2026 NBA Draft: Second Round Review
San Antonio continued its recent trend of selecting talent from established teams in powerhouse conferences – nabbing getting Ja’Kobi Gillespie from Tennessee and Maliq Brown from Duke. Meanwhile, there were eyeball-popping amounts of trade activity again around the Spurs’ draft picks.
- 42nd selection: Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee) – 6’0″ 182 lb.
- 44th selection: Maliq Brown (Duke) – 6’8″ 217 lb.
Below is a review of the entire second round, but first, a few quick observations:
- The pre-drafting show segment tonight went longer than last night’s lead-up into the first pick. This could have been for the longer explanations about the importance of these second round picks (featuring 2-way contracts) in the new ‘3-2-1’ drafting world.
- It was really pleasant to hear the applause across the board for Mark Tatum as he walked up to announce each pick.
- The names repeated as second round found gold ranged from Jalen Brunson to Nikola Jokic to our own Manu Ginobili (forever knighted as “E-man-yoo-el Gee-noh-bee-lee“) (other luminaries: Dennis Rodman and Draymond Green)
- Way more cooler names in the second round, including: Baba Miller, Trevon Brazile (who went from San Antonio to Denver), Otega Oweh, Vsevolod Ishchenko, and Narcisse Ngoy.
- Denver scuttled Isaiah Stewart to memphis for only three future second round picks. He would have been an upgrade for the Spurs’ bench.
And now onto the picks!
31. Houston Rockets (via New York)
PLAYER: Bruce Thornton (Ohio State)
OBSERVATION: When I first heard his voice from the other browser tab, I immediately thought ‘Dennis Rodman!‘
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Chauncey Billups / Spurs: Thicc DeMar DeRozan
32. Memphis Grizzlies
PLAYER: Richie Saunders (BYU)
OBSERVATION: An heir to the tater tot kingdom is a winner in my eyes.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: what Warriors fans want Brandin Podziemski to be / Spurs: 2002-2003 Stephen Jackson
33. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Brooklyn)
PLAYER: Isaiah Evans (Duke)
OBSERVATION: The nickname “Showtime Slim” is quite exemplary.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Aaron Wiggins / Spurs: early 90s Dale Ellis
34. Cleveland Cavaliers (via Sacramento)
PLAYER: Meleek Thomas (Arkansas)
OBSERVATION: He looks deceptively quick.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: poor man’s Bradley Beal / Spurs: Gary Neal in a pinch
35. Denver Nuggets (from San Antonio)
PLAYER: Trevon Brazile (Arkansas)
OBSERVATION: He looks like a no-nonsense big that has a nice motor.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Willey Cauley-Stein / Spurs: 2007 Francisco Elson
36. Los Angeles Clippers
PLAYER: Baba Miller (Cincinnati)
OBSERVATION: He had a very blingy ‘B’ necklace to complete his draft day fit. Loved it.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Amare Stoudemire (squinting heavily) / Spurs: would’ve chewed up and spit out Zach Collins in practice
37. Miami Heat (from Oklahoma City)
PLAYER: Ryan Conwell (Louisville)
OBSERVATION: This pick immediately went to Miami – who just need to fill out their roster at this point.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Devin Booker / Spurs: a more compact Danny Green
38. Indiana Pacers (from Chicago)
PLAYER: Braden Smith (Purdue)
OBSERVATION: Heady point guard going to Indiana Of course.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: TJ McConnell with pizzazz / Spurs: Speedy Claxton if we could have kept him beyond 2003
39. New York Knicks (from Houston)
PLAYER: Jack Kayil (Germany)
OBSERVATION: Maybe an understudy for Jalen Brunson. This seems like the type of draft-and-stash San Antonio used to make.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Deron Williams / Spurs: A fully-formed Blake Wesley
40. Boston Celtics
PLAYER: Dillon Mitchell (St. John’s)
OBSERVATION: Didn’t hear too much about him with most of the analysts’ attention on Zuby Ejiofor.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Aaron Nesmith / Spurs: (way back machine) Monty Williams
41. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Miami)
PLAYER: Otega Oweh (Kentucky)
OBSERVATION: Looks like a defensive lineman masquerading as a basketball wingman.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: less-dirty Lu Dort / Spurs: 2nd year Carter Bryant
42. San Antonio Spurs
PLAYER: Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee)
OBSERVATION: The highlight plays seemed to come easy for him.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Jose Alvarado / Spurs: Gary Neal with handles
43. Brooklyn Nets
PLAYER: Tyler Bilodeau (UCLA)
OBSERVATION: The shooting stroke looks smooth, but he’ll need to contribute on the defensive end.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Adam Morrison / Spurs: 2002 Steve Smith
44. San Antonio Spurs
PLAYER: Maliq Brown (Duke)
OBSERVATION: He looks like a potential upgrade for Julian Champagnie or a platoon partner – particularly while leading his teams with deflections and steals.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Jalen Williams / Spurs: Champagnie
45. Sacramento Kings (from New York)
PLAYER: Emanuel Sharp (Houston)
OBSERVATION: Their salary cap seems harder to manager than a grad school economics course.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Jae’Sean Tate / Spurs: Lonnie Walker IV
46. Orlando Magic
PLAYER: Felix Okpara (Tennessee)
OBSERVATION: This pick was soon after traded to Washington. If he had stayed with Orlando, that would’ve been a crowded frontcourt.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Grant Williams / Spurs: A taller more filled out Sidy Cissoko
47. Phoenix Suns
PLAYER: Tyler Nickel (Vanderbilt)
OBSERVATION: This pick was sent to New York. He would be a broadcaster’s dream if he learned to pass well – “What a dime by Nickel!“
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Alex Caruso / Spurs: Jeremy Sochan before the confidence was sucked out of him
48. Dallas Mavericks
PLAYER: Tobi Lawal (Virginia Tech)
OBSERVATION: He looks like he’ll be a rotation big for a decade-plus.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Jonathan Isaac / Spurs: Chimezi Metu – with more playing time
49. Denver Nuggets
PLAYER: Bryce Hopkins (St. John’s)
OBSERVATION: Denver’s picks seems like eventual Aaron Gordon buddy material or his replacements.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Aaron Gordon / Spurs: 2021 LaMarcus Aldridge (sad face)
50. Toronto Raptors
PLAYER: Jaden Bradley (Arizona)
OBSERVATION: His college heroics would seem to portend to success in the league.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Marcus Smart / Spurs: Malaki Branham in a non-Wemby universe
51. Orlando Magic (from Washington)
PLAYER: Izaiyah Nelson (USF)
OBSERVATION: He looks like the type of tweener who will excel on his second team.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Miles Bridges / Spurs: what Jaron Blossomgame could have been
52. Atlanta Hawks (from Los Angeles Clippers)
PLAYER: Henri Veesaar (North Carolina)
OBSERVATION: Just as I was about to type “Ivica Zubac’s replacement,’ the trade was announced.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Brook Lopez / Spurs: however, this feels like a Luka Samanic situation
53. Houston Rockets
PLAYER: Ugonna Oyenso (Virginia)
OBSERVATION: Surprise! This was traded to Detroit. But he had one of the top five inspirational reactions upon getting drafted.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Theo Ratliff / Spurs: Mason Plumlee
54. Golden State Warriors
PLAYER: Lajae Jones (Florida State)
OBSERVATION: He moved pretty smoothly in all of his highlights.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: more athletic Gui Santos / Spurs: moves somewhat like Quinndary Weatherspoon
55. New York Knicks
PLAYER: Nick Martinelli (Northwestern)
OBSERVATION: He should have been a Warriors pick given that the Martinelli’s beverage company is heardquartered here in the Bay Area.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: 2010s Gordon Hayward / Spurs: fully actualized Boris Diaw
56. Chicago Bulls
PLAYER: Vsevelod Ishchenko (Russia)
OBSERVATION: Yet another trade after the fact – this one went to the Mavericks.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Andrei Kiriklenko (in high school) / Spurs: the way Nikola Milutinov made so many of our mouths salivate in 2015 and the years after
57. Atlanta Hawks
PLAYER: Narcisse Ngoy (France)
OBSERVATION: This one was also traded to the Clippers. #GINOBILI!
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Guerschon Yabusele is envious of Narcisse’s dimensions / Spurs: I could see Nazr Mohammed
58. New Orleans Pelicans
PLAYER: Jaron Pierre, Jr. (SMU)
OBSERVATION: Is this their first pick of this draft? This particular pick has traveled more than I have on the basketball court.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Ryan Dunn (at least the way he’s played against San Antonio) / Spurs: David Garcia-Jones
59. Minnesota Timberwolves
PLAYER: Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue)
OBSERVATION: This looks like a depth move should Naz Reid move into the starting lineup.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: Sacramento version of Trey Lyles / Spurs: Trey Lyles alert!
60. Washington Wizards
PLAYER: Malique Lewis (Trinidad and Tobago)
OBSERVATION: It’s really cool that the Wizards got the first and last picks of the 2026 draft! However, this pick was sadly traded to Milwaukee.
UNOFFICIAL PLAYER COMP: Non-Spurs: oddly enough, 2013 Giannis Antetokounmpo (before the growth spurt and the muscles) / Spurs: If any of you remember him, James Anderson!
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Good news, Pounders! It’s only about 1.5 weeks til the California Classic in Northern California and 2 weeks until the NBA Summer League! Hallelujah for basketball!
