Narrowing down the five best fits for Warriors in a loaded 2026 NBA Draft

Narrowing the best fits for the Warriors in the NBA draft this year down to a top five was harder than usual. This is, of course, great news for Mike Dunleavy ahead of his highest pick yet as Warriors general manager at No. 11. The Class of 2026 is that deep, giving Dunleavy and the Warriors’ front office an abundance of options. Where’s Labaron Philon Jr.? What about Aday Mara? Karim Lopez? Chris Cenac Jr.? Or even Nate Ament, Christian Anderson, Bennet Stirtz and a handful of others? Excluding some players wasn’t an easy pill to swallow.The Warriors have holes all over their roster, but most of all, they need as much talent as possible to open the doors at Chase Center and walk into their locker room. The Warriors will explore every avenue in the 2026 NBA raft. These five prospects fit the bill and make the cut above the rest in a year where the honorable mentions place an emphasis on honorable. Cameron Carr, SG/SF, Baylor The combination of the highest upside and every tool to be what everyone wants from a modern 3-And-D wing makes Carr the ideal fit for the Warriors. He has the length and shot-making ability to play shooting guard and small forward. He had a slow start to his college career and then burst onto the scene as one of college basketball’s premier breakout stars as his talent caught up his one year at Baylor. Carr had 15 games of 20-plus points last season as a redshirt sophomore, which are five more than the prospect below, and one fewer than the leader on this list.At 6-foot-5 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, Carr is the cutout teams search for. He just has to get stronger after weighing in at 184 pounds. The rest of the combine, however, was all his. Carr registered the second-highest standing vertical leap (38 inches) and max vertical leap (42.5 inches), as well as the lane agility sprint (10.46 seconds). Once he was in a game setting for his scrimmage at the NBA draft combine, Carr took over. The 21-year-old, who will turn 22 in late November, dropped 30 points on 9-of-18 shooting and went 6 of 12 from three in under 27 minutes. Carr also had seven rebounds in the game, blocked two shots and frequently made his way to the free-throw line. Look at how easy Carr’s high and long 3-point shot goes down. Look at how he glides and accelerates on these dunks, and look at his two-way potential. Carr in the very least will be a super scoring sixth man. It’s very easy to see him become more. Yaxel Lendeborg, F, Michigan While Carr is more of a bridge prospect between the present and the future, Lendeborg is viewed as a quintessential plug-and-play pick. Starting the 2026-27 NBA season without Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, but being able to trust a rookie from Day 1, would be quite the luxury for the Warriors. Lendeborg could be the answer there. Lendeborg already has played so many different roles through his one of a kind path to the draft. He will be 24 years old before he plays his first NBA game, yet Lendeborg is a late bloomer. He barely played any high school basketball at all, spent three years in junior college, was a two-time AAC Defensive Player of the Year in his two years at UAB and then starred in whatever Michigan needed him to do while winning a national championship and counting awards. What Lendeborg did for any previous critics this past season was show he can evolve, and that there still is potential to be tapped. In two seasons at UAB, Lendeborg made multiple threes in six games. Lendeborg at Michigan reached that number in his first eight games, and he finished with 20 such games. On a national championship team that featured three soon-to-be first-round 2026 draft picks, Lendeborg ranked first on Michigan in points per game (15.1) and steals per game (1.1), and second in rebounds per game (6.8), assists per game (3.2) and blocked shots per game. He also led them in 3-point percentage (37.2 percent) and was one behind the leader in total threes, 68 to 67. Yaxel Lendeborg regular season highlights Best player in the Big Ten?? pic.twitter.com/a7DxFpavzB — College Basketball Report (&commat;CBKReport) March 9, 2026 The Warriors need a bit of everything, and Lendeborg brings a bit of everything. He has an NBA-ready frame at 6-foot-9, 241 pounds with a wingspan over 7-foot-3. His floor is worth questioning the ceiling. Brayden Burries, G, ArizonaWatching strong guards like Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper power their way to the paint in the NBA playoffs only made the desire for these types of players that much more. Burries, at 6-foot-4, is slightly shorter and doesn’t have the same massive wingspan as a Castle or Harper, but he might be even stronger at 215 pounds. He then had the fourth-highest standing vertical at the combine (35 inches) and the fourth-fastest lane agility run (10.59 seconds). Burries checks all the boxes of the kind of combo guard Warriors coach Steve Kerr would love. He had 14 20-point games, one fewer than Carr, and impacts games in so many ways. Burries had 22 games of five-plus rebounds, including three of 10-plus, 21 games of multiple threes and 18 with multiple steals.The advanced stats love him, too. Burries ranked second in the Big 12 in win shares (6.4). He was fifth in offensive win shares (3.7) and third in defensive win shares (2.7). There’s a reason he’s the least likely of the bunch to be available for the Warriors. BRAYDEN BURRIES HIVE pic.twitter.com/YO6cOY29nT — Tyler Rucker (&commat;tyler&lowbar;rucker) February 25, 2026 If he is there, the Warriors should have a happy draft room. It doesn’t hurt that Burries showed out in front of Kerr in the Sweet Sixteen with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting, five rebounds and two threes. Morez Johnson Jr., PF/C, MichiganWinning teams will all love Johnson on the court, and it’s easy to see why he’d be loved in the locker room. Just turn on the tape of the national championship game and it’s easy to see why. Johnson in that game went to work down low to score 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He led Michigan with 10 rebounds – five offensive and five defensive – and swatted a game-high two blocked shots. Johnson ranked second in defensive rating in the Big Ten (96.1) and fifth in offensive rating (135.4)Versatility separates Johnson defensively with the chance to be the best player from this draft on that side of the ball. He can play the 4 or the 5 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan, but he guards out to the wings and beyond. Johnson wants the challenge of defending 1 through 5 and can back it up. The Warriors ranked last in dunks last season and are begging for athleticism. Johnson is the kind of athlete they’re lacking, and he has all the right intangibles in his game. Hannes Steinbach, C/PF, WashingtonCan the Warriors find their Alperen engün after missing out on him in the 2021 draft? Steinbach is right around the same size as engün. He doesn’t pass as well as him, but he rebounds just as well or better, can score around the rim like him, and has shown the ability to be a real stretch big man down the road. Most teams want to make sure their top pick has at least one elite trait, and Steinbach clearly does. His strong and massive hands help him be the best rebounder in the draft. Steinbach positions his body well and he just has a knack for the ball. He led the country in rebounds per game (11.8) and he also ranked second in the Big Ten with 126 offensive rebounds. Since his college season ended, Steinbach has proven to teams he has the size to be a center after coming to the combine at over 6-foot-10 barefoot and weighing in at 248 pounds. Steinbach has a strong international background in Germany, and players as productive as him at a high level in Europe and college are going to stick around for a long career. These are some of Hannes Steinbach’s best buckets imo He’s really efficient, positions himself well, uses his body well, & has good speed/power with the ball already (Also has clear 3pt shooting upside) He’s got so much room for growth, especially developing his skillset… pic.twitter.com/QEI3OMU8Bs — ItsAllLove (&commat;nbanerdd) June 7, 2026 From a production standpoint, Steinbach’s freshman season was as good as it gets. He had 16 20-point games and averaged 18.5 points per game, shooting 57.7 percent from the field. The possession battle is becoming so important in today’s NBA, making Steinbach a trusted pick with a lot to like.Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Narrowing down the five best fits for Warriors in a loaded 2026 NBA Draft

Trending News