2026 NBA Draft Winners and Losers With Joe House and J. Kyle Mann
Episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast · June 24, 2026 · 1 h 59 min
Bill Simmons, Joe House, and J. Kyle Mann react live on Netflix to the 2026 NBA draft's first round, naming winners and losers team by team.
Summary
Recorded live on Netflix on the night of the first round of the 2026 NBA draft, Bill Simmons, Joe House, and J. Kyle Mann went through Simmons's list of winners and losers. Simmons opened by arguing the draft was so rationally executed that it lacked surprises, and Mann attributed this to improved analytics and scouting. The group framed Washington, Utah, Memphis, Chicago, and Sacramento as rebuilding teams with renewed hope.
House celebrated his Wizards selecting AJ Dybantsa first overall, while Mann said he would have taken Cameron Boozer but gave all top three picks an A-plus. House and Simmons sharply criticized Washington's four-year, $212 million deal for Trae Young. They discussed Utah taking Darryn Peterson second, with Simmons citing Danny Ainge's track record and Peterson's resemblance to a young Kobe Bryant alongside red flags, and Memphis landing Boozer at three. Other segments covered Darius Acuff going to Sacramento (House compared him to Damian Lillard), Brayden Burries landing in Milwaukee, Dallas taking Morez Johnson under new coach Dusty May, the Spurs drafting Mann favorite Jayden Quaintance, and Philadelphia converting Jared McCain into a pick.
The hosts also assessed the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade to Miami, which House called a rare lose-lose deal, and complained about ESPN's draft broadcast, particularly family interviews and trades announced before picks. Later segments covered the Clippers' Keaton Wagler, Golden State's Yaxel Lendeborg, Chicago's Caleb Wilson and Dailyn Swain, Brooklyn's injury-concerned pick of Mikel Brown Jr., Charlotte's two German selections, and Oklahoma City's picks. Simmons closed by discussing the Celtics' failed pursuit of Giannis and the Jaylen Brown situation, grading the draft an A for talent and a C-minus for entertainment.
Chapters
- 1:20
Live draft intro and a boringly competent draft
Simmons introduces the live Netflix show and argues the draft lacked surprises, which Mann attributes to analytics and better scouting.
- 6:55
Renewed hope for rebuilding teams
The group discusses five lottery-dwelling teams that now have promising young cores and a tougher league to climb.
- 11:39
Wizards take AJ Dybantsa, Trae Young contract
House celebrates Washington's top pick while he and Simmons criticize the team's max-level deal for Trae Young.
- 24:18
Utah lands Darryn Peterson
The hosts weigh Peterson's scoring upside and red flags and whether Utah can become a playoff team.
- 32:15
Memphis gets Cameron Boozer; Detroit and OKC maneuvers
Boozer's fit with Memphis is praised and pick trades involving OKC and Detroit are assessed.
- 38:33
Knicks as champions, Burries to Milwaukee, Morez Johnson to Dallas
Simmons laments Brayden Burries landing with the Bucks and the group discusses Dallas's pick under Dusty May.
- 45:56
Giannis trade fallout and draft broadcast complaints
The hosts assess Milwaukee's return for Giannis, Miami's outlook, and ESPN's interviews and trade-announcement handling.
- 55:35
Acuff to Sacramento, Quaintance to the Spurs, Philly's Phylon pick
The group debates Darius Acuff's ceiling, praises San Antonio's Quaintance pick, and credits Daryl Morey's McCain trade.
- 1:10:37
High school rankings, Hawks-Pelicans trade, Clippers' Wagler
Simmons reviews the class's high school rankings, polls Queen versus Flemings, and discusses Keaton Wagler's upside.
- 1:22:20
Warriors' Yaxel Lendeborg and Chicago's haul
The hosts consider Lendeborg's fit with Steve Kerr and Draymond Green and praise Chicago's Wilson and Swain picks.
- 1:29:57
Nets, Hornets and Thunder picks
Concerns about Mikel Brown Jr.'s back are aired before Charlotte's German duo and OKC's picks are analyzed.
- 1:46:27
Celtics, Jaylen Brown and wrap-up
Simmons discusses the Celtics' Giannis pursuit and the Jaylen Brown situation before final grades and sign-off.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Bill Simmons
Simmons argues the first twelve picks were the twelve best players in the draft, leaving no surprises.
“I had the first 12 picks regardless of the order. I thought were the 12 best guys in the draft”
- J. Kyle Mann
Mann attributes the lack of draft surprises to analytics creating guardrails against wild decisions.
“It seems like the nerds have taken over and the math has kind of crept into the point where even”
- J. Kyle Mann
Mann says the top of the draft could not go wrong and graded all three top picks an A-plus, though he would have favored Boozer for Washington.
“No, this is a can't lose draft. I mean, I gave the top three picks all A pluses”
- Joe House
House questions whether Trae Young has ever made a teammate better.
“Give me one example. I need one bit of evidence that this guy at the point guard position has made a teammate better”
- Joe House
House argues the Wizards' contract for Trae Young makes no sense.
“I am literally making shit up because it makes no sense whatsoever to pay that man”
Linked moment · 22:40Skip to 22:40 using a listen link in the info box.
Bill SimmonsSimmons calls the Trae Young contract egregious for the Wizards.
“It was horrible. It was egregious. It was a crime against the Wizards”
- J. Kyle MannPrediction · due Jun 2027
Mann predicts Darryn Peterson could average over 20 points per game as a rookie.
“I mean, he could average over 20 next year, I think, for sure”
- Bill Simmons
Simmons says Danny Ainge's record with elite prospects makes him more confident in Peterson.
“Danny Ainge, really awesome track record with taking elite guys. And if he likes Peterson, that makes me feel a lot better about Peterson”
- Bill Simmons
Simmons says Peterson looks more like a young Kobe Bryant than anyone in 30 years, despite red flags.
“If you're going to pick who has come into the league in the last 30 years, who's looked the most like young Kobe, you would pick Peterson”
- Joe House
House calls the Giannis trade to Miami a rare deal that hurts both teams.
“wow, this is a rare lose-lose trade. You don't get a lot of those in the NBA”
- Bill Simmons
Simmons criticizes ESPN's draft-night family interviews for crowding out basketball analysis.
“this is my next loser, by the way, the Lisa Salters interviews when there's real basketball shit going on”
- J. Kyle Mann
Mann sees Darius Acuff as better suited to a third-star, game-manager role than as a team's primary offensive star.
“I think he's probably better as like your third star, I think, if you're going to build a team, like a high-level team”
- Joe House
House compares Darius Acuff to Damian Lillard.
“I really feel like he's the second coming of Dame. I feel like he's Dame 2.0”
- J. Kyle Mann
Mann believes Jayden Quaintance, if healthy, could eventually rank among the top five players of the draft because of his defense.
“I think that he could net out where he could be as high as like five in this draft in like a few years from now”
- Bill Simmons
Simmons criticizes Spurs coach Mitch Johnson's Finals game management.
“Mitch Johnson's game management was a hundred times worse than all the stuff we had with him or Dunleavy”
- Bill Simmons
Simmons praises Daryl Morey for turning Jared McCain into the pick used on Phylon.
“McCain was a declining asset. He just turned him into Phylon and two more years on a rookie contract”
- J. Kyle Mann
Mann suggests Bulls pick Dailyn Swain could replace Josh Giddey as a better two-way version of a similar player.
“I think Dalen Swain could be swappable for Josh Giddey because they're similar place”
- Bill Simmons
Simmons expresses concern about Mikel Brown Jr.'s durability and back problems.
“I just have concerns with the injury prone stuff, durability, and the fact that he's talking in interviews about”
- J. Kyle Mann
Mann compares Hornets pick Steinbach to Steven Adams as a relentless rebounder.
“I've said that he's like the spiritual successor to Steven Adams”
- Bill Simmons
Simmons reports the Celtics made only a single offer for Giannis, involving Jaylen Brown and two picks, and never followed up.
“they made one offer two weeks ago and it was, you know, Jalen and two picks”
- Joe House
House believes the Jaylen Brown situation in Boston is fixable if the team unites.
“I think it's completely solvable. I don't know why. I think that if they all say the right thing”
- Bill Simmons
Simmons grades the draft an A for talent but a C-minus for entertainment.
“draft from a talent standpoint was an A. And from an entertainment standpoint, probably a C-”
People
In the conversation
- Bill SimmonsSportswriter and founder of The Ringer, host of The Bill Simmons Podcast
- J. Kyle MannThe Ringer NBA draft analyst and co-host of The Ringer NBA Show
- Joe HouseRinger podcaster and longtime friend of Bill Simmons, known for sports betting talk
Discussed
- AJ DybantsaBYU forward projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft
- Darryn PetersonKansas guard and top 2026 NBA draft prospect
- Cameron BoozerDuke forward
- Darius AcuffArkansas freshman guard praised by the hosts as an NBA prospect
- Trae YoungNBA guard with the Washington Wizards
- Giannis AntetokounmpoMilwaukee Bucks forward and two-time NBA MVP whose future trade value is the episode's central subject
- Danny AingeUtah Jazz executive and former Celtics president
- Daryl MoreyFormer Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations
- Mitch JohnsonSan Antonio Spurs head coach
- Jaylen BrownBoston Celtics guard-forward at the center of the hosts' first-team All-NBA case
- Steve KerrFormer NBA guard cited for his record three-point shooting in 1995
- Dusty MayMichigan men's basketball head coach
- Lisa SaltersESPN reporter who conducted draft-night interviews
- Keaton WaglerGuard drafted fifth by the Los Angeles Clippers
- Mikel Brown Jr.Guard drafted by the Brooklyn Nets despite back issues
Topics
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From the publisher
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Joe House, and J. Kyle Mann go LIVE on Netflix to react to the 2026 NBA first-round draft picks and discuss the winners and losers. (0:00) Intro (1:15) NBA draft reactions (6:59) Winners and losers of the first round Host: Bill Simmons Guests: J. Kyle Mann and Joe House Producers: Chia Hao Tat, Eduardo Ocampo, and Chris Wohlers Brought to you by PayPal. Learn more at paypal.com Get 30% off snacks and groceries on Uber Eats. https://www.ubereats.com/feeds/wfootball_2026_us Presented by @MichelobULTRA #ULTRACourtside LDA 21 and over. Drink responsibly. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 29, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.