2026 NBA Redraft, Week 2: Yaxel Lendeborg Takes No. 1 as Real Games Take Over
Yaxel Lendeborg holds No. 1 on the live 2026 NBA redraft even after a rough Friday, Caleb Wilson hits six threes, and Trevon Brazile sits 23 spots above his pick.
A week ago the live 2026 NBA redraft still looked a lot like draft night. Not anymore. Through the games of Oct. 30, with teams about 5.4 games into the season, what rookies have actually done on an NBA floor now drives about 80% of each player's score. Draft slot and pre-draft value still count, but they've become the tiebreaker, not the story.
Only one of the top seven sits where he was drafted. Here's the new order, plus what Friday's box scores did to it.
The new top 12
| Slot | Player | Orig. pick | vs. pick | GP | Season line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yaxel Lendeborg | 11 | +10 | 6 | 19.8 pts, 7.8 reb, 59.9 TS% |
| 2 | Caleb Wilson | 4 | +2 | 6 | 21.2 pts, 6.7 reb, 51.8 TS% |
| 3 | Cameron Boozer | 3 | 0 | 5 | 15.4 pts, 10.8 reb, 6.2 ast |
| 4 | AJ Dybantsa | 1 | -3 | 2 | 18.0 pts, 5.0 reb, 66.8 TS% |
| 5 | Darius Acuff Jr. | 7 | +2 | 5 | 24.0 pts, 6.6 ast, 46.3 TS% |
| 6 | Darryn Peterson | 2 | -4 | 5 | 12.8 pts, 4.4 reb, 46.3 TS% |
| 7 | Keaton Wagler | 5 | -2 | 5 | 14.4 pts, 4.6 reb, 54.4 TS% |
| 8 | Kingston Flemings | 8 | 0 | 6 | 6.3 pts, 4.5 ast, 53.1 TS% |
| 9 | Mikel Brown Jr. | 6 | -3 | 4 | 10.3 pts, 4.3 ast, 41.6 TS% |
| 10 | Morez Johnson Jr. | 9 | -1 | 6 | 6.3 pts, 3.3 reb, 56.7 TS% |
| 11 | Brayden Burries | 10 | -1 | 5 | 7.8 pts, 3.8 reb, 57.3 TS% |
| 12 | Trevon Brazile | 35 | +23 | 5 | 8.8 pts, 6.6 reb, 62.9 TS% |
Lendeborg survives a bad night
The most interesting thing about Yaxel Lendeborg holding No. 1 is the game he just played. Friday against the Lakers he managed 6 points on 2-of-3 shooting in 24 minutes, with 1 rebound, 5 turnovers, 6 fouls and a -20. He didn't move.
The reason is the body of work. Over six starts the 11th pick is averaging 19.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 32.0 minutes on a 59.9 true shooting percentage. His performance score of 80.1 is still the best in the class by more than seven points. He was sixth in our Oct. 29 update. One clunker doesn't erase a week of production.
Caleb Wilson lets it fly
Caleb Wilson had the best rookie night of Friday's slate: 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks in 31 minutes at Boston, going 6-of-11 from three. It bumped the fourth pick up one spot to No. 2.
He's second among rookies in scoring at 21.2 points, first in blocks at 1.5 and second in steals at 1.7, in 34.0 minutes a night. The knock is efficiency: 41.7% from the field, a 51.8 true shooting percentage and 14-of-47 from three, even after Friday.
Cameron Boozer slid one spot to No. 3 on a night he didn't play. The third pick leads all rookies with 10.8 rebounds, ranks second with 6.2 assists and owns a +56 plus-minus, by far the best among the class's heavy-minute rookies. His shot (32.4% from the field) is the only thing keeping him out of the top spot.
Dybantsa: great nights, small sample
AJ Dybantsa put up 17 points, 8 rebounds and a +7 in 30 minutes as Washington beat Charlotte 95-79, going 6-of-7 at the line. Through two games he's at 18.0 points on a 66.8 true shooting percentage.
So why is the No. 1 pick fourth? Two games aren't six. The board deliberately keeps tiny samples from swinging a player too far, so his performance score sits at 38.6 until the games pile up.
The same rule is holding back Meleek Thomas: 13.0 points on a 72.7 true shooting percentage, but only two games. The 34th pick sits at No. 27, seven spots above his slot, instead of rocketing into the teens.
The second-round crashers
Trevon Brazile is the board's biggest riser versus draft slot. The 35th pick climbed one more spot to No. 12, 23 places above where he went. Friday in Phoenix he added 6 points on 2-of-3 shooting, 3 rebounds, a steal and a block in 19 minutes. He's averaging 6.6 rebounds, fifth among rookies, with a 62.9 true shooting percentage.
Allen Graves keeps doing the same thing: in 9 minutes against Orlando he scored 7 points without missing a shot and grabbed 4 rebounds. The 19th pick is No. 14, with a 63.8 true shooting percentage and 1.0 blocks a game, third in the class.
Where the lottery guards stand
Darius Acuff Jr. leads all rookies in points (24.0), assists (6.6) and minutes (36.4), which is enough to hold No. 5 despite a 46.3 true shooting percentage and 10-of-45 from three. Darryn Peterson, the second pick, is sixth with the same 46.3 true shooting mark on lighter volume.
Friday was tough for two of them. Keaton Wagler scored 12 off the bench at Minnesota, but on 2-of-11 shooting with a -24, leaning on 7-of-8 free throws. Mikel Brown Jr. went 2-of-9 for 10 points and 4 assists against Detroit and stays at No. 9.
What to watch
Watch Dybantsa first. Every game he plays carries more weight, and if he stacks a few more nights like his first two, the fight for No. 1 becomes a three-man race. Track the per-game leaders on the rookie stats page and every slot change on the live board.
The 2026 NBA redraft re-sorts every morning with the latest games.
