Arizona freshman standout Koa Peat seems set on remaining in the 2026 NBA Draft, but some mock drafters have his stock falling quite a ways from potentially in the lottery pick zone (Nos. 1-14).
Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman has Peat as the final first-round selection (No. 30) in his Friday mock going to the Dallas Mavericks (via the Oklahoma City Thunder).
The forward, who was measured 6-foot-7 without shoes at the NBA Draft Combine, exhibited a flat performance particularly in shooting drills this week. This weakness was Wasserman’s main cause for pause after an immediate post-lottery mock by ESPN’s Jeremy Woo pinned Peat at No. 24 to the New York Knicks.
Wasserman described the last two months as “mixed” for the Wildcat, who was named to the NCAA Tournament West All-Region Team en route to a date with Michigan in the Final Four.
Scouts aren’t writing off the strong, explosive interior scorer who can make mid-range shots and pass. But they’re also calling for him to return to improve his three-point range and elevate a weaker 2027 draft class.
Wasserman clearly alluded to Peat having the option to return to college, which he has until May 27 to decide upon.
Peat, who averaged 14.1 points per game, only got up 20 3-pointers and made seven of them (35%). He shot an efficient 52.8% (200 for 379) and was 62.3% (101 for 162) from the free-throw line.
As for his combine drills that raised a few eyebrows, Peat was 7 for 25 (28%) on the 3-point star drill and 6 for 25 (24%) on the spot-up shooting drill. His best of five offensive tests was a 15-of-30 showing on off-the-dribble shooting.
Wasserman has fellow Big 12 freshman star Kingston Fleming of Houston also going to the Mavericks at No. 9, which would make teammates out of rivals.
Other Wildcats featured in the latest Bleacher Report mock are Brayden Burries (No. 11, Golden State Warriors) and Jaden Bradley (No. 51, Washington Wizards via Minnesota Timberwolves). Forward Tobe Awaka, the 2025-26 Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year, was not listed in Wasserman’s full two-round mock after he produced middling numbers at the combine.
A pair of former Arizona players were mocked in the second round. Big man Henri Vessar, who played one year at North Carolina, was linked to the Sacramento Kings at No. 34 and point guard Kylan Boswell, who spent the last two seasons at Illinois highlighted by a recent Final Four appearance, to the New Orleans Pelicans at No. 58 via the Detroit Pistons.
Koa Peat, Knicks pairing?
For as much as Wasserman believes Peat is a borderline first-rounder at this point, others have the forward more firmly in the back half of the first 30 picks.
USA Today’s Mark Giannotto (Friday) has the four-time Arizona state champion being drafted at No. 24 to New York, a team currently awaiting the winner of the Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Peat would be teammates with the likes of Jalen Brunson, former Sun Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns.
The sharpshooting and light-footed Burries would go off the board No. 9 to the Mavericks in Giannotto’s mock.
The 2026 NBA Draft will be June 23-24.
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