2026 NBA Draft Big Board: Michigan stars impressive at combine, Flory Bidunga falling in prospect rankings
Adam Finkelstein adjusts his Big Board after scouting prospects at last week’s NBA Draft Combine
By
Adam Finkelstein
May 18, 2026
at
2:10 pm ET
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5 min read
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The 2026 NBA Draft Combine is now in the books and between the combine measurements, what happened between the lines, and the information gathered between sessions, there were some adjustments that needed to be made to the CBS Sports Big Board. What stayed consistent were the names atop the class as the same big three that we’ve been talking about for over a year now – AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cameron Boozer – remain the top three prospects in this year’s class.
The next date looming on the calendar is May 27, the NCAA’s deadline to withdraw from the draft. That will inevitably shake this order up again, with several players likely to return to the college ranks. In fact, some of the most notable risers and fallers from Chicago are players who have remaining NCAA eligibility.
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Notable risers and fallers
The Michigan frontcourt duo of Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. both got notable bumps coming out of the combine. Mara measured in even bigger than expected, at 7-feet-3 without shoes on, along with an absolutely massive 9-9 standing reach. In a draft that lacks depth at the center position, coupled by a time when bigger line-ups are again becoming more prevalent in the NBA, that certainly impacts the supply-demand ratio for Mara. He was a dominant defender this year at Michigan, but it’s actually some of the old UCLA tape, where they had him switching ball-screens, that has got some scouts talking. In other words, he’s not just a drop coverage giant, he’s more mobile than someone his size should be, and is not a one-trick pony defensively. Couple that with his passing, natural touch, and there is a lot of optimism about Mara right now.
Unfortunately for Wolverine fans, Johnson was another big winner of the combine, which means he’s likely to stay in the draft. He too measured even bigger than expected, at 6-9 without shoes on with a 7-3.5 wingspan and chiseled 250-pound frame. He tested well across the board athletically and the shooting gains we saw this year at Michigan looked sustainable in drill work. For someone who is also rugged inside, and switchable defensively, that makes him an ultra-versatile frontcourt piece who can play multiple positions and operate inside and out, on both ends of the floor. Additionally, there aren’t really any other alternatives from that archetype in this draft class, which makes him a possibility as early as the late lottery.
Johnson’s combine group also included Arizona’s Koa Peat. By this point, it has been well-documented the challenges Peat had shooting the ball that day, but in that setting, he looked notably behind Johnson when they shared the same court at the same time. Previously a projected lottery pick, he has slipped to 18 on this newest update, which is still more optimistic than most. He had an undeniable impact as a freshman and has a distinct winning pedigree, but the questions about how his game translated only intensified after this week. Given that he was reportedly asking teams for feedback on his stay-or-go decision, a return to Arizona doesn’t seem out of the question, and might be in his best interest given the growth he showed there this season, his likely NIL valuation, and a much less competitive 2027 draft field.
Another faller was Flory Bidunga. The athletic lefty made notable gains this year at Kansas, was ranked the number one prospect in the transfer portal, and committed to Louisville, but still opted to go through the draft process. Bidunga would have to be a top-10 pick to match what he will reportedly earn for the Cardinals next year. It looked unlikely that he would even play up to his previous slot as a projected late first-rounded. The disconnect continues to be rooted in his offensive game and correlating defensive position. He was as mobile and switchable as any frontcourt defender in college basketball last year, but offensively he’s a straight five, and there are questions about whether he has the size and strength to body up with opposing NBA centers. He’s slid down to No. 36 in this last update which should all but guarantee that he’ll be suiting up for Louisville next season.
