The Denver Nuggets hold the No. 26 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and CBS Sports projects them selecting Isaiah Evans — the Duke sophomore who CBS describes as one of the top marksmen in the draft. It’s a Nuggets-franchise style pick: a player who can contribute to a championship window immediately while also developing as a long-term asset alongside Nikola Jokić.

Evans averaged 15 points and 3.2 rebounds at Duke while shooting 36.1% from three — but the trajectory is as impressive as the absolute numbers. He nearly doubled his three-point attempt volume from his freshman year and maintained his accuracy while growing into a No. 2 scoring option on the No. 1 overall seed in college basketball. He has off-ball activity that makes him valuable without the ball in his hands — relocating for shots, punishing inattentive defenders, and creating spacing that opens driving lanes for Jokić. His next developmental target is his handle, which when it expands will allow him to generate his own offense more regularly.

The opportunity cost at No. 26 is Henri Veesaar, who falls to Boston at No. 27. Veesaar is the 6-foot-11 North Carolina junior who averaged 17 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 42.6% from three — an offensive center with rare perimeter shooting for his position. Denver bypassing Veesaar’s high-efficiency shooting upside to take Evans’s perimeter-specialist profile is a guard-forward-over-center bet that reflects the Nuggets’ existing strength at the center position with Jokić.

Bleacher Report has Koa Peat going to Denver at No. 26 instead, noting Peat’s real NBA skills as a physical inside scorer and quick-processing passer. Tankathon agrees with CBS, projecting Evans to Denver. Yahoo Sports diverges, projecting Meleek Thomas to the Nuggets and arguing his scoring creation off the bounce could reduce Denver’s dependence on Jokić initiating every half-court possession. The Evans-Peat-Thomas three-way split reflects genuine evaluator disagreement about Denver’s most pressing positional need.

Outlet	Projected Player
CBS Sports	Isaiah Evans
Bleacher Report	Koa Peat
Tankathon	Isaiah Evans
Yahoo Sports	Meleek Thomas

Denver’s roster context makes Evans’s skill set a natural fit. Jokić is one of the most dominant playmakers in NBA history, and the Nuggets thrive when surrounded by players who can catch, shoot, and play without demanding the ball. Evans’s off-ball activity, perimeter shooting, and developing playmaking ability make him a plug-and-play addition to Denver’s spacing-based offensive system. He doesn’t need to be Jamal Murray — Denver already has Murray — he needs to be a reliable third scoring option who never wastes a Jokić pass.

CBS calls Evans “a Day 1 pick somewhere in the 20s,” and the Nuggets getting him at 26 would validate that projection while providing genuine value relative to draft position. If Evans continues developing his handle and off-the-dribble shot creation, his upside extends well beyond a perimeter specialist role. Denver has the roster infrastructure and the championship-caliber point of attack to ensure Evans gets everything he needs to maximize his development. This pick makes Denver’s offense harder to guard and extends the Jokić championship window by adding another layer of shooting.