The first handful of games were bumpy, but by the end of the 2025-26 season Brayden Burries had established himself as Arizona’s go-to scorer by showing off the skill set that made him a highly coveted pro prospect.
Burries will now take those skills to the next level, officially declaring for the 2026 NBA Draft on Friday. He joins fellow UA freshman Koa Peat as one-and-done players from the Wildcats’ Final Four squad.
The 6-foot-4 Burries led Arizona in scoring at 16.1 points per game, adding 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 39.1 percent from 3-point range and 80.5 percent from the line. His 626 points were second-most by a freshman in school history, and he also finished in the top five among UA freshmen in 3s (70, tied for 2nd), steals (59, 3rd) and field goals (210, 3rd).
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A starter in all 39 games, Burries fouled out of his first college game in only 17 minutes and scored just 39 minutes over the first six contests before finding his form. He had 14 games of 20 or more points, seven in conference play including a career-high 31 against Colorado in the regular season finale, then scored 21 in the Big 12 Tournament final against Houston before averaging 16.8 per game in the NCAA Tournament.
Burries is widely projected to be a lottery pick, which would be the second in as many years from Arizona after Carter Bryant went 14th to the San Antonio Spurs last June. The last time Arizona had lottery picks in consecutive drafts was 2017-18 (Lauri Markannen and Deandre Ayton).
The deadline to declare for the 2026 NBA Draft is Friday at midnight ET, and two other UA players could also put their names in the mix. Decisions have yet to be announced by junior center Motiejus Krivas or freshman wing Ivan Kharchenkov.
