Who Are Top Picks In New Ai Nba Mock Draft Ahead Of 2026 Lottery?

The 2026 NBA Draft lottery is on Mother's Day this year, with every team that didn't make the playoffs seeking the gift of the right ping-pong ball combination on Sunday, May 10. A whole batch of franchises tanked this past season just to have a better shot at securing the best choice possible in what's considered a strong draft class. So much so that NBA commissioner Adam Silver is considering radical changes to the NBA draft lottery system.

Teams have been lining up for the top of the draft board. BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson of Kansas, Duke's Cameron Boozer and UNC freshman Caleb Wilson have largely been considered the best four prospects but in varying orders. The potential prizes extend beyond that this year, though. The latest first-round mock draft conducted by USA TODAY Sports through Microsoft Copilot's artificial intelligence chatbot shows – when compared to one done just two weeks earlier with the same team order – the perception of this draft is fluid before its exact order is known.

The top five picks remained the same, but there was plenty of movement from there. New prospects were elevated into the first round by AI or higher in the NBA draft pecking order with another two weeks of intel. Other players were dropped out of the top 30 selections. More will be decided over the next week or so, when the NBA Draft lottery and NBA Draft Scouting Combine are held in Chicago.

Here's Microsoft Copilot's latest 2026 NBA mock draft heading into the draft lottery, as curated by USA TODAY Sports

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2026 NBA mock draft by USA TODAY Sports

You can compare AI's picks to the latest USA TODAY 2026 NBA mock draft by clicking here.

2026 NBA mock draft: AI picks first round

USA TODAY Sports asked Microsoft Copilot AI to generate a mock draft for the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft featuring only players who could be eligible this year. Microsoft Copilot assigned the draft order based on regular-season NBA records and the latest draft lottery tiebreakers, with the worst record getting the No. 1 pick and the best record getting the No. 30 pick. It used current mock drafts from reputable websites, as well as team needs, prospect analysis and potential pick swaps/protections, to determine the first-round selections for each team in this exercise.

AI models still have issues with accuracy as seen in the mock draft below. Of particular note, Microsoft Copilot had several picks inaccurately assigned to teams based on previous trades and pick swaps.

Here's a 2026 NBA first-round mock draft, according to Microsoft Copilot AI, as of May 5:

• 1. Washington Wizards: AJ Dybantsa, BYU
• 2. Indiana Pacers: Darryn Peterson, Kansas
• 3. Brooklyn Nets: Cameron Boozer, Duke
• 4. Utah Jazz: Caleb Wilson, North Carolina
• 5. Sacramento Kings: Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
• 6. Memphis Grizzlies: Keaton Wagler, Illinois
• 7. Atlanta Hawks (via New Orleans): Kingston Flemings, Houston

Note: The Hawks receive the better pick between the New Orleans Pelicans and Milwaukee Bucks through a trade during the 2025 NBA draft. The Bucks get the lesser of the two selections.

• 8. Dallas Mavericks: Mikel Brown, Jr., Louisville
• 9. Chicago Bulls: Braydon Burries, Arizona
• 10. Milwaukee Bucks: Nate Ament, Tennessee
• 11. Golden State Warriors: Labaron Philon, Alabama
• 12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via LA Clippers): Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
• 13. Miami Heat: Isaiah Evans, Duke
• 14. Charlotte Hornets: Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky
• 15. Chicago Bulls (via Portland): Koa Peat, Arizona
• 16. Memphis Grizzlies (via Phoenix): Chris Cenac, Jr., Houston
• 17. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Philadelphia): Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
• 18. Charlotte Hornets (via Orlando): Hannes Steinbech, Washington
• 19. Toronto Raptors: Karim Lopez, New Zealand Breakers (NBL)
• 20. San Antonio Spurs (via Atlanta): Aday Mara, Michigan
• 21. Detroit Pistons (via Minnesota): Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
• 22. Philadelphia 76ers (via Houston): Cameron Carr, Baylor
• 23. Atlanta Hawks (via Cleveland): Amari Allen, Alabama
• 24. New York Knicks: Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
• 25. Los Angeles Lakers: Dailyn Swain, Texas
• 26. Denver Nuggets: Henri Veesaar, North Carolina
• 27. Boston Celtics: Meleek Thomas, Arkansas
• 28. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Detroit): Tounde Yessoufou, Baylor
• 29. Cleveland Cavaliers (via San Antonio): Ebuka Okorie, Stanford
• 30. Dallas Mavericks (via Oklahoma City): Luigi Suigo (Adriatic League)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA mock draft 2026: AI makes first-round picks for every team