2026 NBA Draft grades, second-round pick-by-pick analysis

We handed out grades for every first-round pick of the 2026 NBA Draft. Now it’s time to grade the second round:

31. Houston Rockets

Bruce Thornton, 6-0, Ohio State senior guard

Grade: A+

The Rockets traded up to acquire Thornton from the Knicks, giving them a third small guard alongside Fred VanVleet and Reed Sheppard. Could this make Sheppard, the third pick in 2024, more expendable? Perhaps so, because Thornton is a three-level scorer with playmaking feel and the competitive fire that lifts a locker room. And even though he’s short, he weighs 223 pounds and has a 6-foot-5 wingspan. Players with his intangibles can prove to be important to winning teams though. He was a four-year captain at Ohio State, and improved every year on his way to becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer.

32. Memphis Grizzlies

33. Minnesota Timberwolves

34. Cleveland Cavaliers

35. Denver Nuggets

36. LA Clippers

37. Oklahoma City Thunder

38. Chicago Bulls

39. New York Knicks

40. Boston Celtics

41. Miami Heat

42. San Antonio Spurs

43. Brooklyn Nets

44. San Antonio Spurs

45. Sacramento Kings

46. Orlando Magic

47. New York Knicks

48. Dallas Mavericks

49. Denver Nuggets

50. Toronto Raptors

51. Washington Wizards

52. LA Clippers

53. New York Knicks

54. Golden State Warriors

55. Houston Rockets

56. Los Angeles Lakers

57. Atlanta Hawks

58. New Orleans Pelicans

59. Minnesota Timberwolves

60. Washington Wizards