The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 55 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE M ichigan Wolverines basketball has three primary NBA Draft pros- pects in forwards Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. and center Aday Mara, all projected as first-round picks in the June 23-24 event. Point guard Elliot Ca- deau also declared, but mostly with the intention to learn about the process be- fore heading to the NBA in the future. Johnson, Mara and Cadeau have until 11:59 p.m. ET May 27 to withdraw and maintain their collegiate eligibility. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Lendeborg is the safest bet to be picked in the lot- tery (top 14), but the 7-foot-3 Mara has the highest upside, per analysts in mock drafts ahead of the combine in Chicago. Johnson is a projected first-rounder, too, but his projections are all over the map — as high as No. 17 and low as No. 29. The Wolverine examined six post- lottery mock drafts, five of which had Lendeborg No. 12 to the Oklahoma City Thunder (ESPN, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports, The Athletic, Bleacher Report) and one with him No. 11 to the Golden State Warriors (Sports Illustrated). OKC is the favorite to win its second straight NBA title but has the No. 12 choice from a 2019 trade with the Los Angeles Clip- pers. Lendeborg could step in and help the Thunder right away, should that be his destination. "Lendeborg is set to benefit from his instrumental role in Michigan's title run, where his versatility shone through on both sides of the ball, and he shot 52.9 percent from 3 in his final 11 games," ESPN's Jeremy Woo wrote. "He'll be a 24-year-old rookie, a polarizing as- pect of his projection, but he's ready for the NBA and should be a plug-and-play rotation piece. At a certain point in the draft, the value of his unique skill set outweighs the age factor." Mara was listed No. 8 to the Atlanta Hawks in Yahoo Sports' projection, while he was also placed at No. 11 to the Golden State Warriors (CBS Sports, The Athletic), No. 12 to the Oklahoma City Thunder (Sports Illustrated) and No. 14 to the Charlotte Hornets (ESPN, Bleacher Report). "The Hawks could use a true center, and the best one in this class is Mara, who stepped on UCLA's campus as a lottery-projected center from Spain," Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor wrote. "Then he fell off draft boards during two forgettable seasons there before transferring to Michigan and becom- ing one of the best true 5s in the coun- try on his way to winning the national championship. He reads the floor like a guard, finishes with both hands, and swats shots with elite timing." Though it's widely expected that Johnson will remain in the draft and forgo his final two years of college bas- ketball, he's viewed as the Michigan big man with the highest chance of coming back to Ann Arbor, as slim as it may be. ❱ MICHIGAN IN THE PROS NBA Draft Buzz And Projections Yaxel Lendeborg, the Wolverines' versatile 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward, is the safest bet to be picked in the lottery (top 14) of the NBA Draft. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL