The Golden State Warriors hold their highest position (No. 11) in the 2026 NBA Draft since taking Jonathan Kuminga No. 7 overall in 2021. But what type of talent should the team expect to get out of a late lottery pick? Here are the last five No. 11 overall picks in NBA history and how they’ve fared since debuting in the NBA.
2025 – SG Cedric Coward POR
The Memphis Grizzlies acquired Coward’s draft rights from the Portland Trail Blazers last season, and they’ve already seen a positive return on investment. Coward finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting during his first season and fifth overall in Rookie of the Year Award voting. He averaged 13.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 47.1% from the field.
2024 – SF Matas Buzelis CHI
After a solid rookie campaign, Buzelis burst onto the scene during his sophomore season, averaging 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.5 blocks. Now ahead of his third NBA season, the young Bulls forward appears to be one of the league’s rising stars.
2023 – SF Jett Howard ORL
Since being drafted in 2023, Jett Howard hasn’t seen as much playing time as lottery picks tend to. In 133 career games, Howard has averages of 4.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 11 minutes per contest.
2022 – PF Ousmane Dieng NYK
Since being acquired on draft night from the Knicks, playing time was tough to come by for Ousmane Dieng after joining a stacked Thunder roster. However, since a trade from Oklahoma City at last February’s deadline, Dieng has begun to showcase his potential. In 30 games for the Bucks last year following the deal, Dieng averaged 11 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.8 steals.
2021 – SG James Bouknight CHO
Former UConn product James Bouknight hasn’t seen NBA action since the 2023-24 season after a disappointing three-year stint with the Hornets. For his career, he averaged a measly 36.3% from the field in addition to 4.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 11.4 minutes per game.
While not all of these players turned out to be franchise stars, this list of five should give Warriors fans optimism for Tuesday’s draft. Not to mention, the 2026 class is expected to be one of the most loaded in recent seasons. With this in mind, Golden State has an important opportunity to find their next star who can lead the franchise following Stephen Curry’s retirement.
This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: What can Warriors expect at No. 11? A look at the 5 previous No. 11 picks
Reporting by Mack Baltes, Warriors Wire / Warriors Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mack Baltes, Warriors Wire | USA TODAY Network
