It’s been a couple of days since the NBA Draft Lottery, so a bunch of updated mock drafts are out. Here’s a roundup of five mock drafts and who they have the Clippers selecting with the 5th pick.
ESPN: Keaton Wagler
“Wagler led Illinois all the way to the Final Four to cap one of the more remarkable prospect rises ever, entering the season as a curiosity for scouts and finishing as a bona fide top talent in an exceptional lottery class. While scouts expect it will take time for him to add strength and adjust physically to the NBA, the fact that Wagler is 6-foot-6, plays with change of pace and adds value at both guard positions points to major long-term upside as his body matures and he gains experience. His unusual trajectory and rapid improvement bode well.”
The Athletic: Keaton Wagler
“Wagler is probably the best fit with his size and ability to shoot off the catch. He is unequivocally this year’s biggest draft riser and maybe the biggest draft riser in the one-and-done era after leading Illinois to the Final Four.
Wagler was ranked outside the top 150 in the 2025 recruiting class but is a wildly impressive guard who can generate shots both for himself and his teammates, thanks to a crafty, creative handle and outstanding feel for the game. Illinois moved him to the lead guard position on Dec. 6; from that point, he averaged 19.1 points, five rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 45 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3 and 79 percent from the line.
Wagler is not very quick-twitch with his first step, and he has very little vertical explosiveness. He’s also not all that strong. But he uses the threat of his pull-up jump shot better than any player in the class and plays with an incredibly rhythmic, well-paced tempo that makes it hard for opponents to stay in front of him.”
SB Nation: Keaton Wagler
“Wagler entered Illinois as the No. 150 recruit in the rankings, and left as a lock to be a top-10 draft pick after just one season. The freshman started to ascend once he was moved into an on-ball role mid-way through the season, which allowed him to flash his fantastic pull-up shooting chops, his capable playmaking, and his turnover avoidance. Wagler loves to get into his step-back three, especially when a big switches onto him, but he’s equally adept at spacing the floor and shooting it with range off the catch. He’s not exactly Tyrese Haliburton as a passer, but the Illini guard was able to hit his talented teammates in stride all year while avoiding costly live-ball turnovers. There are still moments where you can see why Wagler was so under-the-radar as a recruit. He’s not a great athlete, and ended the year with zeros — a shocking stat for a 6’6 one-and-done lottery pick. He didn’t do much on defense, though that could be partially explained with Illinois’ conservative scheme that finished dead-last in defensive turnover rate. Do teams trust him to drive and finish at the rim against NBA athletes? Wagler’s skill set still feels pretty malleable as a tall guard who can shoot and won’t make a bunch of mistakes. This is the best story in this draft class, and it keeps getting better.”
Yahoo Sports: Keaton Wagler
“Though the Clippers traded for a younger guard in Darius Garland, Wagler makes the most sense here. At 6-foot-6, he can play with or without the ball and proved that last year in college. But he quickly became the orchestrator of a high-powered Illinois offense with his high-IQ playmaking and crafty scoring. Then he scored 46 at Purdue against a top-ranked team in the country — the most points by any freshman in Big Ten history. Then he kept rolling, and led the team to an unexpected Final Four appearance. Next to Garland, there’d be less pressure on him to be the man right away — which could be beneficial for his development. To become an NBA star, Wagler needs to overcome a lack of traditional athleticism after logging zero dunks as a freshman. But the best case is that his feel for the game is enough for him to continue ascending.”
The Ringer: Brayden Burries
“Somehow, the Clippers manage to come away from the Ivica Zubac trade with an exciting young talent, on top of all the other useful stuff they picked up at the deadline. But their midseason acquisition of Darius Garland makes you wonder whether they’ll shy away from the many smaller guards projected in this range. Burries, on the other hand, would be a dynamic partner for Garland who could cross-switch onto scoring guards. The Arizona freshman is a capable offensive player himself, and he could slot in immediately should they decide against re-signing Bennedict Mathurin. Burries is a winner, plain and simple, and he would hit the ground running for the Clippers.”
Well, four out of five sites currently have the Clippers taking Wagler with their pick. On first blush, Wagler is the obvious choice – he’s the tallest of the guards currently slotted in the 5-9 range on draft boards, and probably the one best suited to playing off ball (Burries is a close second). At the same time, he’s probably only mocked here so frequently precisely because he is the obvious choice on paper. In other words, I doubt any of these mocks are intel based, at least so soon after the lottery. We will see in the coming weeks, as interviews and workouts and scrimmages take place, how things adjust.
