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Potential top pick AJ Dybantsa met with the media along with all the draft\u2019s top prospects on Monday.<\/p>\n
Twenty-four projected NBA draft picks and ESPN draft analysts met with the media Monday ahead of Tuesday\u2019s first round of the NBA Draft (8 ET, ABC\/ESPN).<\/p>\n
Much was revealed including ESPN draft analyst Fran Fraschilla\u2019s choice of ice cream in relation to the depth of point guards in this year\u2019s class.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome nights I like baseball nut, some nights I like rocky road, some nights I like chocolate chip cookie dough,\u201d he said, \u201cand specifically with the top four point guards, I love them all. They\u2019re all different. They all fit different situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the record, ESPN draft analyst Jay Bilas is a mint chocolate chip person.<\/p>\n
Here are sights and sounds from Monday\u2019s media sessions in New York.<\/p>\n
AJ Dybantsa\u2019s busy schedule and night before the draft jitters<\/p>\n
Dybantsa, a projected top 3 pick who could go to the Washington Wizards at No. 1, has been everywhere during the pre-draft process.<\/p>\n
He was in Boston for his older sister\u2019s graduation from Boston College, then Dybantsa and his father, Ace, flew to Paris for the French Open and continued training sessions with Zack Gonzales (the same trainer who went through the pre-draft process with Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin last year).<\/p>\n
Dybantsa then flew back to the United States and was the Player Correspondent during Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals in New York. It wasn\u2019t until last weekend when he finally flew to Washington, D.C. and Salt Lake City to meet with the Wizards and Jazz. He has been in New York since last Tuesday for other interviews and obligations with his sponsors Red Bull and Nike.<\/p>\n
Follow AJ Dybantsa as he took a break from his draft prep to soak in the NYC skyline with a trip to the Empire State Building!<\/p>\n
Watch the First Round of the 2026 NBA Draft tomorrow at 8:00pm\/et on ABC & ESPN. pic.twitter.com\/UxODQwNpTb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NBA Draft (@NBADraft) June 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMy schedule is busy, but I\u2019m just finding times whenever I can to be in the gym and work out,\u201d Dybantsa said.<\/p>\n When asked if he was going to work out Monday night, Dybantsa said, \u201cAbsolutely. I probably won\u2019t be able to sleep so I\u2019ll be in the gym for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n High praise for Cameron Boozer<\/p>\n ESPN draft analyst Jay Bilas watched plenty of Duke\u2019s Cameron Boozer this season.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to be, if he stays healthy, a truly outstanding pro,\u201d Bilas said. \u201cHe\u2019s still really young. He\u2019s actually younger than a number of the other prospects that we\u2019ve been talking about, but at his size, his skill level, but he\u2019s got an understanding of how to play that\u2019s unusual, and he\u2019s got what I would call great processing skills. There are a lot of players who understand the game but aren\u2019t able to process it at the highest level while the pressure\u2019s on and everything\u2019s occurring and he processes actions while they\u2019re happening at a really high level. He had 14 games this year where he led Duke in scoring, rebounding and assists. And he\u2019s an excellent passer. The one thing you could say is does he have the NBA elite athleticism? And I think the answer\u2019s maybe not, but he\u2019s a really good athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n Like father, like son \ud83d\udcaa<\/p>\n Carlos and Cam Boozer break down the similarities and differences in their game as Cam prepares for the 2026 NBA Draft. First Round: Tuesday at 8pm\/et on ABC and ESPN. pic.twitter.com\/Ft3BHyhq2E<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NBA (@NBA) June 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Fellow ESPN draft analyst Fran Fraschilla said of Boozer: \u201cI know our buddy Tim Legler compares him to Kevin Love. As much as I love Kevin Love at UCLA, he\u2019s got more in the toolbox than Kevin did. That\u2019s not a criticism because Kevin\u2019s a great player, a near Hall-of-Famer. But I just think this kid could be the American (Nikola) Jokic. I really do. He has all the offensive skills you need to be a superstar.\u201d<\/p>\n Players taking in the sights of NYC before the draft<\/p>\n Darryn Peterson visited the Edge: NYC Sunday. Asked if he had a good time at the scenic rooftop view 1,100 feet above Manhattan, he said, \u201cNope! I\u2019m actually afraid of heights. It was terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n Darryn Peterson visits @EdgeNYC<\/a> ahead of Draft night! \ud83d\uddfd<\/p>\n Watch the 2026 NBA Draft on June 23-24! pic.twitter.com\/BPGA8JdGJo<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NBA (@NBA) June 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Allen Graves is from a small town in Louisiana and said visiting Philadelphia when he worked out there and now in New York has been overwhelming.<\/p>\n \u201cThis city never sleeps. It\u2019s crazy!\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m from a really small town so just seeing how busy everything is in these big cities is cool. There\u2019s so much to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBeing in New York before the draft, my favorite thing has been the food,\u201d Dybantsa said. \u201cI\u2019ve had some really good meals here.\u201d<\/p>\n Going pro in basketball \u2026 and fishing?<\/p>\n Alabama\u2019s Labaron Philon Jr. is skilled on the basketball court and also skilled with a fishing rod.<\/p>\n \u201cI can fish at a high level,\u201d Philon said. \u201cI caught a really big bass not too long ago. I was just playing around on the water, and I was reeling in when something snapped and hit it. It scared me.\u201d<\/p>\n Making history for Mexico?<\/p>\n Forward Karim Lopez spent the past two seasons playing for the New Zealand Breakers in Australia\u2019s National Basketball League. He is a projected first-round selection, and if that happens, he will be the first player born in Mexico drafted in the first round.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would mean a lot to me,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cIt would mean a lot to my country and my people.\u201d<\/p>\n Stirtz embraces Korver comp<\/p>\n Iowa\u2019s Bennett Stirtz started his college career at Northwest Missouri State, then followed NMSU coach Ben McCollum to Drake. And after McCollum left Drake to coach Iowa, Stirtz transferred to Iowa where he was an All-Big Ten performer, averaging 19.8 points and shooting 35.8% on 3-pointers. Fraschilla compared him to Kyle Korver.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a comparison Stirtz doesn\u2019t mind, especially after working out in the pre-draft process for the Atlanta Hawks where Korver played and is now an assistant general manager.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019d be great,\u201d Stirtz said. \u201cI think I can handle the ball a little bit more. No shade to Kyle Korver. He\u2019s a great dude. I wouldn\u2019t be mad at that at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Cenac appreciates Sampson\u2019s coaching<\/p>\n It takes the right kind of player to play for Houston Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson, a former NBA assistant who pushes his players.<\/p>\n \u201cHe coached me hard every single day,\u201d Houston big man Chris Cenac Jr. said. \u201cHe held me accountable for everything. He said he coached me harder than anybody he\u2019s coached. Respect to him for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Cenac is a projected mid-to-late first-round pick.<\/p>\n The \u201canalytics darling\u201d of the 2026 Draft<\/p>\n Santa Clara forward Allen Graves has snuck into the first round of mock drafts, possibly going in the late teens. He\u2019s a favorite among the advanced stats crowd because of box score plus-minus (No. 6 in 2025-26), scoring efficiency (51.2% shooting from the field, 41.3% on 3-pointers) and low turnover rate.<\/p>\n \u201cAs far as the analytics part goes, I just play my game,\u201d Graves said. \u201cThat\u2019s just how I\u2019ve played my whole life. If it shows up analytically, that\u2019s what it does. I know how big of an impact it\u2019s had on NBA scouts.\u201d<\/p>\n Try stopping this downhill force<\/p>\n Bilas provided the analogy of the day when talking about Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was the first player in the Southeastern Conference to lead the league in scoring and assists since Pete Maravich did it,\u201d Bilas said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s like trying to guard a bowling ball coming down the mountain. He\u2019s so powerful and athletic and he\u2019s ultra-skilled, and at the end of the season, he was unstoppable.\u201d<\/p>\n Several mock drafts have Acuff going to Sacramento at No. 7 \u2013 not surprising since Kings general manager Scott Perry coached Acuff\u2019s dad at Eastern Kentucky for the 1998-99 season.<\/p>\n Flemings\u2019 sister ready to star at Duke<\/p>\n Kingston Flemings, who also played for Sampson at Houston, is a projected lottery pick. His sister, Bella Flemings, is set to begin her freshman season at Duke later this year. Asked about similarities and differences in their games, Flemings said, \u201cSimilar, both competitive, both want to win. Different, I think I\u2019m more of a point guard. She\u2019s more of a combo scoring guard. She\u2019s naturally a shooter. I think I\u2019m naturally a facilitator.\u201d<\/p>\n Of Flemings\u2019 game, Fraschilla said: \u201cI\u2019m a little partial to Kingston Flemings because I\u2019ve gotten to know him and when you say no maintenance, there\u2019s no maintenance with that young man. I also think Kingston may have the highest ceiling. When you go play for Kelvin Sampson \u2013 keep in mind, he\u2019s the first five-star (recruit) to play at Houston under Kelvin Sampson \u2013 when you do that, you\u2019re basically joining the basketball equivalent of Navy SEALs.\u201d<\/p>\n What do prospects like about other prospects?<\/p>\n If a draft prospect could \u201csteal\u201d a skill from another player, what is the skill and from whom?<\/p>\n \u201cDarius Acuff\u2019s touch,\u201d Baylor\u2019s Cameron Carr said.<\/p>\n \u201cCam Boozer\u2019s IQ,\u201d North Carolina\u2019s Caleb Wilson said.<\/p>\n The international connection<\/p>\n In the last four years of the draft, the first round has been sprinkled with international talent. This year\u2019s draft class features just a few international prospects. Karim Lopez is from Mexico and played the last two seasons in New Zealand, and Hannes Steinbach elected to leave Germany and play one year at Washington before entering the NBA.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s my guy right there,\u201d Lopez said when he saw Hannes entering the set for NBA TV\u2019s On the Clock. \u201cHe\u2019s probably the guy I\u2019m closest to in this draft class. He\u2019s really good, too.\u201d<\/p>\n “Guys like me\u2026 can help Mexico grow that foundation.”<\/p>\n Karim Lopez on how him being drafted to the NBA can help grow the game of basketball in Mexico. https:\/\/t.co\/q2aVSWMRa4<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9DTucy9NhY<\/a><\/p>\n