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe for many years to come." [Yahoo! Sports]
The Sixers' lack of interior depth behind Embiid was a glaring issue during the playoffs; they once again are in desperate need for a stabilizing force at backup center. If the Sixers hit on a player like Veesaar, it would be well worth the price of a first-rounder, particularly given how frequently Embiid is unavailable.
To close it out, J. Kyle Mann picks Jefferson for the Sixers, writing that "[t]here’s an argument to be made that the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Jefferson is the best passer in the entire class, regardless of position." That sounds like an awfully intriguing fit next to the Sixers' two franchise cornerstones in the backcourt, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe:
"To me, a Jefferson-Philly pairing would be a match made in heaven: His long track record of setting up perimeter scorers fits perfectly with the Sixers’ two incendiary scoring guards. While I do think that he’ll compress into a smaller role than the one he enjoyed at Iowa State, Jefferson’s also no slouch as a scorer himself, and his deflection-heavy defensive approach would feed right into their overall speed advantage." [The Ringer]
The two things working against Jefferson: he is very much a suspect three-point shooter – a significant leap on that front last season still left him at just 34.5 percent on modest volume – and he will turn 23 years old in the opening weeks of his rookie NBA season. Under Morey, the Sixers rarely drafted prospects that old. Time will tell what his successor makes of such cases.
MORE: Candidates to replace Morey
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