Iowa State Basketball Star Is Fringe First Round Prospect in NBA Draft

The Iowa State Cyclones have three players who are going to be participating in combines ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft.

Point guard Tamin Lipsey is participating in the NBA G League Draft combine and will have a chance to earn an invitation to the NBA Draft Combine being held days after. Two of his teammates, Joshua Jefferson and Milan Momcilovic, are slated to participate there already.

It will be an important stretch of time for the former Cyclones, who are all looking to improve their standing heading into the pre-draft process. Of the three, Jefferson is the player with the best odds of being selected and with a chance to sneak into the first round.

His performance during the season for Iowa State shot him up draft boards all winter. He was considered a fringe NBA prospect coming into the campaign, but he played so well that he started popping up in some mock drafts in the first round.

Will Joshua Jefferson be selected in first round of 2026 NBA Draft?

Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson talks to the media during a practice session. — Mar 19, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson talks to the media during a practice session ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

Just days ahead of the combine, Jefferson is viewed as a fringe first-round pick based on recent mock drafts. Jeremy Woo of ESPN has him being selected No. 30 by the Dallas Mavericks, via the Oklahoma City Thunder, as the last pick in the first round.

Both Bleacher Report and The Athletic have him just missing out on hearing his name called the first night. But he won’t have to wait long on night two, when the second round is held.

Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has Jefferson coming off the board at No. 34, landing with the Sacramento Kings. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic (subscription required) has him going one pick before that, being selected by the Brooklyn Nets at No. 33.

It is a near certainty that the former Cyclones star will hear his name called at some point during the 2026 NBA Draft. Alas, there is some uncertainty about when it will occur, as he has a chance to play his way into being a first-round pick.

The pre-draft process will be an important time for Jefferson to showcase that he is healthy. An untimely ankle injury knocked him out minutes into Iowa State’s Round of 64 game against the Tennessee State Tigers.

He was unable to get back on the court the rest of the NCAA tournament, ending his Cyclones career on the bench, watching in street clothes as Iowa State was defeated by the Tennessee Volunteers in the Sweet 16.

However, his body of work before the injury was more than enough to have NBA teams near the end of the first round and top of the second round strongly considering him.

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