(New York) — The Big Ten’s two most powerful basketball programs from last season were highlighted in the 2026 NBA Draft.

On Tuesday night, three players from Michigan’s national championship squad were selected in the first dozen picks. Morez Johnson, Jr. went with the ninth selection to Dallas. Fellow forward Yaxel Lendeborg was the 11th pick, taken by Golden State and center Aday Mara was the #12 choice, going to Oklahoma City.

After transferring from Illinois, Johnson quickly became a key piece of Michigan’s national championship team, starting all 40 games and averaging 13.1 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds.  Lendeborg was the Big Ten Player of the Year last season, averaging a team-high 15.1 points to go along with 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.  Mara transferred to Michigan from UCLA, becoming the first Spaniard to win an NCAA national championship. In his lone season with the Wolverines, he averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists while playing in all 40 contests.

It’s the first time Michigan has had three first-round picks since the 1990 NBA Draft,

Wednesday night, two players from Big Ten champion Purdue heard their names called. All-time NCAA assists leader Braden Smith gets his shot with the Indiana Pacers, while Trey Kaufman-Renn was one of the final picks of the draft, going 59th to Minnesota.

Smith is the all-time NCAA assists leader, but his 6-foot size made him a question mark for many teams. The Chicago Bulls drafted Smith with the 38th pick, but immediately dealt him to the Pacers for Kam Jones, future picks and cash.

Kaufman-Renn was a three-year starter at Purdue, and improved his stock for the draft with what he showed at NBA pre-draft workouts.

Both Smith and Kaufman-Renn were on the Indiana All-Star team when South Bend Adams’ boss Chad Johnston was head coach.