Louisville basketball fans are all-in on the 2026 NBA Draft, as Mikel Brown is trending to etch his name in program history books. Louisville hasn’t had a first-round pick since the 2017 NBA Draft and hasn’t had a top 10 pick in the NBA Draft since the 1996 draft.
Well, all that is trending to change. Brown is trending toward being an NBA Lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and will likely be a top-10 pick. Brown suffered from back pain this past season, which forced him to fall down a few spots from where he was when the season started, but ESPN’s Jeremy Woo recently released his full NBA mock draft, and in his report about Brown, he made it clear that some scouts still view him as one of the best players in this draft.
Mikel Brown Jr.'s upside is incredibly high
The former 5-star freshman missed 14 games this past season, which forced his draft stock to slide a little. Before the season started, Brown was trending as a top-five pick in the draft, as he was projected as high as No. 4 overall.
However, his back injuries and inconsistent shooting have many NBA scouts ranking him in the 8-10 range. Well, Woo reported that there are scouts out there who still believe Brown has the highest upside among the guards, despite his back injury.
“There are still scouts who view Brown's upside as the highest of the group," Stated Woo. "But it might take some work for him to leap ahead of the other top guards.”
Now, of this group, Brown is trending towards being the last guard selected. However, Woo thinks Brown has a chance to climb and leap these groups, but it won’t be easy. The other three point guards going ahead of Brown include Houston’s Kingston Flemings, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., and Illinois’ Keaton Wagler.
There are some mock drafts where Wagler goes first, some where Acuff goes first. This order varies by reporter, but Brown tends to be last in this group. Well, whether Brown goes last or he climbs up the draft board, Woo reports that some scouts view “Brown's upside as the highest of the group.”
Brown was really beginning to flourish towards the end of the season, before he reinjured his back. He scored 45 points and made 10 3’s against North Carolina State, breaking Cooper Flagg’s ACC Freshman record for most points by a freshman in a single game.
He also scored 29 points straight following that dominant 45-point performance, and ended his Louisville career with a 19-point game against Georgia Tech and a 24-point performance against UNC.
The 5-star freshman has a bright future, and whether he goes No. 7, No. 8, No. 9, or No. 10, Woo and NBA scouts are making it clear this Louisville guard has the potential to be the best of the group.
Also read: 3 most realistic landing spots for Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. after NBA Lottery
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