With the NBA Draft right around the corner and the Wisconsin Badgers officially starting up summer practice, it feels like a great time to jump into hypothetical land, projecting which Badgers have the best chance to find themselves drafted next season. Wisconsin has had its fair share of draft prospects in recent years, most notably Johnny Davis, who was selected 10th overall, and John Tonje last season, who was taken in the second round.
Nick Boyd is looking to become the next Badger in that grouping, as he is currently projected to be drafted somewhere in the second round. When looking ahead to next year, Wisconsin doesn't have any surefire first-round NBA talent, at least not as glaring as in years past. However, that's not to say that someone can't emerge and take the reins as the next player in the Badgers' NBA pipeline.
Rounding out the Top 10 in our 2027 Big Ten Roster Rankings are the Wisconsin Badgers. @GregGard and Co. have done a great job of retaining some major frontcourt pieces in Austin Rapp and Nolan Winter, while also moving some recruiting to the land down under signing 3 players… https://t.co/AyVTnqNUwz pic.twitter.com/3f44B9cIKX
— Beyond The Portal (@BeyondPortalBB) June 18, 2026
Nolan Winter
Easily the most likely Wisconsin player to get drafted next season is 7-foot big man Nolan Winter. It's no secret that the NBA values size, shooting and physicality — three things that Winter possesses — making the vision of him translating to the NBA an easy one to imagine. In fact, his performance last season as a junior was likely enough to get him onto NBA radars.
Winter now has a chance to build off the 13.1 points and 8.5 rebounds that he averaged last season. Adding more nuance to his game as a playmaker, along with becoming more consistent as an outside shooter, is likely all he needs to stamp his name into the second, and possibly even first, round of next year's draft.
Eian Elmer
Although the expectations for what Eian Elmer can be with the Badgers are likely too high, there is no doubt that his skill set is one that NBA teams covet. Guys who are 6-foot-6, can shoot 43% from three and defend at a high level don't exactly grow on trees, so when they do come along, they often grab the attention of NBA front offices.
In Elmer's case, he can do that and hopefully more, as Wisconsin has proven capable of developing players' ball skills in the past. In order for him to truly be taken seriously as a legitimate prospect, he will likely have to add layers to his game as a downhill attacker, but nonetheless, the future ahead is bright for the senior.
Mystery Man
Winter and Elmer are obvious players to include in this mix and likely the guys that any Badger fan would pick in this context. However, Wisconsin has done its diligence in recent years finding guys that nobody would expect to make an NBA push and turning them into All-American-level players. Tonje and Boyd were both not expected to be the players they became with the Badgers until they proved themselves to be exactly that.
This year, guys like Austin Rapp, Trey Autry, Owen Foxwell, Jackson Ball and Victory Onuetu are by no means expected to be star-level players for Wisconsin, but all possess traits that NBA teams covet. None of them are guaranteed to get the same level of attention that Elmer and Winter are, but with the right offseason of development and season of production, one of them could easily emerge as an NBA talent.
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