Iowa State Basketball Star Lands With Kings in Recent NBA Mock Draft

A recent NBA mock draft has the Sacramento Kings coming away with an Iowa State Cyclones star.

Dec 12, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detailed view of the Sacramento Kings logo during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first half at Smoothie King Center. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones have three players who have been invited to different NBA draft combines to showcase their talents with the intention of hearing their names called during the 2026 NBA Draft.

Point guard Tamin Lipsey was invited to the G League Draft Combine, where he could earn an invite to the NBA Draft Combine. Joshua Jefferson and Milan Momcilovic will be participating in that one already.

While the combine will be important for all three players, Jefferson is in the best position to be selected. He is a fringe first-round prospect, but even if he doesn’t hear his name on the first night, he won’t be on the board very long in the second round.

In a recent mock draft put together by Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, the Cyclones' star forward is the fourth pick of the second round, No. 34 overall, and heading to the Sacramento Kings.

Joshua Jefferson lands with Kings in latest mock draft

Mar 12, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) drives to the basket around Texas Tech Red Raiders forward LeJuan Watts (3) during the second half at T-Mobile Center. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

In terms of landing spots with opportunities to get into the rotation right away, there aren’t many better landing spots than the Kings. With their first round pick, No. 7 overall, Sacramento landed a player Jefferson is familiar with: Houston Cougars point guard Kingston Flemings.

Those two could become quite the duo after being rivals collegiately in the Big 12. Flemings has a high basketball IQ with otherworldly assist-to-turnover ratio numbers, meaning he can get up his teammates with the best of them.

Jefferson benefitted from similarly stellar point guard play the last two years alongside Lipsey in the Iowa State lineup. While landing with a rebuilding team in this mock draft, it would not be too surprising to see one of the established contenders take a chance on him near the end of the first round.

Teams with higher expectations than just making the postseason could view Jefferson as a plug-and-play option in their rotation. He showcased improved shotmaking, especially from 3-point range, and playmaking during his senior year, greatly improving his stock.

Measuring in at 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds, he possesses the kind of versatility that teams seek in the modern NBA. Some franchises would rather take a shot on a younger player who is perceived to have more upside than a player who will turn 23 years old early in his rookie campaign.

But that is what makes him ideal for a contending team. He brings experience to the table and can fill different roles with a diverse skill set. There are a lot of holes Jefferson can plug by himself, making him a very intriguing late-first-round prospect.