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The NBA Draft begins Tuesday and ESPN college basketball broadcaster Jay Bilas has high hopes for it.
Bilas, 62, called this year’s draft class the “best” and “deepest” he can remember.
“It’s the deepest, best crop. When I say best, I mean the deepest crop of super talented freshmen in a draft that I can remember. And I think it’s the best crop of star-caliber freshmen. The freshmen are going to dominate the first round,” Bilas told Pak Gazette Digital in a recent interview.
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ESPN analyst Jay Bilas before the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Florida Atlantic Owls at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 5, 2023. (Porter Binks/Getty Images)
Bilas noted that many NBA teams broke down this season to get a top draft pick.
“One of the reasons you saw so many NBA teams jostling for position to try to get into the lottery, what people call tanking, is because of the quality of this draft. And you can pick six, seven and eight and say, ‘Man, are we going to get a starter out of this?'” Bilas said.
Bilas said the top of the draft has superstar potential. He listed BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, Duke’s Cameron Boozer and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson as players who could be future All-Stars.
The Washington Wizards have the first overall pick, the Utah Jazz have the second pick, the Memphis Grizzlies have the third pick and the Chicago Bulls have the fourth overall pick. Dybantsa has been widely mocked for being the first overall pick in the NBA Draft.
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BYU forward AJ Dybantsa dribbles the ball against Clemson in New York on December 9, 2025. (Noah K. Murray/AP Photo)
In his lone season at BYU, Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 35 games. He was a consensus All-American and made the All-Big 12 team.
Who the Jazz take at No. 2 overall has been the subject of much debate. Peterson, Boozer and Wilson have been mocked in Utah. Bilas said he wouldn’t bat an eye if Wilson were the Jazz’s pick because of how talented he is.
In 24 games with North Carolina as a freshman, Wilson averaged 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Like Dybansta, the forward was also a consensus All-American in addition to being named to the All-ACC team.
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North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson reacts after being fouled by Michigan State in Fort Myers, Florida, on Nov. 27, 2025. (Mike Carlson/AP)
Boozer, the son of two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, shined in his only season at Duke. In 38 games, Boozer averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He won the Wooden Award, given to the most outstanding player in college basketball, in addition to being a consensus All-American.
Peterson, in 24 games with Kansas, scored 20.2 points, recorded 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He was named to the All-Big 12 team, but was not a consensus All-American, unlike Dybansta, Wilson and Boozer.
Bilas will play in the American Century Championship July 10-12 at Edgewood Golf Course in Lake Tahoe. The tournament will air on NBC and Peacock.
