2026 NBA Round 2 mock draft: Henri Veesaar, Meleek Thomas, Isaiah Evans go early in second round predictions

Round one of the 2026 NBA Draft is in the books. The top of the draft went as expected, with AJ Dybantsa going No. 1 overall to the Washington Wizards, Darryn Peterson going No. 2 to the Utah Jazz, Cameron Boozer going No. 3 to the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Chicago Bulls snagging Caleb Wilson at No. 4.

>The freshman lead guards went off the board like this: Keaton Wagler No. 5 to the Los Angeles Clippers, Mikel Brown Jr. No. 6 to the Brooklyn Nets, Darius Acuff Jr. No. 7 to the Sacramento Kings, and Kingston Flemings No. 8 to the Atlanta Hawks.

>Brayden Burries went No. 10 to the Milwaukee Bucks. No big surprises there.

>The biggest early surprise was Morez Johnson Jr., who the Dallas Mavericks and new coach Dusty May got at No. 10. Johnson went before Michigan teammates Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara. All three Wolverines went in the lottery.

>If there were any other surprises, it would be Iowa's Bennett Stirtz, who went No. 16 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and then Stanford's Ebuka Okorie, who jumped up to No. 17 to the Detroit Pistons.

>The major fallers? Koa Peat dropped all the way to No. 30 and the Phoenix Suns.

>Now all eyes turn to the second round of the draft that begins on Wednesday night. First-round projections like Arkansas's Meleek Thomas, Duke's Isaiah Evans, and UNC's Henri Veesaar are all still available and give teams at the top of the second round some real value.

>The goal for teams at the back end of the draft is to try and bolster their roster with rotation players and maybe hit the jackpot by landing someone who can start long-term in the league. This is where scouting not only the talent but also mentality, work ethic, and potential really can pay off.

>Let's dive into all 30 predictions for the second round.