Former Badgers Star Nick Boyd Finds Home in Updated NBA Mock Draft

With the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery officially set, and the draft itself just over a month away, mock drafts can begin in earnest — and be taken a little more seriously.

Throughout the season, John Blackwell and Nolan Winter were the two Badgers that consistently appeared on NBA big boards and way-too-early mock drafts.

Just like he failed to receive First-Team All-Big Ten recognition despite averaging 20.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists on 48/37/83 shooting splits, Wisconsin's star point guard Nick Boyd was also notably devoid of any NBA draft chatter throughout the season.

Times have changed for college basketball and the NBA Draft. Unless you're a guaranteed lottery pick, the motivation to stay in school and keep cashing NIL paychecks is enough to keep a lot of the top talent in the college ranks. The NBA Draft early entry pool featured just 71 players this year, the lowest number since 2003.

The Badgers felt those effects as well. After a breakout junior campaign, Blackwell elected to chase a national title (and an enormous payday) at Duke rather than return to Wisconsin or put his name in the NBA Draft.

Winter also likely would've been a fringe NBA Draft pick, but the Badgers managed to retain him for his senior season.

That leaves Boyd as Wisconsin's top NBA Prospect for 2026. In Sam Vecenie of The Athletic's updated full two-round mock draft, Boyd is the last pick of the second round, going at No. 60 to the Washington Wizards.

Wisconsin's Draft History

Boyd would be the second Badger the Wizards have drafted in the last five years, as former Wisconsin star Johnny Davis was taken by Washington at No. 10 overall in 2022.

The Badgers aren't a program that typically churns out NBA-level talent. They've had just seven players drafted since the turn of the century, and they've produced 42 total draft picks as a program.

Until Davis cracked the NBA Lottery in 2022, Wisconsin hadn't had a player selected since Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker in 2015, both of whom were taken in the first round.

Last season, John Tonje got the Badgers back on the board, getting selected at pick No. 53 in the second round by the Utah Jazz. If Boyd were to hear his name called this summer, it would be the first time that Wisconsin had a player selected in back-to-back NBA Drafts since Rick Olson and J.J. Weber did it in 1986-87.

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