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Second-round steals come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it's a two-time college champion like Jalen Brunson, who earned the respect of scouts but his lack of size didn't convince anyone to take a chance until the 33rd pick. Other times it's an international mystery like Manu Ginobili, who fell all the way to the 57th pick before becoming a four-time champion and a Hall of Famer.
But these are the jackpots. And jackpots are rare. The far more common payoff is a high-level role player who props up winning teams for over a decade. Think Danny Green, the 46th pick who won titles with three different franchises by spacing the floor and guarding the opponent's best scorers. Think Bruce Brown, the 42nd pick who became the connective glue for a champion in Denver. Think Mitchell Robinson, the raw center who's helped New York anchor rosters for nearly a decade and now has a chance to win his first ring — right alongside Brunson.
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Role players don't lead the list of Greatest Draft Steals Ever. But they all contribute to winning basketball. Here are five prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft who are equipped to help teams contend for years to come:
Ugonna Onyenso is indeed known for his defense. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Ugonna Onyenso, 7-0, Virginia senior center
Onyenso bounced from Kentucky to Kansas State to Virginia, and finally found a home in Charlottesville where he turned into one of the most feared shot-blockers in college basketball. He had 21 blocks across three ACC tournament games, including nine against Cam Boozer in the championship. He lays a brick wall around the basket, and with his 7-foot-5 wingspan he has the tools that should translate to NBA production.
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Perimeter defense is the real swing factor for Onyenso. Guards will try to pull him out of the paint. And quicker bigs could exploit him too. If he can improve his quickness, he has a long future ahead of him. But even if he doesn't, his interior play might be enough on defense since he shines at the dirty work on offense.
He generates second chances when tasked with crashing the glass, willingly sets hard screens, and he made 69% of his shots at the rim as a senior. Plus as a bonus, there is shooting upside: as a senior he attempted 36 3-pointers while making 10 of them. So there's some untapped potential there. And even in the worst-case scenario, Onyenso can fill role-player duties for an NBA team, all at the cheap cost of a second-round pick.
Richie Saunders, 6-5, BYU senior wing
Saunders is a hard-nosed, two-way wing who's skilled with a quick-trigger jumper, soft touch on floaters and a feel for moving the ball. With less than ideal size and athleticism, he more than likely projects as a solid role player. But he plays with manic energy that is contagious. He hustles around the floor for steals, rebounds and will put his body on the line. The team that gets him knows exactly what they're gonna get out of him.
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Saunders is a first-round talent, but he's going to be 25 as a rookie after a two-year mission as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, followed by a four-year career at BYU. Saunders saw his college career end in disappointing fashion when he tore his ACL in February. So at his age there's a limited upside, and he's coming off an injury that only complicates the start of his NBA career. But he's a good bet to find himself in a rotation for years to come.
Ryan Conwell, 6-2, Louisville senior guard
Conwell is a stocky lefty with broad shoulders, no real first step and exactly one dunk in four years of college basketball. So there's a reason why he's a second-rounder after his college career took him from South Florida to Indiana State to Xavier and then to Louisville. But he got better at every stop. By the end of his senior year, he was the leading scorer for the Cardinals at 18.8 points per game, showcasing deep range with a bruising style at the rim.
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The question is whether the climb continues at the next level, when he can't muscle his way to the cup or shoot over the top of smaller defenders the way he could in college. But he brings a ton of skill and a feel that give him a chance of becoming a fixture of an NBA rotation.
Nick Martinelli, 6-7, Northwestern senior forward
Martinelli is a lefty who shot 42% from 3 as a senior, hunts mismatches in the post, and uses footwork and physicality to compensate for his average athletic profile, He arrived at Northwestern as a three-star recruit, got notably better in each season and proceeded to become the back-to-back Big Ten scoring champion.
There are no questions about his work ethic. He plays with fire in his belly. The real concern is about whether he can adapt at the next level when he can't feast on smaller players, and when he'll be targeted on defense. Martinelli is too slow to defend perimeter guards and not big enough to bang with NBA bigs. He's exactly the player NBA offenses will hunt in switches.
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But if he makes significant improvements moving laterally to reach a competent level, he has the offensive skill to play in the league for a long time. Martinelli has beaten the odds so far and will receive chances to do it again.
Dillon Mitchell, 6-7, St. John's senior forward
Mitchell has been on the draft radar since he entered college as a McDonald's All-American, and back then it looked like a jump shot was the only thing standing between him and stardom. Four years and three schools later, the jumper is still nonexistent. And yet, he's played his way onto boards anyway as a left-handed power player who finishes everything around the rim, wrecks games defensively and blossomed into a high-feel passer as a senior at St. John's.
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Mitchell could easily be a steal for a team that can utilize him as the only non-shooter in a lineup with a floor-spacing center: Imagine him in Josh Hart's role in lineups featuring Karl-Anthony Towns during these NBA Finals. The non-shooting is a problem, but on the right team his athleticism on offense and defensive versatility could allow him to carve out a long career.
