While the Sixers continue to search for a new president of basketball operations, the 2026 NBA Draft quickly approaches. Bob Myers said he hopes to have the next hire in place before the draft. Even if he’s able to do so, that new president will have less than a month to prepare for the selection the Sixers have to make with the 22nd pick of the first round, courtesy of the Houston Rockets.
This blog is cooking up its own thoughts on what the Sixers should do with that pick. Now that the draft combine
is in the rearview mirror, here’s a roundup of what some of the other experts think the Sixers will do.
Allen Graves, PF, Santa Clara
As is often the case with picks this late in the draft, there isn’t a consensus for who goes at No. 22. Graves is currently the closest thing to that, being mocked to the Sixers by both Ricky O’Donnell of SB Nation and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.
At 6-foot-7, Graves profiles as a high-feel, low athleticism forward who was a 40% three-point shooter this past season for Santa Clara. Those reasons were easy for the experts to point to as reasons he’d slot right in to this Sixers team. O’Donnell pointed out that Graves’ proclivity to try to force turnovers can be valuable, though he struggles to stay out of foul trouble.
Either way, that seems like a player Nick Nurse would be very interested in. This blog will certainly have more thoughts on Graves as the draft nears.
Karim Lopez, SF, New Zealand Breakers
This international prospect has showed up all over the place across mocks, most recently going to the Sixers at 22 in Derek Parker’s latest mock for Sports Illustrated. Lopez, a 6-foot-9 forward, appears to be a bigger swing at the wing position.
Parker said of Lopez:
“Breakers’ forward Karim Lopez is a bet on a positionally malleable player able to spread production across several areas.
Lopez has a wide range as a player that produced at a high level in a pro league, but doesn’t offer the neon light flashiness that others do. He scored 11.9 points per game in the NBL, upping his points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and efficiency across the board.“
The New Zealand Breakers actually played the Sixers in the preseason last year back in October 2024, but Lopez, just 17 at the time, was a DNP-CD.
Chris Cenac Jr., PF, Houston
What’s become locally known as the “most Bob Myers pick,” Cenac is mocked to the Sixers by Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman. Cenac averaged 9.5 points and 7.9 rebounds playing 24.8 minutes per game in his lone season at Houston.
Bleacher Report offers pro comparisons on their mocks. Cenac’s, per Wasserman, was Bobby Portis, so take that for what it’s worth. Wasserman also had this to say:
“Despite flaws in Chris Cenac’s statistical profile, there will be teams willing to bet on a 19-year-old with his 6’10” (barefoot) size, 7’5″ wingspan, 240-pound frame, shooting confidence and motor. He’ll be a popular reach candidate for teams looking to fill gaps and aren’t concerned with finding high-upside scorers.“
Luigi Suigo, C, KK Megabasket
This is definitely an out there selection. Suigo shows up in the early second round of most mock drafts, but this is who Kevin O’Conner of Yahoo has the Sixers picking at 22. O’Connor has been big on the Sixers acquiring a center to eat more innings for Joel Embiid — he was big on the Sixers selecting Khaman Maluach early in last year’s draft.
With Michigan center Aday Mara and Washington’s Hannes Steinbach shooting up the boards post-combine, Suigo would be the only option at 22 if the Sixers wanted to take a center there. Sugio has played three years of pro ball in Europe, but only really saw playing time last year for Serbia’s KK Megabasket. In 16 minutes a night he averaged 8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.
There may not be many others beating this drum, but O’Connor sees a lofty upside for Suigo.
“As for this choice, finding a center to play behind Joel Embiid needs to be prioritized. Embiid simply cannot be trusted to stay on the floor. Suigo has said he wants to be the Italian Wemby and, at 7-foot-3 with passing feel and shooting touch, you can see why a teenager might put that out into the universe. Suigo lacks the handle and self-creation chops to ever be the best player on a team, but his dynamic skills as a passer, shooter and lob threat layer cleanly on top of baseline center duties as a screener, finisher and rim protector. Becoming the Italian Marc Gasol is a more realistic goal and would be a dream fit alongside Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe for many years to come.”
