With the 10th pick of the 2026 NBA Draft, the Milwaukee Bucks have selected Arizona guard Brayden Burries, whose offensive versatility and toughness should immediately translate to the pro level.
Burries, a 6-foot-4 combo guard, made the most of his one season at Arizona, leading the Wildcats to their first Final Four in 25 years while earning All-Big 12 First Team honors.
Burries averaged a team-high 16.1 points along with 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists across 39 games. He shot 49.1 percent from the
field, including 39.1 percent from three-point range.
A former McDonald’s All-American out of Roosevelt High School in Eastvale, California, Burries arrived at Arizona with high expectations. Initially overshadowed by fellow freshman Koa Peat, Burries soon established himself as the top offensive threat on one of the premier teams in the nation.
As a three-level scorer, Burries is comfortable in catch-and-shoot situations and has a knack for initiating and finishing through contact. Burries converted 64 percent of his attempts at the rim and shot 67 percent on two-point attempts.
Burries is also successful at scoring at the free throw line; in college he shot 80.5 percent from the charity stripe.
Measuring 215 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine, Burries is as well built as they come. Burries’ physical maturity reflects his age – he’ll turn 21 in September, making him the oldest players in the 2025-26 freshman class.
At Arizona, Burries played alongside a lead guard in Jaden Bradley, and he’ll likely be cast as an off-ball guard in the pros. The off-ball role fits Burries, as he isn’t particularly adept at running plays.
A finalist for the Jerry West Award – college basketball’s top shooting guard – Burries is better suited to come off screens and catch and shoot. He posted a respectable 2.4 assist to 1.5 turnover ratio at Arizona.
Defensively, Burries can guard multiple positions and does so with high energy. He led the Wildcats with 1.5 steals per game.
Burries improved as a rebounder during his time in college. His rebounding average increased to 6.1 per game in Big 12 player, and he posted double doubles against Kansas, Cincinnati and Utah.
Burries became the second Arizona player in the last 30 years to post 20 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 0 turnovers in a game when he did it against Kansas on February 28.
Burries doesn’t have as high ceiling as the guards that went ahead of him in the draft, namely due to his size and average athleticism. Burries lacks the explosiveness needed to be a true playmaker.
Burries nevertheless has won at every level he’s played. In high school he led Roosevelt to a California state championship, and at Arizona he was instrumental to the Wildcats setting a program-record 36 wins and a sweep of the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles.
Burries scored in double figures in all five of Arizona’s NCAA Tournament games, leading the team with 16.8 points per game. Facing Arkansas in the Sweet 16, Burries went head-to-head with Darius Acuff, scoring 23 points on 7 of 11 shooting in a 109-88 win.
Burries comes from an athletic lineage, as both his parents played basketball at Cal State San Bernadino, while his mom also played softball at Tennessee. Burries inherited a strong competitive demeanor as well as an elite basketball IQ.
