Michigan's big three all selected in The Ringer's latest NBA mock draft

The Michigan Wolverines national championship roster will now largely get its chance to show what it can do at the next level, and the three stars that defined this year’s run are all expected to be selected in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Forwards Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr., along with center Aday Mara, were all taken in the first round of The Ringer’s latest NBA mock.

Lendeborg, an All-American and the Big Ten’s Player of the Year, led the way, going No. 13 to the Miami Heat in J. Kyle Mann’s projection.

“The Heat could probably use another creator/handler, and they have a history of finding undervalued players of that variety in this range,” he wrote. “But that might be tough in this scenario: The enticing guard prospects are unlikely to still be on the board, and any potential reaches are likely to come with troublesome questions, like lack of size, lack of efficiency, and so on. It’s likely that they’ll scoop up one of those players in the next round for better value, in typical Miami fashion. Lendeborg is a less saucy proposition, but he’s undeniably multifaceted on offense: He can be a spacer, a passer who could sync with Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, and a versatile defender who I would wager is up to the challenge of playing Miami’s brand of two-way basketball.”

Next was Mara, the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year, who was selected No. 17 overall by the Toronto Raptors.

“My friends and I played a lot of Mario Kart in college. (I whooped oceans of ass and probably still could.),” Mann quipped. “Comedy would ensue anytime a particular hot-tempered friend would be in the lead and get hit with the lightning bolt item, which shrunk all the players momentarily. This friend would then repeatedly scream, “GET BIG! GET BIG! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET BIG!” Why do I remember these things? No idea, but I’d imagine that’s also being yelled in a lot of front offices around the league. The Raptors ain’t exactly soft or scrawny, but they could use a rim protection upgrade, and a gravity-warping 5 like Mara could be an immensely helpful card to play against the more imposing front lines of the league. He anchored one of the most dominant defenses in college basketball this season while posting an astronomical block percentage. He’s also an underrated passer. Bonus: Mara has connections to Toronto’s international-savvy staff.”

Johnson rounded things out at No. 29 overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers, sending him to a potential title contender as a physical, defensive piece.”

“Unless there’s a gift-from-the-heavens type of free-falling prospect at this point in the draft, I have a hard time seeing the Cavs taking any kind of developmental bet. For a team that is trying to get its contending ball over the goal line, ready-to-roll pieces like Johnson are essential. As we saw throughout this past college season, if there’s one side of the game that he’s prepared to jump into and participate in at a high level, it’s defense. Johnson’s frame and physicality could bolster Cleveland’s frontcourt depth and give it some options if/when (probably when, let’s be honest) one of its lanky and springy bigs isn’t on the floor.”

The early entrant deadline to declare is set for April 26, while the deadline to withdraw is set for May 27th at 11:59 p.m. ET. Michigan’s Johnson and Mara have decisions to make before both of those dates, while the transfer portal is also currently open through April 19.

The 2026 NBA Draft is set for June 24-25.