The Brooklyn Nets have the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft after the Lottery did not go the way they were hoping for after a 20-62 record this season. Brooklyn has been linked to various players over the course of this pre-draft process, but even with intel indicating that the Nets are interested in multiple players, there is one player usually mocked to them.
“Acuff is a true point guard who scores at will and bombs from three at 44 percent, and his question mark is on whether his defensive effort can become average enough to keep him on the floor,” HoopsHype’s Cyro Asseo wrote on Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. In Asseo’s latest aggregate mock draft, Acuff is projected by multiple outlets to land with the Nets despite plenty of speculation regarding which players they’re interested in at this time.
“Egor Demin and Acuff could be an interesting future backcourt for the Nets. Pro scout on Acuff: ‘Bro, he is a bomber. Out of all the guards, he might have the highest ceiling,'” Asseo continued on Acuff. According to Asseo, Acuff’s stock seems to be pretty consistent given that most mock drafts have him coming off the board as early as No. 6 and as late as No. 7.
Acuff is coming off a spectacular season with the Razorbacks in which he averaged 23.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 44.0% from behind the three-point line. While Acuff’s defensive ability is being called into question, being measured at 6-foot-3 with a 6-foot-7 wingspan seems to bode well for his capacity to be a serviceable defender despite being on the smaller side.
The Nets have been linked to Acuff, but they have also been connected to players like Michigan center Aday Mara and Tennessee forward Nate Ament by insiders like Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin O’Connor, for example. Brooklyn has until Jun. 23 to make a decision on who they will be taking with the No. 6 pick, but at the moment, the signs are leaning towards them going with Acuff to be their offensive engine.
Also, with Cyro Asseo pointing out that the Kings are trying to trade up in the 2026 NBA Draft to get Arkansas G Darius Acuff Jr., it looks like there could be a deal to be had between the Kings and Nets if Brooklyn wants to trade down.
the Kings trying to trade up for Acuff,
— Sharif Phillips-Keaton (@SharifKeaton) June 12, 2026
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets projected by most to take Darius Acuff Jr. in 2026 NBA Draft
