The Duke basketball program is heading into the 2025-26 college hoops season with hopes of returning to the Final Four for a second consecutive season. After one of the biggest collapses in NCAA Tournament history, Jon Scheyer looks to avenge those emotions and bring his guys to the mountaintop with a revamped roster. Scheyer is bringing in the No. 1 overall 2025 recruiting class along with a slew of key returners, giving the Blue Devils potentially the most talented roster in the entire country. Whether there's debate to be had over that fact or not, this new NBA Mock Draft might just prove Duke has more talent than anyone.
2026 NBA Mock Draft slots five Duke basketball players in the first round
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman released a new 2026 NBA Mock Draft, and five Duke basketball players were included as first round picks. Yes, not just selections. First rounders. The Blue Devils' entire starting five was selected in the 2025 NBA Draft, which was an extremely impressive feat on its own. But five picks in round one?? Now that's really unheard of.
As most would expect, Cameron Boozer kicks off the draft for Duke, as Wasserman slotted Boozer No. 2 overall to the Washington Wizards. Although, some mocks even have Boozer as the top pick.
Boozer's twin brother, Cayden, comes off the board next at No. 11 to the Sacramento Kings. Cayden has made some serious strides this summer and looks like he might be a more integral part of the rotation right away than some anticipated.
Rounding it out for the Blue Devils, Wasserman has Dame Sarr as the 17th overall selection to the Milwaukee Bucks, Patrick Ngongba II as the 22nd overall pick to the Golden State Warriors, and Isaiah Evans as the 24th overall pick to the New York Knicks.
Interestingly, Wasserman doesn't have incoming five-star freshman Nik Khamenia on his draft board at all, potentially hinting that Scheyer could get him back for a second year.
With so much talent on the roster, there's bound to be some guys who don't get the amount of playing time they were originally anticipating. Khamenia and Sarr are fighting for the starting three spot right now, but it looks like Sarr is in the lead.
Despite continuous injuries, Ngongba's pro potential is still being noticed. For Isaiah Evans, many are deeming him one of the next breakout stars in college basketball.
Regardless of which Blue Devils were put in and which were left off, five potential first round selections doesn't seem fair. Now, what makes college basketball so great is that it might not matter. Despite all the talent, Duke is still extremely young and inexperienced. In today's era of college hoops, Scheyer's guys will need to mature and grow quickly for the program to reach its ceiling.