ANN ARBOR, Mich. – For the first time in 36 years, three University of Michigan players were selected in the first round of the NBA draft, further cementing the Wolverines’ place among college basketball’s elite talent producers.
Forwards Morez Johnson Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg, along with center Aday Mara, were chosen among the first 12 picks Tuesday (June 23) night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
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The selections made the Michigan Wolverines one of only five programs in NBA draft history to produce at least three lottery picks in a single draft since the lottery expanded to 14 picks in 2004.
Johnson was selected ninth overall by Dusty May and the Dallas Mavericks, Lendeborg went 11th to the Golden State Warriors, and Mara was taken 12th by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The trio helped Michigan capture its first NCAA men’s basketball national championship in 37 years.
They became the 81st, 82nd, and 83rd players in program history selected in the NBA draft.
Elite company
Michigan joined North Carolina (2005), Florida (2007), Kentucky (2015), and Duke (2019, 2025) as the only programs to place three or more players among the top 14 selections in a single draft.
North Carolina and Kentucky remain the only schools to produce four lottery picks in one draft.
Duke is the only program to accomplish the feat more than once.
The Wolverines also matched a school record with three first-round selections in the same draft, equaling the 1990 class that included national champions Rumeal Robinson, Loy Vaught, and Terry Mills.
Johnson brings toughness off transfer
Johnson Jr. emerged as a key contributor after transferring from Illinois.
The 6’9” forward started all 40 games and averaged 13.1 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game.
He recorded nine double-doubles and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches while anchoring Michigan’s defense.
Lendeborg earns Big Ten’s top honor
Lendeborg, a transfer from UAB, led the Wolverines with 15.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while adding 3.2 assists.
He was named Big Ten Player of the Year, becoming Michigan’s first recipient of the award since Nik Stauskas in 2014.
Lendeborg scored in double figures 31 times and was a consensus All-American during his lone season in Ann Arbor.
Mara sets program record in shot-blocking
Mara, a transfer from UCLA, became one of the nation’s top defensive players.
The Spanish center averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game while setting a Michigan single-season record with 103 blocked shots.
He became the first Wolverine in nearly four decades to earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors.
→ From Michigan basketball champion to OKC contender: Aday Mara is ready to chase another ring
Program history made
The three lottery selections gave Michigan a program-record three lottery picks in a single draft.
The Wolverines previously had multiple lottery picks in 1990 and 1994 but had never placed three players among the top 14 selections in a single draft.
Michigan has now produced 35 first-round draft picks and 22 lottery selections in program history.
Since 2011, the Wolverines have had 21 players selected in the NBA draft, the most among current Big Ten programs and tied for fourth nationally.
The 2026 draft marked the 10th time Michigan has had three players selected in the same NBA draft and the first since 2014.
It also extended the program’s streak of producing NBA draft picks across seven consecutive decades, from the 1960s through the 2020s.