Welcome to Upside and Motor, a weekly NBA Draft column dedicated to analyzing the next wave of basketball stars, from blue blood sensations to those flying under the radar.
Over this past weekend, I attended the Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta, which is comprised primarily of various breeds of rock and roll (with some independent, hip hop and other strains of that gorgeous, amorphous sonic concept we call "music"). For some godforsaken reason, it has inspired me to ask the question: which rock songs best define or align with the top prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft? I might be the only person asking this question, and I am not exactly qualified as a music critic or theorist, but I shall nonetheless endeavor to answer this question for all of you reading here today. Because here at FanSided, we like fun, and we like fandom, and there aren't two more universal forces of good (or emotional distress) in this world than sports and music.
I am going to take a very broad and, to some, probably unrefined definition of "rock." But this is about fun, about celebrating the things that bring us together, so we needn't fuss over the details of what qualifies as a rock song and what qualifes as "new wave" or whatnot. This is basically just your heads up that DEVO and Talking Heads will be getting a shout.
I am going to focus on the top 10 prospects on my ever-evolving big board, which is sure to change dramatically as the season unfolds. Maybe we can revisit this closer to the actual draft. Maybe not. Life is but one great mystery, they say. Right?
Let's dive in. Happy reading — and listening.
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10. Labaron Philon, guard, Alabama — "Playing God" by Paramore
Labaron Philon was viewed as a potential first-round pick this summer, but he couldn't gain enough traction with NBA scouts to feel good about declaring. He decided, at the last possible second and after weeks of proclaiming his professional intentions, to return to Alabama for a sophomore campaign.
This is Philon's chance to put all the doubts to bed and really solidify his case to scouts. If you ask me, he's a legitimate lottery talent with the potential to seriously upend expectations as the leader of a very good Crimson Tide team.
"Playing God" is a song about an emotionally manipulative ex who just doesn't seem to get it. Whose projections and false narratives are misguided — heck, harmful. "So I don't go where you don't want me / You say that I've been changing / That I'm not just simply aging / Yeah, how could that be logical? / You just keep cramming ideas down my throat."
Philon will finally get a chance to break free from the narratives of last season — that he's not enough of a point guard, that he can't space the floor, that he's too unconventional to stick at the next level — and tell NBA scouts that he is here, and he is ready to render star-level impact not only in college, but in the pros.
9. Koa Peat, forward, Arizona — "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance
Koa Peat has been one of the more roundly dominant prospects in the 2026 class. He has thrived at all levels of amateur competition, with a mature frame and a high IQ that have allowed him to batter weaker high school defenders and out-smart his more touted peers. But therein lies the problem for some: Peat operates with an old-school, some would say out-of-touch style.
Peat will bang for buckets in the post, bury defenses with a deadeye mid-range jumper, and generally come up with physical stops on defense. But he's not a standout athlete — he's not the slickest lateral mover or the most explosive vertical leaper. He has never been a high-volume shooter beyond the arc, and his critics will tell you his success against high school competition might not translate so seamlessly to college. Certainly not to the NBA.
"Teenagers" is a song about how the establishment doesn't really like or understand teenagers, and in a sense, Peat is one of the most accomplished teenagers in recent basketball history. He has a laundry list of achievements and a pretty undeniable track record, although all some seem to do is deny it.
He might not fit into the boxes we like to place our "modern" NBA prospects. He marches to the beat of his own drum, and in many ways, the issues My Chemical Romance elucidate in their smash hit are timeless. There is always a built-in layer of skepticism around the new generation. Peat does not ascribe to all the ideals of basketball past and there are a lot of evaluators who are hesitant to embrace such a singular, nonstandard prospect in this ever-changing world. But change seldom manifests exactly how we think it will, and most of the time, it's those unique and unexpected forces who find a way to stand out in the annals of history.
8. Karim Lopez, wing, Mexico — "That's Pep!" by DEVO
Mexican wing Karim López enters his second season in the NBL's Next Stars program, playing for the New Zealand Breakers. He was a solid contributor last season in an extremely physical pro league, which is a huge credit to López, in terms of both skill and mentality. He handled the rigors of Australian basketball and came out stronger. He should only build on that success in his age-18 season.
López won't reinvent the wheel. He's what every team is looking for on the wing nowadays — a sharp two-way player who guards all over the place on defense and provides a varied scoring threat on offense. He still needs to hit more 3s, but López plays with an appreciable fire and he's not afraid to get dirty. He's built stronger than your average 18-year-old and he's a malleable athlete on defense, rangy enough to protect the rim from the weak side or manhandle point guards on the perimeter.
DEVO's whole project is based around the concept of human devolution. More specifically, however, "That's Pep!" is a song — on the surface, at least — about a blue-collar approach to life. About a man who is willing to take on the hardest challenges, who rolls with the punches and never gets discouraged.
It makes itself out as a very sweet song, and it fits López's vibe as a prospect. He's going to do the small things to help a team win game. "Vigor, vim, vitality and punch / The ability to act on a sudden hunch / Nerve to tackle the hardest thing / Feet that climb and hands that cling."
"That's Pep!" is actually a parody of America's absurd industrial culture, but for our purposes, we can watch López and heartily agree: that's pep!
7. Jayden Quaintance, big, Kentucky — "Authority Song" by John Mellencamp
"Authority Song" wears its heart and its ideas on its sleeve. It's a pretty straightforward rebellion against the establishment, with John Mellencamp defiantly stating that "I fight authority / Authority always wins." But he keeps fighting, and that's the point.
It feels suitable to a prospect like Jayden Quaintance, who is the preeminent dawg of the 2026 draft class, even if he took his talents to Lexington instead of Athens. Quaintance is a timeless defensive wizard — a 6-foot-9 springboard athlete with a gaping wingspan and a ceaseless motor who brings the fight to his opponent each and every night.
He spent last season at Arizona State as a 17-year-old, too young to be eligible for the draft. Despite being the youngest player in college basketball, Quaintance's impact was deeply felt — at least, up until a torn ACL cut his season short. He averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 29.5 minutes for the Sun Devils, converting 52.5 percent of his shot attempts.
There are real questions about how Quaintance's limited offensive skill set will translate to the next level, especially as an undersized center, but he's such a remarkable defender that it's hard to bump him too far down the board. He has a chance to become a perennial All-Defense candidate at the next level with his lateral agility, preternatural timing and robust physicality.
It wouldn't shock me if Quaintance listened to "Authority Song" before every game to get in the right headspace. Sometimes the bad guy still wins, but Quaintance is all grit and grind, with a laser focus on conquering the challenges his opponents lay out before him on a nightly basis.
6. Bennett Stirtz, guard, Iowa — "Swing, Swing" by The All-American Rejects
This is probably more of a feelings-based pick than a thematic pick, but "Swing, Swing" feels like an appropriate anthem for Bennett Stirtz, already the most under-appreciated prospect in the 2026 class. A lot of folks picked up on what Stirtz and head coach Ben McCollum were cooking at Drake last season, especially once it culminated with a brief March Madness run, but even still, Stirtz feels like a sleeping giant.
All your standard concerns are valid. He's a 22-year-old point guard with non-elite athleticism, a negligible wingspan and a complicated defensive profile. It's generally wise to fade older prospects and Stirtz has precious little experience against high-level competition. He began his college career at D-II Northwest Missouri State before transferring to Drake, a mid-major school in the weak Missouri Valley Conference. But after tremendous success at no-name schools, Stirtz will spend his senior campaign with his same ol' head coach at Iowa, where he will face Big Ten competition and receive a consistent national spotlight.
This could go one of two ways: either Stirtz is quickly overmatched and he tumbles down draft boards, or he does what he has always done, only against much better opponents, and folks really start to buy in. After an impressive takedown of Missouri in the NCAA Tournament, methinks it will be the latter. Stirtz is just a step ahead of the opponent at every turn. He was essentially Drake's entire offense last season, averaging 39.4 minutes per game (remember, college games are 40 minutes) with his hand on the controls at all times.
It's a bit silly to compare someone with Stirtz's lack of high-level accomplishment to the all-time great point guards, but there's something to be said for a guard who keeps the ball on a string, makes every pass in the book, and buries tough shots when need be. He can swing, swing passes to the open shooter, lob it to the rolling big, or improvise with jittery handles coming off a screen. Stirtz will need to adjust to a slightly less heliocentric style of offense in the Big Ten (and certainly in the NBA), but his brain processes the floor at warp speed and he seems to have an answer to every riddle the defense throws at him, so I'd imagine it works out just fine. Stirtz is an exception to the rule — a wizard-like true point guard who is too smart and too skilled to fail.
My heart may not be crushed by a former love, but it sure is full watching Stirtz pick apart a defene with surgical precision. Just like the Rejects are moving on, Stiritz is moving up to bigger and better things at Iowa.
5. Nate Ament, wing, Tennessee — "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" by Deftones
"It feels good to know you're mine / Now drive me far / Away / Away / Away / I don't care where, just far / Away."
I imagine that is how Nate Ament's NBA fanbase will feel once a team drafts him next summer. He won't arrive in the NBA fully formed. He's more of an idea, an abstract concept of a star player, rather than the polished, "ready now" type. And that's okay. The draft is all about gazing into the unknown future and trying our best to imagine what the destination might be. What it could be.
Ament is a stupid talent. It's simply not normal to find 6-foot-10 athletes with Ament's coordination and shot-making chops. If you're looking for an Ace Bailey parallel in the 2026 draft, this is probably your best bet. Ament is a bit more selfless in his approach, but at the end of the day, there's a lot of work to be done.
He can bury shots from anywhere on the floor, but unlike Bailey, Ament has actually needed encouragement to take the proverbial bull by the horns and let an offense flow through him. He can't really handle physicality on drives to the rim and he's a bit upright, with a high center of gravity, while makes him prone to turnovers against pressurized defense.
But man, he can make every shot, and he's not incapable of delivering a nifty dime out of the pick-and-roll or locating his open teammate through a maze of defenders. I'd imagine he is a bit inefficient at Tennessee, but the Vols are an excellent program and Ament should receive plentiful opportunities as their lone high-profile recruit. If he can reach his full potential, somewhere in that far off future, man... we're all in for a treat.
4. Mikel Brown Jr., guard, Louisville — "Spitting Off the Edge of the World" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"Spitting Off the Edge of the World" is a cosmic song about new horizons and pushing beyond our current station in life (and whatever else you want to make of it). It's hard not to feel a spirtual alignment to watching Mikel Brown Jr. run point. He's a new-age guard in many ways, tapping into the Trae Young and Damian Lillard vein of high-volume pull-up shooting and spontaneous pick-and-roll facilitating.
There will be those who lament Brown's slight frame and questionable defense, but the offensive skill and firepower should propel him to incredible heights at Louisville, where he will take over for Chucky Hepburn as the engine of a potential ACC contender.
Brown is an incredibly adept ball-handler, with countermoves on countermoves and extreme dexterity, able to change speeds and flex his body to create driving lanes and manipulate the defense in his favor. He continues to showcase remarkable growth as a processor and playmaker, delivering difficult live-dribble passes through tight windows and taking real pride in setting up teammates.
What really makes Brown pop, however, is the shooting. He's comfortable launching from several steps behind the NBA line, with a hand in his face. He should sink a ton of 3s with solid efficiency, forcing the defense to account for his position on the floor at all times. He's a bursty athlete, who can take advantage of that gravity to get into the teeth of the defense and create, either for himself or for teammates. How effectively he finishes at the rim against college and soon NBA defenders will be a huge swing factor, but Brown's touch and creativity as a finisher breeds optimism that he can manage despite his diminutive frame.
Expect an extremely fun season in Louisville.
3. AJ Dybantsa, wing, Brigham Young — "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads
This feels like an accurate summation of watching AJ Dybantsa absolutely light opponents on fire. The uber-talented wing landed on BYU, where he's in position to compete for an NCAA championship on a deep team, led by a premier head coach in Kevin Young and backed by one hell of an NIL apparatus.
Dybantsa is the psycho killer. He will take every shot without hesitation. He steps into deep 3s, long step-back 2s and explosive dunks with the same unfettered confidence. There aren't too many high school defenders built to slow down Dybantsa, who is already an NBA-caliber athlete at 6-foot-9. He's built like an ox, with room to keep filling out his frame, and he moves with the agility of Jayson Tatum. Whether he's bulldozing his way to the rim, side-stepping into a jumper, or simply dancing his way through the thick of the defense, Dybantsa maintains a constant advantage over virtually every defender.
He needs to tamp down his shot selection at times, but Dybantsa's true weaknesses are few and far between. He's not a bad passer when he wants to be, and he has all the tools to smother the opponent's best player on defense. Dybantsa will need to lock in and work hard to maximize his immense natural gifts, but we haven't seen many (if any) more talented individuals enter the college ranks in recent memory.
He is going to terrorize ill-prepared college defenders in Provo. Dybantsa gets downhill with ease, deploying a monster first step and long, coordinated strides, mixed with an instant detonator at the rim. His jumper releases from a near-unblockable height and he has an impressively advanced package of dribble moves to get where he wants, when he wants. Endless possibility is set out before him.
2. Darryn Peterson, guard, Kansas — "Hysteria" by Def Leppard
I think we'll all be feeling a bit of hysteria watching Darryn Peterson this season. The No. 1 overall recruit in the most talented high school class since 2003, Peterson pretty much does it all. He is the prototypical guard prospect for the modern NBA, with size, versatility and a commitment to playing both sides of the ball.
Few love songs are more raw and stirring than "Hysteria," and it seems like the whole nation is about to fall head over heels for Peterson, who gets a chance to lead Kansas back to the promised land after a few wayard years for Bill Self's program. There is a complicated history of freshmen producing up to their potential in Self's offense, but even Self's self-defeating bad habits won't keep Peterson down. He's a generational guard talent — the most complete and dynamic guard prospect since pre-thoracic outlet syndrome Markelle Fultz.
At 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, Peterson can operate on- or off-ball, with a low center of gravity and remarkable dexterity handling the rock. He has cut down on turnovers while ramping up his efficiency from all areas on the floor. The 3s still don't fall at a prodigous rate, but Peterson's touch inside the arc — combined with picturesque mechanics, which feature a high, effortless release — give us every reason to believe that he will, in fact, shoot it at a high level before long.
Peterson can bully smaller guards with aggressive moves to the rim, or piroutte around taller defenders with spin moves and hang dribbles, constantly generating angles and advantages in his favor. His mid-range jumper is pure, and he's incredibly savvy when it comes to running the offense out of pick-and-rolls.
On defense, Peterson should be able to guard up a few positions. He's a tremendous rebounder for his position, unable to throw his weight around and crash the glass with a purpose. That intentionality is evident in all Peterson does. He never looks lost or out of sorts. He knows where he needs to be and he gets there, almost without fail, whether it's picking up a stop on a defensive rotation or flowing into a pull-up jumper on offense.
Peterson is a strong Wooden Award candidate and a potential No. 1 pick, with a skill set that is bound to send scouts into a frenzy of desire (the basketball kind).
1. Cameron Boozer, forward, Duke — "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen
"Thunder Road" is one of the great songs, kind of like Cameron Boozer is one of the great prospects. It's also about aging, how it's a little bit frightening to wake up, look in the mirror, and realize you're not who you once were. But it's also about coming to accept the passage of time and embracing what's next.
That feels especially prescient when it comes to Boozer. I am ill-suited to wax on about the woes of aging as a member of Gen Z, but hey, we all reminisce about what was and fear what will be. And every now and then, something comes along to remind us acutely about time gone by. Boozer is the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, for whom I hold strong childhood memories. The man was in the league in 2015! Now his sons, Cameron and Cayden, are top recruits at Duke and projected first-round picks in the 2026 draft, with Cam pegged as a potential candidate to go No. 1 overall.
Cameron Boozer is a sensational talent. He's one of the most accomplished and dominant high school players in recent history and he's about to play under a white-hot spotlight at Duke, where he steps into the void left by Cooper Flagg. That is not an easy situation to walk into as an 18-year-old, but Boozer is made of the right stuff. It wouldn't be the least bit shocking if he steps in, delivers a similarly spectacular freshman campaign, and leaves Duke with back-to-back Wooden Award winners.
At 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, you can see Boozer's father in him. Cam is a polished post scorer with immense strength and coordination. But he can also step out behind the 3-point line, handle the rock, and operate as a point forward of sorts, which makes him well-suited to the modern league, where the intersection of size and skill is prized beyond all else. Boozer can run the pick-and-roll or set the screen and pick defenses apart on the short roll. He can grab and go in transition. He's a walking mismatch, with sharp defensive instincts and an overall brilliant IQ for the game.
Boozer is probably the best freshman in college basketball next season, although he has stiff competition. It's time for us all to turn over a new leaf and appreciate what was, but also accept the future, which has a familar face and an even more familiar name.