Clippers Select Keaton Wagler With the 5th Pick in the 2026 NBA Draft

With the 5th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Clippers selected Keaton Wagler, a Point Guard from The University of Illinois.

Wagler averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.8 turnovers in 33.9 minutes per game while shooting 44.5/39.7/79.6 shooting splits.

Once the Clippers got the 5th pick on Draft Lottery night, Wagler was the mostly consensus pick for the team, and that never really wavered. The Clippers’ selection of Wagler makes sense – of any of the top-ranked point guards, he’s the tallest at 6’5, and the fact that he was able to add 20 pounds to his frame in the past year bodes well for him being able to fill out and guard non point guards in future years.

Wagler’s pluses are simple – he’s a very good shooter, ballhandler, and passer, and led the Illini to a Final Four finish in the NCAA Tournament and the best offense in the entirety of college basketball as a freshman. He can create shots for himself and others, and is a smart processor who doesn’t make many mistakes.

The downsides to Wagler are equally simple. He’s not very fast or explosive for an NBA player, much less a lead guard. He notoriously had zero dunks the entirety of his college season – not a red flag, per se, but certainly a curiosity. There are thus questions about his ability to break down NBA defenses off the dribble and create his own shots consistently against top-ranked perimeter defenders.

The good news for Wagler is that because of his shooting, he should be able to play off Darius Garland on offense, and can be brought into heavier ballhandling duties slowly. It might have been a really tough adjustment for Wagler if he was thrown into the deep end right away – instead, he will probably come off the bench and get reps at a more steady level.

Ultimately, I was fine with the Clippers selecting either Wagler or Mikel Brown Jr. (who went 6th to the Nets). There are other prospects who I like just as much as them, but factoring in the Garland fit, those were the two that stood out as logical choices, and I think both have the potential for stardom.

We will have more about Wagler in a few days once the dust settles (and the Clippers also have two more picks to make tomorrow in the second round!), but for right now, give him a warm welcome to the Clippers!