Iowa State Cyclones Star Continues Climb up NBA Draft Big Board

An NBA Draft Big Board features an Iowa State Cyclones player moving his way up.

Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) drives with the ball as Kansas Jayhawks guard Kohl Rosario (7) defends during the second half in the Big-12 conference basketball showdown on Feb. 14, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team is in the midst of arguably the best season in program history.

With their 74-56 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks, the Cyclones moved to 22-3 on the year. They are right in the mix for the Big 12 regular season title, two games behind the Houston Cougars and one game behind the Arizona Wildcats.

Iowa State will be facing off against each of those teams in the next two weeks. Houston comes to Ames on Feb. 16, while the Cyclones will head on the road to Tucson to face Arizona on March 2.

If they are going to win those games, they are going to need a stellar performance from their star, Joshua Jefferson. He has been excellent this season and, as a result, continues to skyrocket up NBA Draft Big Boards.

Joshua Jefferson moving up NBA Draft Big Board

Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) goes for a layup between Kansas Jayhawks guard Kohl Rosario (7) and forward Bryson Tiller (15) during the second half in the Big-12 conference basketball showdown on Feb. 14, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In a recent one shared by Jeremy Woo of ESPN, the Iowa State superstar is firmly in the mix as a first-round prospect. He is now ranked No. 31, which is right on the cusp of being viewed as a surefire first-round selection.

Jefferson has steadily climbed the rankings all season. At the onset of the campaign, he was viewed as a fringe draftable prospect. But, he has done a great job addressing some of the concerns about his skill set translating to the next level.

The biggest question mark was his 3-point shooting. Coming into the 2025-26 season, Jefferson had made only 43 out of 147 attempts, resulting in an underwhelming 29.3%.

I love how Joshua Jefferson plays like a quarterback, even from the post-up

On both side of the court, he appears to be the leader and the more vocal player on the court pic.twitter.com/2aHINse7bJ

— Azad (@azmatlanba) February 12, 2026

He worked tirelessly over the offseason to improve his shooting, and it has worked. Through 25 games, he has already made a single-season high 28 3-pointers out of 71 attempts, coming out to a solid 39.4%.

His free-throw shooting has regressed a little bit to 69.2% thus far this season. But the rest of his game is more than making up for some shaky percentages.

Joshua Jefferson stuffing stat sheet

Feb 10, 2026; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) drives the lane against the TCU Horned Frogs during the second half at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Jefferson has showcased elite playmaking ability from the frontcourt, looking like a supersized point-forward. He is averaging 5.2 assists per game, which is second on the team behind Tamin Lipsey, who is averaging 5.3.

His 7.6 rebounds per game are leading the team, and his 16.7 points per game are behind only Milan Momcilovic, who is scoring 18.4.

Defensively, Jefferson has shown a ton of versatility. He can defend multiple positions and averages 1.5 steals and 0.9 blocks per contest. Putting him on an island with quicker opponents on the perimeter won’t yield positive results, but he is an excellent team defender.

Given his wealth of experience, he looks the part of a plug-and-play option for contending teams needing to fill a specific need in their rotation. He would be an ideal late first-round pick, continuing the trend of productive collegiate players who can step in and produce right away.