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5 Potential Steals From the 2026 NBA Draft

Grant Afseth June 27, 2026Fact checked by: Geoff Magliocchetti Be First

Each year, the NBA Draft features plenty of players who fall later in the order, and teams are ecstatic about who they managed to pick.

Duke's Isaiah Evans. 2026 NBA Draft
Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Between medical red flags, poor locker room personality, or the classic case of draft measurements causes a prospect to be overlooked, not every fall is made equal, whether the reasoning is made public or not.

Here are five strong value picks from the 2026 draft that took place outside of the lottery.

Jayden Quaintance, San Antonio Spurs (No. 20)

The Spurs are coming off an NBA Finals appearance and are building around a young core that includes Victor Wembanyama, Dylan Harper, and Stephon Castle on the same timeline. Drafting a player like Quaintance, who is coming off an ACL injury and is in need of another cleanup procedure, is a manageable risk. General manager Brian Wright said after the draft that the medical file was what knocked Quaintance to No. 20, not his talent. As long as they are confident in his medical situation, there could be a strong payoff for patience.

Quintance averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks before his ACL injury at Arizona State and was considered a lottery talent before this occurred. He has shown impressive versatility by doing anything defensively, ranging from switching onto a guard and sliding with him to providing a paint presence as a rim protector.

Drop Quintance into the Spurs' frontcourt (if healthy) and now Wembanyama has help, both direct and indirect. The Spurs would have two dynamic paint protectors for potentially 48 minutes or they could play the two together against more physically imposing matchups, allowing Wembanyama to float around the half-court.

If this works out, San Antonio will look smart for taking a calculated swing that only required patience and risk tolerance.

Alex Karaban, Sacramento Kings (No. 29)

The Kings' roster overall remains in flux with Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine in trade rumors, while DeMar DeRozan is expected to be on a new team before the start of the season, one way or another. Regardless, the young core Sacramento is building around features Keegan Murray and now Darius Acuff Jr. as headliners. What the team needs, especially when Acuff is handling a lot of responsibility in pick-and-roll and isolation, is what Karaban does best: nothing that needs the ball.

The Kings are getting someone who is 6-foot-8 and shot 37.4% from deep on 5.2 attempts per game throughout 151 regular-season games at UConn in Karaban. Help off him, and he makes you pay with a quick trigger on a catch-and-shoot look. Run him off the line, and he can make a play against the closeout either for himself or draw help and kick. He's savvy at countering defenses that ball-watch or are too aggressive, trying to top-lock to take away his three.

With two national championships at Connecticut and a run as the winningest player in school history, he clearly understands how to plug into a winning culture and do the little things that are required from a complementary talent.

Bruce Thornton, Houston Rockets (No. 31)

The Rockets played last season with a significant limitation in point guard depth. Fred VanVleet was sidelined after an ACL tear, and salary cap restrictions prevented Houston from bringing anyone in for much of the season. Now, the Rockets are adding some depth at the position as VanVleet gets healthy, bringing in Thornton from Ohio State.

At 6-foot-2, he's not the tallest guard. He's also not the youngest prospect at 22, coming off four years of college basketball. However, Houston needs to win now, with soon-to-be-38-year-old Kevin Durant among their franchise cornerstones.

The Rockets spent long stretches last season leaning on Amen Thompson to organize the offense. While Thompson is capable of doing so, he's beginning possessions with the defense focused on him. Playing him more off-ball can put him in positions with momentum toward the rim, where he can use his strength and explosiveness. Thornton has the skill set of a traditional lead guard. He makes defenses pay for going under screens, can organize the offense and get the team into its actions, and can make just about any play within the flow of the game.

Add in a senior season that closed out his Ohio State career as the program's all-time leading scorer (19.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists on 55.4% shooting and 40.0% from three), and 31st overall starts to look like a steal for a team looking to compete without time to waste.

Isaiah Evans, Minnesota Timberwolves (No. 33)

Entering the NBA Draft, many considered Evans an intriguing potential late first-round pick. He ended up being the last green room invite still available. Minnesota took full advantage by adding one of the best shooters in the class in the second round. For a team conscious about spending, bringing in a talent like Evans is a great way to continue bolstering its supporting cast.

The Timberwolves' roster presents an intriguing opportunity for Evans, who now joins LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards, both talents that draw significant defensive attention and are a dream combination for a sharpshooter to space for.

Evans shot 36.1% from deep at Duke on more than seven attempts a game, down from 41.6% on 4.1 attempts per game in his freshman season. However, the volume is what's intriguing, considering none of it comes from standing in the corner. He will take and make contested shots and shoot it on the move; he's not reluctant to let it fly, and that's exactly the type of confident shooting a contender needs.

Henri Veesaar, Atlanta Hawks (No. 52)

Perhaps the most surprising fall in the NBA Draft was Veesaar, who went from a potential first-round pick to being taken 52nd overall by the Hawks. The issue was his desire to land a guaranteed contract rather than be willing to play on a two-way, turning away some teams that might've otherwise have been interested in drafting him earlier.

Atlanta is a team that needs interior size and saw an opportunity, trading up from the 57th overall slot to gain positioning to draft Veesaar. Presient of basketball operations Onsi Saleh even admitted after the draft that he was surprised to see Veesaar still available.

At North Carolina, Veeseer averaged 17.0 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 60.8% from the field and 42.6% from beyond the arc. He showed versatility as the type of seven-footer who can pull the opposing rim protector out to space with his shooting, while also being a big man who can finish in the paint effectively. He presents an intriguing pick-and-pop, spacing, and interior play finishing combination for Hawks coach Quin Snyder to maximize.

To ensure that nobody could take him, Atlanta gave up the rights to the 57th overall pick, Narcisse Ngoy, and cash considerations to execute the trade.

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