Basketball

Aday Mara Debuts as 2026 NBA Rookie Class Takes the Floor

By Hugo Brennan

Aday Mara Debuts as 2026 NBA Rookie Class Takes the Floor

The 2026 rookie class is moving from preseason notebooks to real rotation minutes. Oklahoma City center Aday Mara was first through the door Tuesday, while Wednesday’s slate could put 12 more lottery selections on an NBA floor. Washington’s AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick, will have to wait after being ruled out of the Wizards’ opener with a left ankle sprain.

Opening-night rookie timeline

  1. Mara, the No. 12 pick, made his regular-season debut in Oklahoma City’s 116-104 road win over San Antonio on Tuesday. He finished with seven points, two rebounds, an assist and a block in just under 12 minutes. The block was a loud one: Mara denied Victor Wembanyama at the rim on an alley-oop dunk attempt, then ran the floor and finished an alley-oop on the Thunder’s next trip.

  2. Wednesday begins with Milwaukee at Washington at 7 p.m. ET on NBA League Pass. Dybantsa will miss the Wizards’ opener as day-to-day ankle trouble delays his debut. He had reached double figures in each of his four preseason appearances, with one game featuring seven rebounds, another four steals and another three assists. Milwaukee’s No. 10 pick Brayden Burries and No. 13 selection Nate Ament are set to be part of the visiting rookie group.

  3. Burries arrives after a productive preseason that flashed his scoring, passing, rebounding and defensive activity. His 19-point, five-rebound, five-assist, four-steal outing against Chicago stood out, and NBA general managers named him the draft’s biggest value selection in their 2026-27 survey.

  4. Ament was restricted to 23 preseason minutes across two games after spraining an ankle, but he is listed as probable for the Bucks’ opener.

  5. Atlanta’s Kingston Flemings opens at Orlando at 7 p.m. ET on NBA League Pass. The No. 8 pick earned strong reviews for his work habits and detail work, and his preseason play suggested he can steady a second unit: he recorded at least five assists in three of Atlanta’s five games and committed only two turnovers over the final four.

  6. Chicago rookie Caleb Wilson makes his debut in Toronto at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA League Pass. The No. 4 pick averaged 21.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per 36 minutes during the preseason while shooting 43.5 percent, doing much of his damage on drives to the basket.

  7. Brooklyn’s Mikel Brown Jr. begins against Charlotte at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA League Pass. Brown posted 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in his only preseason appearance. The Nets rookie also has Julius Randle in his corner as a veteran mentor.

  8. Charlotte sends No. 14 pick Hannes Steinbach into that Nets matchup. Steinbach closed the preseason with 19 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, giving the Hornets an encouraging look at a versatile frontcourt option.

  9. Utah’s Darryn Peterson and Memphis forward Cameron Boozer meet immediately when the Jazz visit the Grizzlies at 8 p.m. ET on NBA League Pass. Peterson, selected second, scored 23 points in his second preseason appearance and wrapped exhibition play with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists.

  10. Boozer, the No. 3 pick, enters with the physical base and broad skill package of a player who may not need a long adjustment period. He produced at least 10 points, four rebounds and two assists in each of four preseason contests. General managers picked him as their Rookie of the Year choice in the 2026-27 survey.

  11. Dallas big man Morez Johnson Jr., drafted ninth, opens at Houston at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBA League Pass. He saw limited action in two preseason games, leaving his early role as one of the rotation questions for Mavericks coach Dusty May, who also coached Johnson at Michigan.

  12. The late window features Sacramento guard Darius Acuff Jr. against the Clippers in Los Angeles at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBA League Pass. Acuff, the No. 7 pick, carried his scoring into preseason play with 19 points against the Lakers and 25 points, eight assists and four rebounds against Golden State. He made eight of 19 attempts from 3-point range in exhibition action.

  13. Clippers No. 5 pick Keaton Wagler debuts in that same Sacramento game. Los Angeles can give him developmental minutes without putting the burden of immediate winning on his shoulders.

  14. Golden State’s Yaxel Lendeborg closes the lottery-pick opening slate against the Lakers at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN. Coach Steve Kerr has said Lendeborg will have a place in the Warriors’ rotation. The No. 11 pick scored at least 17 points in four of five preseason games, capped by a 23-point, 10-rebound, six-assist line with two steals and a block in 24 minutes against Sacramento.

What to watch in the first rotation turns

The early Wednesday board offers immediate head-to-head tests for Peterson and Boozer, plus a guard matchup between Acuff and Wagler. Burries and Ament are on the same Milwaukee roster but arrive from different preseason paths, with Burries already piling up production and Ament still working back from the ankle injury.

Mara’s opening shift set a useful tone for the class: limited minutes, but a clear chance to leave a mark. For the rest of the lottery group, the first assignments will be less about preseason stat lines than whether coaches trust them with live possessions, defensive coverages and the pressure of a regular-season closing stretch.