The 2026 NBA Draft Combine wrapped up this week in Chicago — and the results were eye-opening. Nearly 120 prospects descended on Wintrust Arena to face the most standardized evaluation process in professional sports: official measurements, athletic testing, shooting drills, scrimmages, and closed-door interviews with front offices across the league. For some players, Chicago was a launching pad. For others, it raised uncomfortable questions about fit, size, and readiness.
But here’s what’s worth noting beyond the draft stock movement — the same evaluation principles that separate lottery picks from second-round busts apply directly to your tryout floor. Scouts aren’t guessing. They’re measuring. And the best youth sports programs are doing the same.
What Is the NBA Draft Combine?
The NBA Draft Combine is an annual multi-day evaluation event held in Chicago each May, approximately six weeks before the NBA Draft. Prospects undergo official body measurements (height barefoot, weight, wingspan, standing reach), athletic testing (max vertical, no-step vertical, lane agility, sprint times), shooting drills, scrimmages, and individual interviews with team executives and coaches.
The results inform draft positioning, contract negotiations, and ultimately — careers.
2026 NBA Draft Combine: The Big Winners
1. A.J. Dybantsa, BYU (Projected Top Pick)
Dybantsa entered combine week as the frontrunner for the No. 1 pick — and he left with that status firmly intact. Among the projected top three prospects, Dybantsa led the pack in athletic testing, posting a 42-inch max vertical jump and a 33.5-inch no-step vertical. He also knocked down 23 of 30 off-dribble three-pointers and officially measured above 6’8″ without shoes. His physical profile matched expectations, and his shooting numbers surpassed them.
2. Aday Mara, Michigan (The Most Unmissable Measurement of the Week)
Aday Mara’s measurements were described by scouts as “cartoonish.” He checked in at 7’3″ in socks with a 9’9″ standing reach — tied for the second-longest in NBA Draft Combine history, behind only Tacko Fall. Beyond the eye-popping numbers, Mara possesses rare passing and post skill for his size, and he registered a 12.0 block percentage during his college season. Combined with Michigan’s national championship run, these measurements likely push him firmly into lottery territory.
3. Brayden Burries, Arizona (The Week’s Biggest Stock Riser)
If one player separated himself from the pack this week, it was Brayden Burries. He checked in at nearly 6’4″ barefoot and 215 pounds, then delivered a standout testing performance: nearly 61% on three-pointers in shooting drills, a top-tier pro lane agility finish, and a 35-inch no-step vertical. The combination of size, shooting, and athleticism is exactly what lottery teams covet, and Burries appears to have locked up a top-10 selection.
Players on the bubble can move their draft position significantly by performing under pressure. One great combine week is worth millions.
4. Chris Cenac, Houston (Tools That Match the Tape)
At 6’10.25″ barefoot with a 7’5″ wingspan, a 9’0.5″ standing reach, and a 240-pound frame, Chris Cenac checked every physical box on a scout’s evaluation sheet. His measurements closely mirror those of Jaren Jackson Jr. coming out of the draft — a comparison that’s going to follow him into draft-night conversations. Cenac also showed the ability to play on the perimeter offensively, giving him legitimate two-way upside at the next level.
5. Morez Johnson Jr., Michigan (Best Athlete Among Big Men)
Johnson’s measurements were no surprise — 6’9″ barefoot, 7’3″ wingspan — but his athletic testing results made headlines. He posted the best pro lane drill time among all big men at the combine, reinforcing what his Michigan tape suggested: he moves like a wing, plays like a big, and defends like a specialist. His two-way profile and elite athleticism solidify him as one of the most versatile frontcourt prospects in this class.
6. Cameron Carr, Baylor (30 Points and Six Threes)
Carr dropped 30 points on six three-pointers in scrimmage play and posted the second-best max vertical at the combine. His athleticism and shooting ability were on full display, reinforcing his status as one of the week’s most convincing performers.
2026 NBA Draft Combine: The Losers
1. Amari Allen, Alabama (The Measurement That Stings)
Allen was listed at 6’8″ by Alabama this season — a measurement that served as a key selling point to scouts who valued his positional size. His official combine measurement: 6’5.25″ barefoot. The nearly three-inch discrepancy is one of the most significant gaps between a listed height and an official measurement this week, and it significantly changes his role projection. His wingspan came in at 6’8″ — just one to two inches longer than point guards in this same class. Stock is moving in the wrong direction.
2. Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt (Size Concerns the Testing Can’t Fully Offset)
Tanner measured under 5’11” — a tough number for any guard prospect to overcome, regardless of what the athletic testing shows. There are currently only five NBA players under 166 pounds in the entire league. Tanner’s dunk and block rates hint at genuine outlier potential, and he’ll get a chance in scrimmages to make teams rethink the optics. But his path to a first-round slot just got narrower, and a return to Vanderbilt is a legitimate consideration.
3. Joshua Jefferson (Testing Didn’t Help)
Jefferson finished with the slowest pro lane agility time at the combine, placed in the bottom third in verticals, sprint time, and shuttle run, and was middle-to-bottom-of-the-pack in shooting drills. He also chose to skip scrimmage sessions, which means he gave other prospects a clear opportunity to move ahead of him on draft boards. For a player already on the fringe of the first round, a week like this creates real vulnerability heading into the May 27 withdrawal deadline.
4. Keaton Wagler, Illinois (Wingspan Doesn’t Pop)
Wagler measured at 6’5″ with a 6’6.25″ wingspan and a 8’4″ standing reach. He’s taller than most guards in this class, but the wingspan and standing reach numbers don’t jump off the page for scouts who prize length at the wing position. Without the elite athleticism to compensate, his ceiling projection took a slight step back this week. He remains an intriguing player — his shooting at Illinois was elite — but the physical profile limits how high teams will draft him.
What the NBA Draft Combine Teaches Youth Coaches
There’s a reason the NBA doesn’t evaluate prospects by reputation alone. The combine exists because subjective impressions and official data tell different stories — and the best organizations want both.
The same principle applies to youth sports tryouts.
When a coach watches 40 kids on a lacrosse field or hockey rink and tries to rank them based on feel, they’ll inevitably miss the prospect who was nervous in the first drill but elite in the second. Or they’ll overvalue the kid who looks the part but underperforms under structure.
The NBA’s combine model gives coaches a framework worth adopting:
- Standardize your evaluation criteria before tryouts begin
- Assign objective scores to specific skills rather than general impressions
- Compare players against defined benchmarks, not just against each other
- Document everything so coaches can revisit, compare, and justify placement decisions
When your evaluation process is structured and reproducible, you stop losing great players to gut instinct.
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TeamGenius is the tryout management and player evaluation platform built for exactly this kind of structured approach. Coaches can build custom scoring criteria, assign evaluators, generate scoring forms (including paper and Excel versions for coaches who prefer pen-and-clipboard on the floor), and automatically sync all results back into the platform for instant ranking and review.
No more lost score sheets. No more gut-call debates after the fact. Just clean, comparable data — and more confident decisions.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The NBA Draft Combine is an annual evaluation event held in Chicago, typically in mid-May. Prospects complete official measurements, athletic testing (verticals, agility, sprint times), shooting drills, scrimmages, and private interviews with NBA front offices. The results inform draft positioning ahead of the June draft.
The top performers from the 2026 combine included A.J. Dybantsa (BYU), who led all top prospects in athletic testing with a 42-inch max vertical; Aday Mara (Michigan), whose 9’9″ standing reach is the second-longest in combine history; Brayden Burries (Arizona), who shot nearly 61% on three-pointers and is now a consensus top-10 pick; and Chris Cenac (Houston), whose elite measurements drew Jaren Jackson Jr. comparisons.
Players who saw their stock fall include Amari Allen (Alabama), who measured nearly three inches shorter than his listed NCAA height; Tyler Tanner (Vanderbilt), who came in under 5’11” and is now a fringe first-round pick; and Joshua Jefferson, who posted bottom-third results in multiple athletic testing categories and skipped scrimmages.
The combine illustrates a principle that applies at every level: structured, standardized evaluation produces better decisions than subjective impressions alone. Youth sports programs that build defined scoring criteria, assign multiple evaluators, and document results objectively run fairer, more accurate tryouts — and make placement decisions they can stand behind.
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