The 2026 OTE Guide to the NBA Draft

The 2026 NBA Draft is set to begin tomorrow night at and OTE will be well represented with three former OTE standouts projected to be selected in the first round. Prior to this year’s draft, OTE has already produced an abundance of NBA talent with five former NBA draft picks including four players selected in the first round over the last three years 🔥

Mikel Brown Jr.

📍 OTE Team: Cold Hearts

📍 Years at OTE: 2023-24

📍 Projected Draft Range: Lottery Pick

Mikel Brown Jr. is looking to become the fifth OTE alumni to be selected in the NBA draft lottery joining an elite group of former OTE greats in Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, Alex Sarr and Rob Dillingham. After spending the last year at Louisville, Brown Jr. comes into the NBA draft as an elite guard prospect who is known for his ability to score from anywhere on the floor 🐦

Brown Jr. played for the Cold Hearts during the 2023-24 season where he immediately established himself as one of the premiere players the league has ever seen. After an outstanding season in which he averaged 13.4 PPG and 5.4 APG, Brown Jr. was named to the All-OTE Second Team. Brown Jr. led the Cold Hearts to a third place finish in the regular season and helped get the team all the way to the semi-finals 🥶

Jayden Quaintance

📍 OTE Team: Holy Rams

📍 Years at OTE: 2022-23

📍 Projected Draft Range: Mid to Late First Round

Jayden Quaintance is a dynamic big man who is considered one of the best defensive prospects in the entire draft. Quaintance played his sophomore year at Kentucky, however, he missed most of the season as he recovered from a torn ACL 😤

Quaintance played for one year at OTE where he suited up for the Holy Rams and established himself as one of the most dominant big men the league has ever seen with some of his records still holding to this day. Quaintance holds the three highest records for most shots blocked in a game in OTE history, recording two separate games of nine blocks. He also holds the record for the most blocks in a single season with 58 blocks and despite playing in just 19 games he still sits in the top five for the most blocks in a career 🖐️ 

Meleek Thomas

📍 OTE Team: City Reapers

📍 Years at OTE: 2024-25

📍 Projected Draft Range: Late First Round

Meleek Thomas is a well-rounded scorer who is still just scratching the surface of the all-around player that he can become. Thomas played one year at Arkansas where he played an integral role in helping the Razorbacks make the Sweet 16 🐗

Thomas is one of the most decorated and accomplished single season players in OTE history. After a magical season in which he led the City Reapers to the OTE Finals, Thomas finished as the runner-up for the OTE MVP award. In that season Thomas scored 673 points which at the time was the most any player had scored in a single season in OTE history 🤩

You can follow along with Meleek Thomas and other NBA draft prospects on Overtime’s YouTube channel 📱

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