AI mock drafts keep the 2026 NBA top four fluid, with BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa trending No. 1

Draft season is close to its final stretch, and the latest wave of mock drafts is underscoring a theme teams and fans keep hearing: the top of the board is more predictable than the rest of the first round, but it is still not settled. A new Yahoo Sports mock-draft project using artificial intelligence generated predictions for all 30 first-round picks, and while it clustered a set of prospects as the most likely top-four options, it left meaningful uncertainty around how the picks fall after that group.

The most consistent through-line in the AI projections is the expectation that BYU forward A.J. Dybantsa will be in the conversation for the very first selection. The mock draft work described Dybantsa as the “trendy” choice to go No. 1 overall to the Washington Wizards, reflecting how multiple recent mock frameworks have started to converge on him as the best fit for an early, high-usage wing role.

Behind Dybantsa, the AI predictions point to three other names as the leading alternatives for the early picks: Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke forward Cameron Boozer and UNC wing Caleb Wilson. In the AI-produced ordering, these four prospects are presented as the odds-on favorites to comprise the top four in some sequence, with the biggest remaining question being the exact order of those selections.

That lack of consensus is not unusual, but it is amplified when models are asked to forecast an entire first round in a short time window. The draft is less than two weeks away, and the article’s framing noted that even national mock drafts have not reached agreement on the precise outcomes beyond the top quartet. The implication is that executives who have a clear view of value still may be forced to plan for different combinations of fit and need, especially once the draft falls out of the range where these prospects are expected to be taken.

For each of the players at the center of the uncertainty, the real stakes are tied to roles that NBA teams can project from college production. Dybantsa’s projected path emphasizes star-level potential from a forward profile, while Peterson’s presence in the same early tier highlights the enduring demand for playmaking and scoring creation from guards. Boozer and Wilson similarly remain in the mix as high-upside wing options, with their draft stock in these projections anchored to how scouts view athleticism, shot-making, and defensive growth at the next level.

For Washington, the significance of a Dybantsa-first scenario is straightforward: the Wizards would be selecting a cornerstone prospect with the autonomy to define an offensive identity around a wing-oriented build. More broadly, if the top four does settle into the group described in the AI mock, the ripple effects will show up quickly. Picks No. 5 through No. 10 would likely experience the greatest volatility, because teams drafting in that stretch would be forced to adapt depending on whether the board’s first wave matches the expected set order.

What to watch next is not just whether Dybantsa lands at No. 1, but whether the second, third and fourth selections follow any pattern that has been common across mock drafts. If the actual order matches the early-tier consensus, it will validate the broader evaluation of this class. If it diverges, it will confirm how quickly teams can pivot when the board breaks differently than expected, especially once the first round turns from prediction into real-time decision-making.