USA TODAY Sports went a different route with their latest edition of a 2026 NBA mock draft. Instead of an analyst penciling in predictions for different players across the board, Mark Giannotto and USA TODAY Sports asked Microsoft Copilot’s AI chatbot for a 2026 NBA mock draft.
At No. 11 overall, the Golden State Warriors landed Kentucky big man Jayden Quaintance in USA TODAY’s mock draft.
Read the full AI mock draft via USA TODAY Sports here.
Quaintance, at 6-foot-10 and still only 18-years-old with two seasons of college basketball under his belt, is a very compelling prospect in the 2026 draft class. Yet, he does have some reasonable question marks due to an injury.
Late into his freshman season at Arizona State, Quaintance suffered a torn ACL that ruled him out for the remainder of the year. Quaintance later hit the transfer portal and committed to Mark Pope and Kentucky for his sophomore season. Quaintance’s knee injury hampered his sophomore season in Lexington, playing only five games. Quaintance dealt with swelling in his knee and was sidelined for 31 games for the Wildcats.
However, when he was on the court, he showed glimpses of why he could be a lottery pick. Against Rick Pitino and St. John’s, Quantaince helped the Wildcats secure a key win in his debut, recording 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field with eight boards and two blocks in 17 minutes. In five games at Kentucky, Quaintance averaged five points on 57.1% shooting from the field with five rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game.
Prior to his time at Kentucky, Quaintance earned Big-12 All-Defensive team honors along with Big 12 All-Freshman honors at Arizona State under Bobby Hurley. Quaintance averaged 9.4 points on 52.5% shooting from the field to go along with 7.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.
Before college, Quaintance was a consensus five-star recruit and a McDonald’s All-American.
At still only 18-years-old, the former Kentucky Wildcat would give the Warriors a much-needed boost of youth on a veteran-led roster. Quaintance’s defensive upside could potentially be magnified by playing alongside players like Draymond Green and Al Horford.
Quaintance should be a name to remember when June’s NBA draft rolls around.
This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors add Kentucky big man in new AI mock draft from USA TODAY
Reporting by Tommy Call III, Warriors Wire / Warriors Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
