Everything Wizards Fans Should Know for the 2026 NBA Draft: Picks, Targets, Rumors, More

Washington Wizards fans ought to know what the team's working with entering the final week leading up to the NBA Draft, and here's what we've rounded up.

Apr 10, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward Leaky Black (14) shoots the ball against the Miami Heat in the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

No one knows what, exactly, to expect out of the Washington Wizards during their transition into the NBA team to watch entering draft season's final push. They own the right to the No. 1 pick, granting them access to the best players that this prospect class has to offer, but this summer's loaded talent batch has enabled the tight-lipped organization to seize all available leverage in building league-wide suspense.

While their specific selection preferences remain a mystery, fans can at least ready for a set amount of scenarios at first-overall. We have a general idea of which prospects are within their sights for that top pick, though their Day Two draft holdings, along with everyone else's live evaluation processes, will require more fallen dominoes to gain any additional clarity.

Wizards Picks to Know

Top Priority: As if the first pick didn't hold enough stakes at this point in the Wizards' ongoing rebuild, it currently stands as the squad's only first round draft asset to cash in this year.

Washington's league-low 17-65 record clinched the best odds to win last month's draft lottery, and they held on to beat out as the rest of their tanking neighbors as the first numerically-favored victor since the odds were flattened in 2019. This is, without a trace of doubt, the best chance yet that the Wizards have been granted in their attempt to push the rebuild into its next phase.

May 10, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Mark Tatum the NBA Deputy Commissioner and Washington Wizard (left) guard John Wall pose for photos after Wizards won the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery at Navy Pier. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

Lower-Leverage Draft Capital: Nos. 51 and 60 aren't of nearly the same magnitude as the premier position, but consider these fringe resources as additional talent grasps well-outside the bounds of reliable mock drafts.

The Wizards have prided themselves on their scouting eyes all throughout this ongoing rebuild. Even if Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson and Bilal Coulibaly required picks within the top half of the lottery to rein in, only a gifted assortment of evaluators could have spotted and developed Kyshawn George and Will Riley in back-to-back selection cycles.

Washington hasn't made nearly as many second-round swings over that span, but its draft specialists have yet to miss over their limited at-bats. Tristan Vukcevic and Jamir Watkins may still be flawed contributors, but they've each already proven worthy of full NBA contracts since outplaying their respective two-way deals last season.

Apr 12, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Washington Wizards guard Jamir Watkins (5) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Craig Porter Jr. (9) during the first quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Just as the need for an ace scorer may require that first pick to convincingly fill, ancillary holes like Washington's lack of reliable rotational bigs and backcourt defenders could meet their perfect matches in some of those lesser, slept-on prospects.

Wizards' Primary List of Realistic Targets

As much of a luxury as it is to own the draft's leadoff pick, a lot of pressure arrives with getting the pick of the litter. Every prospect is theoretically available, and thankfully for the Washington's sake, several enticing options and correct-looking answers could feasibly await the hungry fan base.

Door No. 1: AJ Dybantsa has spent the majority of draft season as the odds-on favorite to pique the Wizards' full interest, and understandably so.

Draft enthusiasts ideologically caught between preferring present production and future upside found a happy medium in BYU's star forward, a 6'10" slasher with all of the quick-burst athleticism, bend and penchant for drawing contact at the rim that we recognize in all of the NBA's most recognizable stars.

Feb 18, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Brigham Young Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) makes a three pointer over Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) during the second half of the game at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

The few concerns with Dybantsa's game can each be tailed by a simple-enough explanation. He can't yet shoot and connect on 3-pointers at a respectable rate for a wing? Well, he sure has no problem knocking pull-ups down from deep in the midrange, and his promising success from the free throw line implies that his admittedly-low shooting release point could still survive the trip out deep. And where he disappointed as a statistical defender, he's still armed with exactly the physical frame and instincts that's required of every meaningful disruptor.

Door No. 2: While Dybantsa has spent the last month of the pre-draft cycle wisely campaigning for the Wizards' attention, his chief rival has all-but disappeared from the public eye. Still, college basketball fans know what they saw in Darryn Peterson.

He was exactly the creative distance sniper and defensive hound that's desired out of the modern guard, and he did his sparkling out of a relatively-nebulous role with the Kansas Jayhawks. Caught between the on-ball assassin and an off-ball freelancer, Peterson made his bid for the best back court prospect of the 2020s while gritting through multiple odd injury-related storylines.

Mar 22, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) controls the ball against St. John's Red Storm guard Oziyah Sellers (4) in the second half during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

He, too, isn't without obvious drawbacks, and that's without getting into the obvious size disparity between the 6'4"-ish Peterson and the near-6'10" Dybantsa.

The relentless rim-challenging he'd demonstrated pre-Kansas looked diminished at the NCAA level, leaving evaluators struggling in discerning how much of his game was dented by the injury-plagued campaign, and it's not like he was met the passing and playmaking standards that draftheads usually maintain for their lead guards.

Just like how the Wizards wouldn't turn their noses up at a multi-layered scorer in the former Cougar, Peterson would similarly headline the squad's young corps as the go-to bucket-getter of the bunch, and his own strengths within the team's two-way-needy lineup make him just as worthy of Washington's consideration.

Door No. 3: He seems to be losing steam across Wizards-related slop, but Cameron Boozer remains just as compelling a future Wizards star as he's ever been.

The former Duke forward filled out a completely different player mold than Dybantsa despite occupying similar collegiate positions, winning National Player of the Year with a play style that was as flexible as it was dominant. He'll be best remembered for his imposing post-play, but it was the ball-moving, rebounding and outside shooting touch that made him such a special freshman.

Mar 19, 2026; Greenville, SC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) grabs a rebound against Siena Saints forward Francis Folefac (11) in the first half during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Even if he remained effective as an occasional spot-up weapon around the perimeter, he's not the flashy creator that fans want out of top picks, though his simple approach to creating advantages shouldn't have been dinged the way it's been. Boozer's willingness to fit in wherever required to facilitate winning should be factored into his quiet versatility, and his passable handle should be accounted for when doubters assume that he lacks the ceiling of a Dybantsa or a Peterson.

He would, admittedly, force some awkward discussions out of Washington's team-builders in the event of the Wizards' landing on Boozer as their preferred target come draft night. One of two outcomes will then transpire; either he'll start alongside Sarr and Anthony Davis in a clunky, jumbo-sized lineup, or the team will break precedent in starting their season with the No. 1 pick as a bench hand in lieu of the seven-footers and a wing rotation of secondary prospects.

Either way, those are bullets worth biting if the Wizards do believe that he's the best bet of the bunch, a realistic belief to continue voicing.

Door No. 4: I'll bet you didn't consider a fourth alternative to the presently-unanswerable question, but I'd like to remind readers that this organization loves catching the fans off-guard, even if their intention is more to work in silence than anything else.

Just look at last year, when they swung several massive trades between the day leading up to the 2025 NBA Draft and the actual selection process of their previously-promised assets. Jordan Poole turned into CJ McCollum with just about no notice, and their shuffled spots later in the first-round ended up bringing both Riley and Watkins to Washington.

Jan 17, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Washington Wizards guard Will Riley (27) controls the ball as Denver Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (10) guards in the third quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

I'm just saying you never know. Maybe they'll go swap picks at the last second in a play to scoot lower in the order, or they'll just go rogue and pick a Caleb Wilson -- after all, he has cancelled a number of workouts over recent days, so who's to say what he's been told or believes.

All we really have to offer on the rumor front are all of the vague stories pertaining to the prospects' strategies in meeting with a select few teams. Where Dybantsa limited his availability to the Wizards and the Utah Jazz, the very next team on the clock, Peterson one-upped the forward by refusing to converse with any front offices outside of D.C.

Boozer's preference and his general interest in Washington's remains as much a mystery as ever, with ESPN's Jeremy Woo claiming that he's been essentially eliminated from the two-man race. And even that report doesn't feel like a guarantee of anything; over a month after beating out their contemporaries in clinching the lottery win, the Wizards have refused to give up even a crumb of intel, and that shouldn't be expected to change until they're ready for their next planned maneuver over the coming days.

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