Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries is producing at a higher level during the NCAA Tournament than he has throughout the 2025-26 season. Zona Zealots' parent site FanSided projects Burries to be selected with the 10th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
The NBA Draft lottery will be conducted on May 10 to determine the order that non-playoff teams will pick. Consensus mock drafts project Burries as the ninth pick per NBADraft.Net. Burries has played with a steady poise this season that belies his status as a freshman.
After a slow start in the first five games for Arizona in November, Burries has emerged as the leading scorer for the Wildcats since then. Burries is a consistent player, but rarely provides highlight reel plays, which might be keeping him from being selected higher in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Burries is likely a day one contributor no matter where he is drafted. Christopher Kline has Darryn Peterson of Kansas as the first guard selected in the 2026 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings with the second overall pick. Burries is projected as the seventh guard in the 2026 NBA Draft by Kline.
"He will turn 21 as a rookie, so he's older than most freshmen, but Burries' skill set is such that teams won't worry too much about the developmental arc. He's a clear day-one contributor with his aggressive, swarming defense... with more juice as an on-ball weapon than he probably gets credit for in his current role. Burries has real strength and craft as a driver, able to mix speeds, put a defender on his back and finish through contact at the rim."Christopher Kline, FanSided
Keaton Wagler of Illinois, fifth overall to the Washington Wizards, Darius Acuff of Arkansas, sixth to the Utah Jazz, Kingston Flemings of Houston, seventh to the Dallas Mavericks, Labaron Philon of Alabama, eighth to the Memphis Grizzlies and Mikel Brown of Louisville, ninth to the Atlanta Hawks, are all projected ahead of Burries by Kline.
Burries projects to be a complementary player in the NBA. As part of a truly ensemble lineup for Arizona, Burries has been the leading scorer. Burries has outplayed Flemings and Philion this season. In a 109-88 win over Arkansas in the West Regional Final, Burries was far more efficient than Acuff.
Burries made seven out of his 11 shots from the floor, two of his four three-point attempts and seven of eight from the free throw line to lead six Arizona players in double figures with 23 points against Arkansas. Acuff scored 28 points on eight out of 19 from the field, one out of five from three and 11 of 14 on free throws against Arizona.
Kline asserted that Burries is not the star that guards ahead of him in the 2026 NBA Draft class can become, but that his high-feel, two-way type of player are too often overlooked in the NBA Draft lottery to the detriment of teams that are overly ambitious in selecting for potential.