Tyran Stokes, Stefan Joksimovic Top ESPN's New 2027 NBA Draft Big Board to Open CBB Season

While the 2026-27 college basketball season is just tipping off, Kansas freshman Tyran Stokes has the inside track to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NBA.

Stokes was the No. 1 overall player on the new big board from ESPN's Jeremy Woo . Slovenian guard Stefan Joksimovic was next on the list, while the rest of the top five was dominated by college freshmen.

Woo wrote that Stokes "starts the season with a significant opportunity to establish himself at No. 1."

"He's a bona fide do-it-all perimeter talent who can take over games on offense and defense, profiling as the type of big, modern playmaker the NBA covets," Woo said. "Stokes can create advantages for teammates as a passer and attack mismatches with his handle and physicality, but his decision-making and jump shooting are still a work in progress."

The 6'8" wing is also projected as the No. 1 pick in Jonathan Wasserman's mock draft for Bleacher Report. Wasserman said this is "a draft cycle lacking obvious star-level talent," but Stokes stands at the front of the pack. He made a solid first impression, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, seven rebounds and one assist in a 95-65 blowout of Fordham.

Illustrating Wasserman's wider point about the class, Joksimovic was sixth in his mock. There was another sizable gap between where Arizona center Motiejus Krivas resides in his mock (No. 19) and on Woo's big board (No. 7).

"There's strong market demand for bigs around the league as teams continue tilting toward keeping size on the floor, and he opens the season viewed by many scouts as the most NBA-ready college center," Woo said. "While his defense and rebounding will be the main selling points, he's set to become a bigger offensive focus for a new-look Wildcats team."

Thomas Haugh is another college star who could've been a first-rounder in 2026 but preferred to stick around for one more year.

Considering he'll be 24 as an NBA rookie, Haugh's stock is likely to veer in one of two directions. A playoff contender that unexpectedly fell in the lottery will see his experience as a strength a la Yaxel Lendeborg going 11th overall to the Golden State Warriors. Or Haugh's age will cause him to slip down the first round because his long-term upside isn't as high.

Draft boards always look a lot different by the end of the season compared to the opening week. Even by those standards, this could be a volatile year with so few elite prosects.