What's on the line for 4 Arizona Wildcats at 2026 NBA Combine

Also, the NBA Combine could have a bigger impact on them than ever before.

Especially regarding the stay-or-go decision to be made by forward Koa Peat, who could turn the Wildcats into an instant national title contender with a return to school after the combine — or turn himself into a potential late lottery pick if he performs well and stays in the draft.

During the weeklong event at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena, which started with mostly behind-the-scenes events on Sunday, guard Jaden Bradley will get a chance to direct teams of other NBA Draft prospects in 5-on-5 games. Forward Tobe Awaka will be able to show off his intellectual curiosity in team interviews and his standout rebounding skills in games.

And guard Brayden Burries, though not expected to play in five-on-five scrimmages because his lottery-pick projection means he’d have little to gain, could help himself in team interviews, drills and measurements.

In addition, former Wildcats Henri Veesaar (who transferred to North Carolina) and Kylan Boswell (Illinois) add to the UA storyline, after both players’ performances after leaving the Wildcats may have helped them.

The combine is scheduled to include medical testing, body measurements, a variety of on-court drills and five-on-five games, while players are also subject to sometimes critical private interviews with team executives during their hours off the court. Draft prospects are required to participate in everything but the five-on-five games.

Here’s a look at what's on the line for each of the four 2025-26 Wildcats, with input from UA graduate and NBA Draft scout Matt Babcock:

Brayden Burries, SG, 6-4, age 20

2025-26 stats: 16.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 39.1 3FG%

Estimated draft range: 5-11

What’s at stake: Because Burries played so well as his freshman season went on, becoming the Wildcats’ leading scorer and helping lead them into the Final Four, his fate now might rest with some ping-pong balls as much as anything.  That is, how the Draft Lottery shaped out Sunday lined up exactly what teams could be looking to take him high in the first round.

“I think (the lottery) will be really important for him,” Babcock says. “With the grouping of the mid to late lottery, there's a ton of guards … even though they have some similarities, all the guys are very different from one another, and the teams are splitting hairs over them.

"So the little stuff matters here — the physical testing and the interviews. The on-court stuff, I don't think it’s that important at this stage for a guy like him. We all know what his talents are.”

Koa Peat, PF, 6-8, age 19

2025-26 stats: 14.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 52.8 FG%

Estimated draft range: 11-26

What's at stake: Peat enters the combine right at where stay-or-go decisions are the trickiest these days — with the resume to command a pick late in the teens or early 20s ... or an NIL contract in college that will pay roughly the same.

Assuming the decision doesn’t get easier this week — that he doesn’t get a promise from a team to draft him at 20 or higher — Peat will also have other factors to consider.

Among them, evaluating whether he wants to jump into the NBA now to start his clock off the rookie salary scale so he can earn potentially more lucrative contracts earlier in his career, or whether it's more appealing to return to school, improve his skillset and wait to jump into a 2027 draft that does not appear as loaded with talent.

Peat could have a much better chance to become a lottery pick in 2027 than this year, and his name might stick on basketball fans’ mind more with another run deep into the NCAA Tournament than as a developing 19-year-old rookie in the NBA. Building their brand, players and agents call it now.

Money might not be a factor. Though the 2026-27 rookie salary scale is not set yet, a rookie picked 20th in last season’s draft was scheduled to earn a guaranteed two-year deal worth $7.5 million — and Peat could command up to $5 million alone next season on the open college market, according to analytics guru Evan Miyakawa. (Whether UA could pay him that much appears unlikely, but the school could probably compete with the NBA salary of a lower first-round pick.)

“I think it probably will be somewhat of a wash financially for Koa,” Babcock said. “I think the biggest difference in going back is being the focal point of the offense, and even if he doesn't really necessarily elevate his stock, I think he would move up by default, just because of next year's draft.”

Peat is not expected to participate in the 5-on-5 games and isn’t expected to help himself in drills or testing other than what scouts already know. So much of the action could become behind the scenes, maybe in moments he isn’t even there for.

“There's a big difference between being projected in a range, and it being guaranteed” by a team, Babcock says. “I'm assuming his agents are trying to get a guarantee. Sometimes that's easier said than done, to actually get a team to give you a backstop.”

Jaden Bradley, PG, 6-3, age 22

2025-26 stats: 13.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.4 apg, 39.4 3FG%

Estimated draft range: 41-58

What’s at stake: NBA Combine scrimmages can be a mixed bag for evaluators, since the best prospects don’t play, and frontcourt players can sometimes get overshadowed by ball-dominant guards aiming to impress scouts.

But as a point guard who has played four years of college basketball and tested the NBA Draft twice already, Bradley has the opportunity to show off his veteran leadership and playmaking skills while running teams full of other top prospects.

In other words, he’ll be one of the key guys to watch when ESPN televises the five-on-five scrimmages: Does his team get better when he’s on the floor, as the Wildcats did, and how smoothly can he direct teammates with only a short time to get used to them?

Also, Babcock said, Bradley can help himself with his maturity in interviews with teams.

“It’s just kind of seeing how much he's progressed as a leader and maturity. All those things, I think, will help him,” Babcock said. “Having the big stage of being in a professional environment, seeing how he does — if he plays well, it can move the needle.

“The second round this year is gonna be filled with a bunch of seniors. It’s sort of an open board, if you will, so I think the week in Chicago might separate him from some of these other guys.”

Tobe Awaka, PF, 6-8, age 22

2025-26 stats: 9.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 58.7 FG%, 20.2 OR%

Estimated draft range: N/A

What’s at stake: Not listed on the major mock drafts and ranking only No. 85 on ESPN’s list of eligible NBA Draft prospects, Awaka nevertheless intrigued NBA executives enough that he earned one of 73 invites for the combine, most likely because of his rebounding skills.

When NBA teams get a closer look at him this week, Awaka will be expected to impress, if nothing else, with his intelligence both on and off the court. Awaka led Division I in offensive rebounding percentage, combining ferocity with his knack for getting in the right place at the right time, and also was known for reading heavyweight novels and studying the stock market.

So if NBA teams want to dive into Dostoevsky in their sometimes off-beat interviews, Awaka’s their guy.

“I think what he does well is very apparent,” Babcock said. “He's just a physical force, a hard worker, blue collar type of guy. And the more you learn about him as a person, his intelligence and his character, I think teams are probably going to see him as a guy who could fill out a roster, be at the end of the bench and be a locker-room type of guy.”