Draft week is officially here, and NBA draft experts are revealing their final predictions for what could happen on Tuesday night in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to the draft, Jeremy Woo of ESPN released a new edition of his 2026 NBA mock draft. However, his selection for the Golden State Warriors didn’t change.
For the second straight mock from ESPN, the Warriors landed Michigan center Aday Mara with the No. 11 pick. According to Woo, the 7-foot-3 Spaniard would be a “natural fit” for the Warriors, a team lacking in size and depth in the frontcourt.
Via ESPN:
He would be a natural fit in Golden State if he falls down the board, with the Warriors lacking for size and depth up front and likely to value Mara’s playmaking talent in Steve Kerr’s ball movement-centric offense.
In his mock draft, Woo included the Warriors are expected to take a “best available positional approach” on Tuesday night, with multiple names to watch at No. 11, including Yaxel Lendeborg, Brayden Burries and Mara.
Read the full mock draft from ESPN here.
Mara played two seasons for Mick Cronin at UCLA before transferring to Michigan last season. Alongside Lendeborg at Michigan, Mara helped the Wolverines win the national championship under Dusty May. Mara played 40 games for the Wolverines, averaging 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
Mara was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in his lone season at Michigan, averaging 2.6 blocks per game. Mara was tied for third in all of college hoops with 2.6 blocks per game, only trailing Virginia’s Ugonna Onyeso and UC Irvine’s Kyle Evans. Mara finished the season with 103 total blocks in 40 games.
The NBA draft is set to begin on Tuesday night in Brooklyn, New York.
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This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors get frontcourt help in first round of latest ESPN mock draft
Reporting by Tommy Call III, Warriors Wire / Warriors Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tommy Call III, Warriors Wire | USA TODAY Network
