Unsurprisingly, the NBA draft cycle stops for no one, and scouts have continued to make the summer rounds, with an eye toward the 2027 and 2028 drafts. I spent time in July and August at Nike Peach Jam and Adidas 3SSB championships in South Carolina, and Nike Academy in Los Angeles. There has also been quality summer FIBA play, with the Under-18 EuroBasket and Under-17 World Cup giving prospects a major international platform.
NBA teams are amid early preparations for the 2027 draft, a class that is viewed as down relative to recent years and one that will challenge front offices to find value in different ways. That perceived talent dip coincides with the implementation of a new lottery system that increases randomness and the possibility of picks jumping all over the board -- incentivizing teams to be familiar with the talent pool early.
The 2028 draft is looking a bit stronger at the top and has found its headliner with the emergence of Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, who scouts have begun to tab as the early No. 1 front-runner and is set to spend the next two seasons developing at Duke.
While it's still early to draw strong draft conclusions, here are some of my player takeaways from this summer, after watching players up close and on film, and continuing discussions with talent evaluators around the NBA.
2027 prospects
Stefan Joksimović, PG/SG, Baskonia
No 2027 prospect gathered more momentum this summer than Joksimović -- a player who many around the NBA have come to view as a real contender at No. 1 next year, and has clearly separated himself as the top international prospect in the class.
Joksimović has been on quite the trajectory in 2026: On the heels of winning MVP at Adidas Eurocamp in the spring, Joksimović piloted Slovenia to gold at FIBA Under-18 EuroBasket earlier this month. He was named tournament MVP, averaging 23.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists, making 54.2% of twos, 35.6% of threes and 78.1% from the line, and was hands-down the top prospect at the event. Joksimović also scored 22 points against Sweden playing for the senior team in a World Cup qualifier in June.
The son of a former Slovenian national team player, the 6-foot-7 Joksimović fits into a valuable NBA mold as a jumbo playmaking guard who can facilitate offense and excels at navigating ball screens. He's a left-handed scorer who exhibits excellent vision, smooth changes of speed with the ball in his hands, and encouraging flashes of shotmaking. While not a stopper defensively, he can grow into a good team defender long term. With his excellent positional size, skill and instincts, Joksimović has a compelling offensive base to build on.