Has Florida's Rueben Chinyelu Elevated to 2026 NBA Draft Pick?

The Florida Gators appear to finally have gotten on track after a shaky start to the 2025-26 season.

After winning a national title in 2024-25, Florida is 11-5 heading into its fourth SEC contest. After falling to Arizona, TCU, Duke, Connecticut and Missouri, the Gators have defeated Georiga and Tennessee, who were both ranked in the Top 25, in their last two games.

Despite not picking up right where the team left off last year, a few players on Florida's roster have received plenty of attention as 2026 NBA Draft prospects. Forward Thomas Haugh has been a fixture in the first round of many early mock drafts, and has been the Gators' best player this season.

Alongside, Haugh, though, big man Rueben Chinyelu has performed well and could also earn a spot in this year's class.

Hailing from Nigeria, the Florida standout is listed at 6-foot-10 and 265 pounds. Chinyelu started all 40 games on Florida's 2024-25 national championship squad that featured 2025 NBA Draft picks Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin.

In his second year with the Gators, Chinyelu has emerged as a bigger piece of the team's rotation.

The talented big man is averaging 10.9 points and 10.6 rebounds in 23.9 minutes per game this season while shooting 62.8% from the field after averaging 6 points and 6.6 rebounds last year.

In Florida's most recent contest, Chinyelu tallied 17 points, 16 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals while shooting 8-of-12 from the field and 1-of-1 from the free throw line, helping Florida to a 91-67 win against Nate Ament and Tennessee.

The Gators' backcourt of Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee hasn't produced at the same level as Clayton, Richard and Martin, but Haugh and Chinyelu have helped the team remain competitive throuhgout the season despite Fland and Lee's struggles.

With good size to compete at the next level, Chilnyelu would likely be a role player who could provide solid interior defense and rebounding with a few occaisional buckets as a play finisher. The former four-star recruit who spent his freshman year at Washington State doesn't provide much floor spacing as a shooter or passer, but still has the skill set to be a rotation player in the NBA.

If Chinyelu continues to perform well in SEC play and into the NCAA Tournament, he could earn a spot in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft. Still just a junior, though, the third-year center could choose to return to school and attempt to elevate his draft stock for the 2027 class.

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