The Nets drafted Louisville freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. with the No. 6 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, their highest pick since selecting Derrick Favors in 2003.
Brown averaged 18.2 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in his lone season for Louisville.
He is one of three players — along with Steph Curry and Trae Young — since 2008 to tally an assist percentage over 30, shot 84 percent from the foul line, notch a free-throw rate over 35 percent and take at least 14 3s per 100 possessions.
The Nets selected him one pick ahead of Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr. in a move that likely will be srutinized for years to come.
Brooklyn heartbreakingly earned the No. 6 pick in the draft despite holding the joint-best odds to win the No. 1 selection after a season that ended with the third-worst record in the NBA (20-62).
Prior to the lottery, Brooklyn had a 41% chance of being in the top three and just a 26% chance of falling to No. 6.
This marked the second year in a row they dropped, having selected No. 8 in the 2025 NBA Draft despite posting a 26-56 record.
In 2026, though, the slide was even more brutal as the Nets missed out on a stacked top four in AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer and Caleb Wilson.
It was a consensus that Dybantsa, Peterson and Boozer would go in the top three in some order, and they ultimately went in that exact sequence to the Wizards, Jazz and Grizzlies, respectively.
Caleb Wilson, just one tier below the top three, was also expected to land with the Bulls at No. 4 and that’s exactly what transpired.
After the first four, though, there was no way to predict where the draft would go or who the best remaining prospect was.
There was talk of the Nets using their draft capital to move up to get one of the franchise-changing prospects, but they ultimately did not.
However, Brooklyn did trade Monday for former Knicks standout Julius Randle in a three-way trade that also landed them the No. 28 pick.
Brown, Acuff, Keaton Wagler, Nate Ament and Kingston Flemings had all been mocked to Brooklyn, and the Nets’ decision was narrowed down with the Clippers’ pick of Wagler at No. 5.
Their newest piece will join the Nets’ five first-round picks from 2025 in what will be one of the youngest teams in the NBA once again.
