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Historic college basketball day provides silver lining to Nets’ struggles
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- Historic college basketball day provides silver lining to Nets’ struggles
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The Brooklyn Nets have been the NBA's worst team since the New Year. Losers of 14 of their last 16 games, the on-court product has bordered on unwatchable at times during the recent stretch. This shouldn't come as a major surprise during the dog days of a tanking season.
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While player development is a primary focus, this season was always about draft position for the rebuilding Nets. Owner Joe Tsai all but admitted this during the offseason.
"Well, I have to say that we're in a rebuilding year," Tsai said. "We spent all of our [2025] picks — we had five first-round draft picks this past summer… We have one pick in 2026, and we hope to get a good pick. So you can predict what kind of strategy we will use for this season. But we have a very young team."
Brooklyn's draft lottery odds are on the rise amid its recent struggles. While the Nets (12-33) are fifth in the draft lottery standings, they're just one game behind the Washington Wizards for the league's worst record (11-34).
A historic college basketball day will add to the excitement surrounding Brooklyn's 2026 draft position.
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2026 draft prospects continue to impress during Nets' tanking season
Aaron Baker-Imagn Images
The strength of the 2026 draft class has been among the main subplots of the 2025-26 NBA season. This past Saturday underscored how historic this year's draft class could be.
Three freshmen — BYU's A.J. Dybansta , Houston's Kingston Flemings and Illinois' Keaton Wagler — put up 40-point performances on Saturday. Per ESPN research, it's the first time in at least 20 years that three freshmen have scored 40 points on the same day, according to Jeff Borzello.
Dybansta is the No. 2 pick in ESPN's latest mock draft , while Flemings is slotted at No. 5. Wagler is projected to go No. 18, but his recent performance could have him rising on draft boards.
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The 2026 draft features three other highly-touted prospects — Kansas' Darryn Pterson, Duke's Cameron Boozer and North Carolina's Caleb Wilson — projected to go in the top four. Meanwhile, other names, such as Louisville's Mikel Brown, Tennessee's Nate Ament and Kentucky's Jayden Quaintance, have also generated considerable buzz.
While the Nets are mired in a second straight tanking season, the prospect of landing one of the above names offers a silver lining to the team's recent struggles.
Related: Nets' best Giannis Antetokounmpo trade offer with Bucks exit imminent
Related: Nets resting several players vs. Nuggets amid six-game losing streak
