Spike's Much-Anticipated YouTube Big Board

The draft is tomorrow night apparently? Crazy.

Jun 22, 2026

The NBA Draft is tomorrow night, and the off-season is actually flying.

Some people are calling this August. It ain’t even CLOSE to August yet. You think this is August?

Man, we have the NBA Draft tomorrow night. We’ve got free agency next week. Then we’ve got Summer League. THEN there is August (starting mid-July). That’s when things start to get a little weird on The Ricky. So if you’ve got a relationship advice question, get ‘em in now.

The YouTube Big Board was actually born in this format. I’m not sure when we started doing it on the podcast, but when I first started doing it, it was just a website post. The setup is this: I don’t watch college basketball. I’m not interested in it at all. So before the draft, (like almost everyone), I catch up on the players watching YouTube highlights. I’ve had some hits and some misses, and some mispronunciations (shout out OG and Jakucionis).

It is not Sixers-centric, in the way that there are many players here that either wouldn’t fit the team and/or won’t be there at the 22nd pick anyway. But it is Sixers-centric in that I’d like to have any of these players on the Sixers. (If you want a more specifically Sixers-centric draft preview, check out Beckett’s looks at the guards, wings and bigs who could be both available and of interest for us this year.)

Here’s my top nine guys, in roughly descending order.

No. 9: Darius Acuff (Arkansas) - BUCKETS! I’ve seen this guy’s name pop up a lot on Twitter, and it seems like people fight about him. True bucket getter, doesn’t matter how many people are guarding him. Seems like a pretty good passer. Definitely has guts. If I’m being honest with myself, this guy would have been like #2 or #1 on the YTBB a decade ago, but they almost always bust. Still love ‘em anyway

No. 8: Mikell Brown (Louisville) - Whoa, this guy is fast as hell. Great handle. Exciting passer. Is he kind of like John Wall? Kind of skinny. I don’t know. He’s very fast. Also kind of reminds me of Lillard or Derrick Rose. The shot doesn’t look great. How do these guys get this far in their careers without being able to shoot (not sure if he can shoot just looks iffy).

No. 7: Baba Miller (Cincinnati) - I don’t know, I kind of love this guy. He’s enormous, but handles the ball and moves like a wing. I bet he could be really good on defense too. It’s hard to say who he is like, but it looks like there could be a monster defender in there. I can’t think of a comp for him. There must be something wrong with him because I haven’t heard anyone bring him up (aside from a throwaway mention at the end of our last pod by Mike and Kyle). People are missing out.

No. 6: Jayden Quaintance (Kentucky) - The truth is, if I had never talked with Mike on the pod about this guy, he’d be No. 2 or No. 1. But I talked about him, and I found out about his knee, and it seems like the knee is still a problem. There is a part of me that is basically like, “I don’t care how good this guy is, I just want people who can actually play.” And then there’s another part of me that is like, “this guy is a fucking MONSTER.” I can imagine him dunking and patrolling the paint for a decade. Do you see how he moves for a guy this big?

No. 5: Darryn Peterson (Kansas) - Gets his shot off quickly. Explosive at the rim. Makes tough shots. Seems pretty polished offensively. He also seems like the perfect two-guard size. He kind of seems like a more explosive Devin Booker? This guy is going to be great. Unless there is something wrong with him, physically or upstairs, seems like a can’t-miss.

No. 4: Kingston Flemmings (Houston) - Love that he’s super fast but is not always playing that way. Looks like he uses his speed the right way and changes it up. He’s a good passer. He has a great idea of space on offense. Shot is a little janky from three but hey we’ve been there before.

No. 3: Caleb Wilson (North Carolina) - HELLO! I love this guy. He’s 6’10”?! Can you imagine when he fills out his frame? He’s already pretty powerful and athletic. Really comfortable dribbling for a guy his size as well. Not any highlights of him shooting threes. Moves incredibly on the perimeter and protects the rim. Holy shit man, love this guy.

No. 2: Labaron Philon (Alabama) - He looks like Jalen Brunson with hops. I love this guy (and so does the Statman). He’s got a bag and a handle and can get to the rim and finish in a bunch of ways. He’s doesn’t have to blow by defenders, he can sort of snake his way to the rim. Can also shoot.

No. 1 - Cam Boozer (Duke) - This is a veteran pick here. I know, he’s not at all a YouTube Big Board guy. He’s not explosive. He’s not a bucket getter. He’s not flying around all over the place. What is clear, however, is that he is going to be the best NBA player out of all of these guys, most likely. He’s quite obviously the best basketball player of the bunch, and the sport they’re being drafted to play is basketball. I’m quite certain people are like, “ah I worry about him defending on the perimeter at the next level,” or whatever they say about guys like this. He’s just obviously good.