Where Purdue Guard Braden Smith Falls on ESPN's 2026 NBA Draft Board
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With the 2025 NBA Draft now over, some of ESPN's analysts are already looking ahead to the 2026 draft class. That group includes Purdue guard Braden Smith, who will be suiting up for the Boilermakers for his senior season.
As it stands, headed into the 2025-26 campaign, ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have listed Smith as the No. 30 prospect in the 2026 NBA Draft class. If the Purdue guard were selected at that spot, he would be the last pick in the first round.
Smith is coming off a 2024-25 campaign in which he proved to be one of the best players in college basketball. The 6-foot guard averaged 15.8 points, 8.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. He was named the Big Ten Player of the Year, the Bob Cousy Award winner and was a finalist for the National Player of the Year award. Smith was also a first-team All-Big Ten and All-American selection.
In three seasons at Purdue, Smith has scored more than 1,000 points, grabbed more than 500 rebounds and is already the program's all-time leading assist man. He's guided the Boilers to a pair of Big Ten regular season titles, a Big Ten Tournament championship, three NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip to the National Championship Game.
Following a stellar junior season, there was some curioisity if Smith would declare for the NBA Draft. However, he decided to return for his senior year at Purdue, hoping to bring a national championship back to West Lafayette.
Smith's spot as the No. 30 prospect in the 2026 NBA Draft is obviously not permanent. He has a year to impress analysts, scouts and organization to improve his stock by next June.
Regardless of where he stands on the draft boards, Smith is the top returning point guard in college basketball.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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