{"id":178234,"date":"2026-02-20T10:53:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=178234"},"modified":"2026-02-20T10:53:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:53:08","slug":"2026-nba-draft-ranking-lottery-bound-freshman-point-guards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/02\/20\/2026-nba-draft-ranking-lottery-bound-freshman-point-guards\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 NBA Draft: Ranking The Lottery-Bound Freshman PGs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Headlined by a few prospects with All-Star upside, the 2026 NBA Draft could be one that fans look back on in 10 years, thinking that it’s among the best of all-time. However, it seems to be establishing a pattern. Since 2020, every other draft class has been devoid of a consensus No. 1 pick, leading to widespread speculation about how the top of the draft will shake out. To that point, BYU Cougars freshman AJ Dybantsa<\/a> was the projected No. 1 pick<\/a> up until a few months ago but that all changed when scouts started honing in on Kansas Jayhawks freshman Darryn Peterson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ranking The 2026 NBA Draft’s Lottery-Bound Freshman Point Guards<\/h2>\n

Unexpectedly, Peterson’s not just in danger of not being the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft due to Dybantsa or Duke Blue Devils freshman Cam Boozer<\/a> snatching his chain. Him being in and out of the lineup all season is starting to become a glaring issue. Frankly, one has to ask whether Peterson’s stock is shaky enough for teams to pick another point guard over him, not just Dybantsa or Boozer.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, it’s worth comparing the four freshmen point guards who are expected to be drafted in the lottery (between picks 1-14). Is Peterson really the cream of the crop, or is there another ball-handler that needs to be the top choice?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Feb 7, 2026; Provo, Utah, USA; Houston Cougars guard Kingston Flemings (4) drives to the basket while being defended by BYU Cougars guard Robert Wright III (1) and forward Kennard Davis Jr. (30) during the second half at Marriott Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Baker-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(#1) Kingston Flemings<\/h3>\n

2025-26 stats: 16.6 PPG (49.7 FG%, 38.8 3P%), 3.7 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG<\/h4>\n

Early in the 2025-26 season, people wondered whether Houston Cougars freshman Kingston Flemings<\/a> was actually the best point guard in the draft. This was around November, when it was first revealed that Peterson was nursing a hamstring injury. While the projected No. 1 pick<\/a> was in street clothes, Flemings had averaged 18.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in a six-game stretch that saw Houston go 5-1. His percentages sparkled like red candy paint, the Texas native shooting 63.4 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from 3.<\/p>\n

All But Flawless<\/h4>\n

Even more impressive than Flemings’s numbers was the play itself. His first step is the best of the projected lottery point guards. The sharp movements and stop-and-start speed of his crossovers would make Dallas Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving<\/a> proud. When it comes to being able to envision a college prospect having success as a scorer at the next level, those are traits that scouts often look for. Just consider that fans were seeing Flemings not only had those skills, but uncanny shooting touch and nice length at 6-foot-4.<\/p>\n

Of course, shooting above 60 percent from the field and 55 percent from 3 for an entire season is unsustainable for a high-usage guard. Nonetheless, there was a lot to like about him then and there still is now.<\/p>\n

On top of being a potent scorer, Flemings is a shrewd playmaker. He keeps his eyes up, allowing him to spray the ball around the court. He can pass with either hand, so there are fewer obstacles to him making a play for his teammates. He’s a quick decision-maker who doesn’t need to dribble the air out of the ball to get an assist.<\/p>\n

Because of his physical tools and physicality, he even has the potential to be a lockdown defender. It only helps that he has fast hands and sticky fingers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) runs after making a 3-pointer during a men’s college basketball game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Kansas Jayhawks at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(#2) Darryn Peterson<\/h3>\n

2025-26 stats: 20.0 PPG (48.5 FG%, 43.1 3P%), 3.7 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG<\/h4>\n

Because\u00a0Peterson entered college as the No. 1 guard in the country<\/a>, he’s been penciled in as the top point guard in the 2026 NBA Draft class. However, ESPN had Peterson listed as a shooting guard. On3\/Rivals and 247 Sports had him classified as a shooting guard<\/a> or a combo guard<\/a>, respectively. All of that is to say that ranking Peterson among the point guards could be an inherently flawed exercise.<\/p>\n

Volume Versus Availability<\/h4>\n

In any case, Peterson’s most outstanding skill<\/a> is his ability to score on and off the ball, highlighted by him averaging 43.8 points per 100 possessions. His shooting stroke is pure and he gets great elevation on his jumpers while already being 6-foot-5. His first step isn’t necessarily spectacular, which may play a part in why he’s often playing off-ball in the Jayhawks’ offense. Nevertheless, his combination of his burst, length and ball-handling makes it easy for him to penetrate the lane. With that in mind, he gets to the free-throw line quite often (35.8% free-throw attempt rate), a skill in and of itself.<\/p>\n

When Peterson does get the opportunity though, it’s easy to see how a team could be comfortable with him operating as the primary initiator. He’s an astute facilitator who reads the floor well and he can make any pass. Fullcourt outlets. Drop passes from a side pick-and-roll. 22-foot lobs. The fact that he only has 22 assists in 15 games is unfortunate, as those numbers do his passing ability a real disservice.<\/p>\n

At the other end, Peterson’s not quite locking guys up but he’s a plus-defender. His size, fluidity and technique allow him to hold his own man-on-man. He’s tenacious enough to make plays as a help defender too.<\/p>\n

On the down side, his lack of durability can’t be ignored<\/a>.
\n<\/p>\n

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Feb 18, 2026; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Arkansas Razorback guard Darius Acuff Jr. (5) dribbles against Alabama Crimson Tide guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (3) during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(#3) Darius Acuff Jr.<\/h3>\n

2025-26 stats: 22.3 PPG (50.9 FG%, 44.3 3P%), 3.0 RPG, 6.2 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG<\/h4>\n

The irony of Arkansas Razorbacks freshman Darius Acuff Jr.<\/a> drawing so much praise as of late is that ESPN had him ranked as the No. 1 point guard in the Class of 2025<\/a>. In fact, 247 Sports listed him as the NCAA’s top incoming point guard<\/a> as well, while On3\/Rivals had him second<\/a>. So, this idea that he’s come out of nowhere is inaccurate. He was right in front of people’s noses.<\/p>\n

Pure Point Guard<\/h4>\n

As a scorer, Acuff’s shown himself to be adept whether he’s on or off the ball. When the rock is in his hands, he’s demonstrated a tight handle that complements his low stance and has the agility to get into the lane. However, he’s unpredictable in a good way, balancing pull-up jumpers with drives. Off-ball, he’s either spotting up or cutting, doing both well.<\/p>\n

As a facilitator, Acuff is a big fan of the drive-and-kick. Yet, his penchant for drive-by deliveries belies an even more important skill; his ability to manipulate defenders. Because he plays at such an unhurried pace in the halfcourt, this helps him be one of the most efficient passers in the NCAA (3.1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio).<\/p>\n

Defensively, Acuff’s willingness to pick his man up fullcourt underscores his competitive nature. Yet, his best skill at that end is a byproduct of his intelligence. Averaging nearly one steal per game, he consistently jumps passing lanes, his positioning often pristine.<\/p>\n

The biggest difference between him and Peterson is length and availability, as the 6-foot-3 Acuff leads the NCAA in games played (26) and minutes per game (34.6).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Feb 17, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) drives to the basket past SMU Mustangs forward Corey Washington (3) during the first half at Moody Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(#4) Mikel Brown Jr.<\/h3>\n

2025-26 stats: 18.6 PPG (42.1 FG%, 34.6 3P%), 3.4 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG<\/h4>\n

With Louisville Cardinals freshman Mikel Brown Jr.<\/a> averaging 34.3 points per game across his last three contests, he’s obviously raking in the superlatives himself. In those games, Brown was absolutely unconscious from beyond the arc, knocking down 18 of his 29 long-range attempts. As 54.5% of his field goal attempts were 3s in that three-game stretch, him shooting 62.1% from 3 clearly had its advantages.<\/p>\n

An Unpolished Gem<\/h4>\n

That being said, Brown hasn’t been the paradigm of 3-point efficiency in 2025-26, shooting 34.6% from deep. As a result, his recent performances are really outliers. Anomalies. Though there are enough games left for him to raise his 3-point percentage up to a more respectable level, what he’s shown scouts over the past week has to be taken with a grain of salt.<\/p>\n

What Brown has consistently done this season is use his ball-handling, length and explosiveness to get into the teeth of the defense. Once there, he prefers to get all the way to the rim, which is underscored by his free-throw rate (50.4%). However, he’s pretty fond of delivering drop and dump-off passes to big men when he’s in the paint as well. Unfortunately, though Brown is a natural facilitator, he’s turnover-prone. Because he’s capable of consistently getting passes into tight windows, he can get too overconfident and make bad passes.<\/p>\n

Funnily enough, Brown is pretty great at getting his hands on passes, often looking like a cornerback. With his size and anticipation, he could be a chaos creator at that end.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a9 Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Headlined by a few prospects with All-Star upside, the 2026 NBA Draft could be one that fans look back on in 10 years, thinking that it’s among the best of all-time. However, it seems to be establishing a pattern. Since 2020, every other draft class has been devoid of a consensus No. 1 pick, leading […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":178334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[556,1608,773,2,62,3],"tags":[50379,49782,50381,50380,98],"class_list":["post-178234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba-draft","category-basketball","category-college-basketball","category-featured","category-nba","category-news","tag-darius-acuff","tag-darryn-peterson","tag-kingston-flemings","tag-mikel-brown-jr","tag-nba-draft"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178234"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178335,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178234\/revisions\/178335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}