Three Players who Could Offer the Most Value From the 2026 NBA Draft

Three players who could return far more value than their range indicated.

Houston's Emanuel Sharp (21) celebrates during a second-round game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament between Houston Cougars and Texas A&M Aggies at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday March 21, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The top picks at the 2026 NBA Draft have already shown plenty through a few Summer League games, with several looking like future stars.

Still, the draft does more than just infuse a select few teams with star-level talent, offering all 30 teams a way to continue to add role players to ever-shifting rosters.

Below, we’ll evaluate three players who could offer the most value relative to where they were selected at the 2026 NBA Draft:

Labaron Philon, 76ers

For most of the ’26 cycle, Labaron Philon was included in the top guard group, alongside players like Brayden Burries, Kingston Flemings, Mikel Brown Jr. and more. On draft night, he was selected at No. 22 after a slide.

Still, Philon’s combination of scoring, handling and play-making could still make him one of the top guard options in the class. 

Philadelphia has need of continued talent with a core of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Jaylen Brown, and Philon returning the same value as top-10 picks could do wonders for their team-building.

Bruce Thornton, Rockets

Selected with the first pick of the second round, Thornton was one college basketball’s top scorers for years, totaling 2,164 points across four seasons at Ohio State. Now, he’s continued his white-hot scoring into the pros.

Thornton ranks No. 13 in points per game at the Las Vegas Summer League event, having scored 20.7 points on 41% shooting overall. He’s shot 43% on 7.0 3-point attempts per game, thriving mostly from beyond the arc.

At 6-foot, Thornton is slightly undersized, but shot 75% at the rim in his final collegiate season, leading many to believe he’ll return to his effective ways there soon.

If he can, he’ll be a truly valuable selection for Houston, who needs a scoring guard in the rotation desperately.

Emanuel Sharp, Kings

Grabbing Houston sharpshooter Emanuel Sharpe was an obvious bet on a culture-builder for the Kings, though he’s been stellar through a handful of Summer League performances. Taken at No. 45, it was an easy choice for Sacramento.

At Las Vegas alone, Sharpe has averaged 15.8 points on 36% shooting, taking over eight threes per game. He’s looked like a poised contributor, able to shoot, defend and more. Alongside Darius Acuff Jr. and Alex Karaban, Sacramento will be hoping to kick off its rebuild strong.

Getting value of any kind past 40 is a win for NBA teams, much less a player that can make an on and off-court impact.