With the 2026 NBA Draft<\/a> now in the rearview, it’s time to start the cycle all over again and begin looking forward to the 2027 class. But buyer beware, next year’s crop of players isn’t perceived to be anywhere close to the talent we had in the 2026 class. In fact, NBA<\/a> executives and decision-makers have been devaluing their 2027 assets for years.<\/p>\n But the expected and well-known drop in talent in the 2027 class created a silver lining for college basketball. A number of high-level players opted to return to college basketball for the 2026-27 and cash in on big NIL deals with the possibility of a higher draft position next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2026 NBA Draft grades: Analysis on every pick from AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer through No. 60<\/p>\n \n Adam Finkelstein <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The continued robust NIL market in college basketball will populate next year’s class with more depth and sheer talent than previously expected.<\/p>\n To that end, we can categorize some of the most interesting potential 2027 prospects into three main categories:<\/p>\n Players who could have been drafted in 2026:<\/strong><\/p>\n The first is the group of players who could have been drafted this year. Florida’s Thomas Haugh was a projected late lottery pick on the CBS Big Board when he opted to return to school. UConn’s Braylon Mullins was a consensus first-rounder, along with Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas and Alabama’s Amari Allen.\u00a0<\/p>\n Duke’s Patrick Ngongba, Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu, Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner, Kentucky’s Malachi Moreno, and Arkansas’ Billy Richmond were all viewed as fringe first-rounders.\u00a0<\/p>\n There were a handful of others in that same category who found bigger paydays in the portal, like Flory Bidunga at Louisville, Juke Harris at Wake Forest, Tounde Yessouffou at St. John’s, and Matthew Able at North Carolina.\u00a0<\/p>\n In total, that’s 13 players who were widely expected to be drafted in 2026, with at least a chance to go in the first round, who now project to be in 2027. If you add players like Florida’s Alex Condon and Milan Momcilovic at Kentucky, the list gets even bigger.<\/p>\n Players expected to make a jump during the 2026-27 season<\/strong><\/p>\n The second category of players are the ones who might make a notable jump in the upcoming college season, like Michigan’s Aday Mara and Morez Johnson did this year. Essentially, these would be players who weren’t viewed as first-round candidates this year, but could be on the verge of a breakout season. These are harder to forecast, but some of the players I’ll be watching most closely include Duke’s Dame Sarr, USC’s Alijah Arenas, NC State’s Paul McNeil, Texas’ Matas Vokietaitis, Miami’s Shelton Henderson, Arizona’s Ivan Kharchenkov, and Gonzaga’s Davis Fogle.<\/p>\n Also, incoming North Carolina transfer Neoklis Avdalas, incoming Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman, incoming Providence transfer Miles Byrd, and the incoming Michigan frontcourt of Moustapha Thiam and JP Estralla.<\/p>\n Incoming college freshman, players from the 2026 high school class<\/strong><\/p>\n Then there are the incoming college freshmen<\/a>, but this is where the biggest discrepancy lies between 2026 and 2027.\u00a0 Collectively speaking, this group is nowhere close to their predecessors.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kansas’ Tyran Stokes<\/a>\u00a0has the sheer talent to be in the same conversation with the likes of Dybantsa, Peterson, and Boozer, but simultaneously many more questions. From there, it will be players like Arkansas’ Jordan Smith Jr., Arizona’s Caleb Holt, Duke’s Cameron Williams, BYU’s Bruce Branch, Ohio State’s Anthony Thompson, Missouri’s Jason Crowe Jr., Maryland’s Baba Oladotun, and USC’s Christian Collins who receive most of the speculation, but none of them are sure things at this point.<\/p>\n Fortunately, that’s a list that will now be supplemented by some international talent arriving in college basketball, including the likes of Sayon Keita at North Carolina, Luigi Suigo at Villanova, Miika Murrinen at Arkansas, and Michael Ruzic at LSU. Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje at Duke would also certainly be on this list, but he is too young to be draft-eligible next season.<\/p>\n Like this year’s draft class, the international pull of college basketball’s NIL market will limit the number of NBA prospects playing in international leagues next season, but there will assuredly still be some. Stefan Joksimovic, a 6-foot-8 guard from Slovenia, is a notable example. Other players to monitor include Huga Yimga from France, Dash Daniels from Australia, and Adam Atamna from France.<\/p>\n The single biggest takeaway when forecasting the 2027 NBA Draft is simply the uncertainty. A year ago, we already knew there was a big three for the 2026 draft. Next year has more names than we anticipated, but the order in which those names ultimately fall is unpredictable at this point. Even the order itself is uncertain, as next year will mark the first year of a new lottery system as part of the league’s new anti-taking rules.<\/p>\n So, a notable disclaimer, right now, on the night the 2026 NBA Draft just ended, there probably isn’t a single prospect who is currently guaranteed to be a lottery pick in 2027, and maybe only a handful who should feel good about their first-round status. With that said, here’s my best guess about how things could potentially shake out a year from now.<\/p>\n (Note: The 2027 draft order below is projected by CBS Sports NBA writer Sam Quinn and is based on 2026-27 NBA season predictions and the new lottery rules. Of course, a lot can and will change. It’s important to note that we won’t know the order until lottery night in 2027)<\/em><\/p>\n1. Sacramento Kings – Tyran Stokes, 6-7, Wing, Kansas, Fr.<\/h3>\n
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