Will Labaron Philon Jr. Be Attending the 2026 NBA Draft in Brooklyn?

Former Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. will officially be attending the 2026 NBA Draft, he told BamaCentral on Thursday.

Philon was among the first 14 prospects to receive an invite to the draft's green room on June 9, as he's widely expected to be selected in that range as a lottery pick. The NBA Draft will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. — the home arena of the Brooklyn Nets.

The first round on Tuesday, June 23 will be broadcast at 7 p.m. CT on ABC and ESPN. The second round on June 24 will also be at 7 p.m., but only available on ESPN. That said, it's all but certain that Philon will be taken on Day 1.

Philon's decision to enter the NBA Draft was an easy one following his sophomore campaign. The four-time SEC Player of the Week finished third in the conference in points per game (21.5 on 50.7 percent from the field) and fourth in assists per game (4.8).

The All-SEC First Team member became the third player in program history with 700 points in a single season and the 57th with 1,000 career points. Philon is the first power-4 player since 2000 who averaged 21-plus points, 4-plus assists and shot over 50 percent from the field. These accolades helped him become named a Third Team All-American by all four NCAA outlets (AP, USBWA, NABC and Sporting News).

Philon has been considered a top-15 pick for quite some time, and while he's widely expected to be selected early, this draft class is loaded with talent, especially at the guard spots. Most mock drafts have six guards going before Philon: Kansas' Darryn Peterson, Illinois' Keaton Wagler, Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr., Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr., Houston's Kingston Flemings and Arizona's Brayden Burries.

That said, Philon stands out in multiple ways from these guards, and he shared how on the BlueBlooded Podcast with Ryan Hammer.

"I would just say experience," Philon said on May 25 when asked by Ryan Hammer of the BlueBlooded Podcast how he's different from those guards. "A lot of these guys are freshmen, but those guys still could play. Toughness can be one. I'd say adapting [too]. In my first year, having to be more like a combo guard to then my sophomore year being like the lead guy. Being able to adapt in both situations, I feel like I did pretty good in both.

"But I don't really have a preference for what position I play. It's really just like plug-and-play me and see where I fit. As a guard, that's all you could really ask for. It's a great opportunity. If you've got the skills, you're going to showcase it. But keep putting in the hard work, and being able to adapt in any situation is the most important thing for me."

Should Philon be picked on June 23, he'd be the 20th first-round pick and the 49th draftee in Alabama basketball history. The 20-year-old would also become the seventh Crimson Tide player to be drafted under Nate Oats, joining Kira Lewis Jr., Josh Primo, Herb Jones, J.D. Davison, Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney.

2026 NBA Draft Invitees as of June 18

Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
Nate Ament, Tennessee
Christian Anderson Jr., Texas Tech
Cam Boozer, Duke
Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville
Brayden Burries, Arizona
Cameron Carr, Baylor
Chris Cenac Jr., Houston
AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Isaiah Evans, Duke
Kingston Flemings, Houston
Allen Graves, Santa Clara
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Morez Johnson Jr., Michigan
Karim Lopez, Mexico
Aday Mara, Michigan
Ebuka Okorie, Stanford
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama
Hannes Steinbach, Washington
Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
Dailyn Swain, Texas
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina
Keaton Wagler, Illinois

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