Dailyn Swain projected to go in the first round in ESPN's latest NBA mock draft

Texas forward Dailyn Swain declared for the NBA Draft on April 7 but reportedly kept the option of returning to college open. With Texas’ recent moves in the portal, moves that resulted in On3’s No. 15 portal class along with Rivals’ No. 15 2026 recruiting class, it does not appear as if Sean Miller‘s program is operating with the expectation that Swain will be wearing burnt orange in 2026-27. That’s a smart notion, as ESPN’s Jeremy Woo projected that the Denver Nuggets would select Swain with the 26th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft in his most recent mock.

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Here’s what Woo had to say about Swain.

Swain is one of the most physically gifted wings in this class and has built a solid first-round case after putting together his most complete college season. He is a strong slasher and projects as a plus perimeter defender but is still coming into his own on the offensive end. Teams will be curious to further assess his inconsistent shooting (34.8% from 3, but an encouraging 81.3% from the line) in workouts, a key long-term area for growth that gives him room to rise up the board.

Denver continues to try to optimize its supporting cast around Nikola Jokic on the margins and could lose Peyton Watson in free agency. Swain’s positional size and defensive versatility would be an appealing fit here.

Last year, Swain averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game on a Longhorns team that advanced to the Sweet 16 in Miller’s first year as head coach at Texas. Swain followed Miller from Xavier to Texas after two years with the Musketeers where he averaged 8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per contest. Swain was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection this past season and earned the league’s newcomer of the year award.

Though NIL has kept more star players in college for longer in recent years, the potential of a first-round selection remains tantalizing for NBA prospects. Plus, the money in the league is still green. The NBA has a rookie scale system for its draft picks and in 2025 the salary associated with the No. 26 pick was $2.4 million according to RealGM. First round picks can sign for as much as 120% and as little as 80% of the rookie scale. The $2.4 million number was about a $50,000 increase from 2024, so a number approaching $2.5 million per year is likely in the cards for that selection in the 2026 draft. The salary would increase by about $100,000 in between year one and year two, then again between year two and year three. Teams have a fourth-year option on first-round picks.

The dates to know (via the NBA) are as it pertains to the pre-draft process are…

• May 8-10: AWS NBA G League Combine in Chicago
• May 10: 2026 NBA Draft Lottery
• May 10-17: AWS NBA Draft Combine in Chicago
• June 13: Deadline for an Early Entry player to withdraw from 2026 NBA Draft (4 p.m. CT)
• June 23: NBA Draft First Round
• June 24: NBA Draft Second Round

The Longhorns have had 20 first-round selections in program history dating back to LaSalle Thompson in 1982. The most recent first-round pick from the program was Tre Johnson, who went No. 6 overall to Washington in the 2025 NBA draft. Other NBA first-rounders since 2015 include Mo Bamba, Jaxson Hayes, Myles Turner, Kai Jones, and Jarrett Allen.

According to ESPN, Swain has a strong opportunity to be No. 21 and Miller’s first at Texas.