LOCALIZE IT: NBA draft starts June 23. Top candidates to be 1st-round picks have ties to 29 states

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

The two-day NBA draft begins June 23 in New York, home of the Brooklyn Nets.

BYU freshman forward AJ Dybantsa has long been favored to have his named called first with the No. 1 overall pick, owned by the Washington Wizards. He was the nation’s leading scorer and an Associated Press first-team All-American in his lone college season. But Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson is considered by many to be a viable challenger to Dybantsa for the top spot. The top tier of prospects includes a pair of Tobacco Road rivals in freshman Cameron Boozer of Duke and fellow one-and-done prospect Caleb Wilson of North Carolina. Boozer was AP national player of the year, while Wilson was a second-team AP all-American.

Six teams have two first-round picks in this draft, including the Memphis Grizzlies (Nos. 3, 16) and the Chicago Bulls (Nos. 4, 15). The list also includes multiple teams that reached postseason play. The Atlanta Hawks own the No. 8 and 23 picks after falling to the NBA Finals-bound New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. The Charlotte Hornets could help their young roster with the No. 14 and 18 picks after that group surged through the second half of the schedule to reach the play-in rounds. Another team is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have the No. 12 and No. 17 picks in their deep well of draft assets to bolster a team that won a league-best 64 regular-season games.

READ SOME OF AP’S LATEST COVERAGE

AP Newsroom: NCAA Basketball

AP’s NBA mock draft: BYU’s Dybantsa is No. 1 ahead of Kansas’ Peterson, Duke’s Boozer, UNC’s Wilson

Florida’s Thomas Haugh chooses friends, siblings and another title chase over NBA life

Sharpshooter Milan Mimcilovic commits to Kentucky after pulling out of NBA draft

A last-minute rush of NBA draft withdrawals reshapes college basketball rosters

HOW TO WATCH

The first round of the draft will air June 23 at 8 p.m. on ABC and ESPN. The second round will air June 24 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

FIND YOUR STATE: THE 38 PLAYERS MOST LIKELY TO BE DRAFTED IN THE FIRST ROUND

The list includes where players competed in college and their hometowns listed by their college teams, as well as previous team and nationality for international prospects.

ALABAMA

Labaron Philon Jr., hometown is Mobile, Alabama; guard at Alabama

— — —

ARIZONA

Brayden Burries, hometown is San Bernardino, California; guard at Arizona

Koa Peat, hometown is Chandler, Arizona; forward at Arizona

— — —

ARKANSAS

Darius Acuff Jr., hometown is Detroit; guard at Arkansas

Meleek Thomas, hometown is Pittsburgh; guard at Arkansas

— — —

CALIFORNIA

Brayden Burries, hometown is San Bernardino, California; guard at Arizona

Allen Graves, hometown is Ponchatoula, Louisiana; forward at Santa Clara

Ebuka Okorie, hometown is Nashua, New Hampshire; guard at Stanford

— — —

CONNECTICUT

Alex Karaban, hometown is Southborough, Massachusetts; forward at UConn

Tarris Reed Jr., hometown is St. Louis; center at UConn

— — —

FLORIDA

Cameron Boozer, hometown is Miami; forward at Duke

Mikel Brown Jr., hometown is Orlando, Florida; guard at Louisville

— — —

GEORGIA

Christian Anderson, hometown is Atlanta; guard at Texas Tech

Caleb Wilson, hometown is Atlanta; forward at North Carolina

— — —

ILLINOIS

Morez Johnson Jr., hometown is Riverdale, Illinois; forward at Michigan

Keaton Wagler, hometown is Shawnee, Kansas; guard at Illinois

— — —

INDIANA

Ryan Conwell, hometown is Indianapolis; guard at Louisville

Braden Smith, hometown is Westfield, Indiana; guard at Purdue

— — —

IOWA

Joshua Jefferson, hometown is Las Vegas; forward at Iowa State

Bennett Stirtz, hometown is Liberty, Missouri; guard at Iowa

— — —

KANSAS

Darryn Peterson, hometown is Canton, Ohio; guard at Kansas

Keaton Wagler, hometown is Shawnee, Kansas; guard at Illinois

— — —

KENTUCKY

Mikel Brown Jr., hometown is Orlando, Florida; guard at Louisville

Ryan Conwell, hometown is Indianapolis; guard at Louisville

Jayden Quaintance, hometown is Cleveland; forward/center at Kentucky

— — —

LOUISIANA

Chris Cenac Jr., hometown is New Orleans; center at Houston

Allen Graves, hometown is Ponchatoula, Louisiana; forward at Santa Clara

— — —

MASSACHUSETTS

AJ Dybantsa, hometown is Brockton, Massachusetts; forward at BYU

Alex Karaban, hometown is Southborough, Massachusetts; forward at UConn

— — —

MICHIGAN

Darius Acuff Jr., hometown is Detroit; guard at Arkansas

Morez Johnson Jr., hometown is Riverdale, Illinois; forward at Michigan

Yaxel Lendeborg, hometown is Pennsauken, New Jersey; forward at Michigan

Aday Mara, hometown is Zaragoza, Spain; center at Michigan

— — —

MINNESOTA

Cameron Carr, hometown is Eden Prairie, Minnesota; guard at Baylor

— — —

MISSOURI

Tarris Reed Jr., hometown is St. Louis; center at UConn

Bennett Stirtz, hometown is Liberty, Missouri; guard at Iowa

— — —

NEVADA

Joshua Jefferson, hometown is Las Vegas; forward at Iowa State

— — —

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Ebuka Okorie, hometown is Nashua, New Hampshire; guard at Stanford

— — —

NEW JERSEY

Yaxel Lendeborg, hometown is Pennsauken, New Jersey; forward at Michigan

— — —

NEW YORK

Zuby Ejiofor, hometown is Garland, Texas; forward at St. John's

— — —

NORTH CAROLINA

Cameron Boozer, hometown is Miami; forward at Duke

Isaiah Evans, hometown is Fayetteville, North Carolina; guard at Duke

Henri Veesaar, hometown is Tallinn, Estonia; center at North Carolina

Caleb Wilson, hometown is Atlanta; forward at North Carolina

— — —

OHIO

Baba Miller, hometown is Mallorca, Spain; forward/center at Cincinnati

Darryn Peterson, hometown is Canton, Ohio; guard at Kansas

Jayden Quaintance, hometown is Cleveland; forward/center at Kentucky

Dailyn Swain, hometown is Columbus, Ohio; guard/forward at Texas

— — —

PENNSYLVANIA

Meleek Thomas, hometown is Pittsburgh; guard at Arkansas

— — —

TENNESSEE

Nate Ament, hometown is Manassas, Virginia; forward at Tennessee

— — —

TEXAS

Christian Anderson, hometown is Atlanta; guard at Texas Tech

Cameron Carr, hometown is Eden Prairie, Minnesota; guard at Baylor

Chris Cenac Jr., hometown is New Orleans; center at Houston

Zuby Ejiofor, hometown is Garland, Texas; forward at St. John’s

Kingston Flemings, hometown is San Antonio; guard at Houston

Dailyn Swain, hometown is Columbus, Ohio; guard/forward at Texas

— — —

UTAH

AJ Dybantsa, hometown is Brockton, Massachusetts; forward at BYU

— — —

VIRGINIA

Nate Ament, hometown is Manassas, Virginia; forward at Tennessee

— — —

WASHINGTON

Hannes Steinbach, hometown is Wurzburg, Germany; forward/center at Washington

— — —

INTERNATIONAL

Sergio De Larrea, from Spain, guard/forward at Vallodolid in Spain

Jack Kayil, from Germany, guard at Alba Berlin in Germany

Karim Lopez, from Mexico, forward at New Zealand Breakers in Australia

Aday Mara, hometown is Zaragoza, Spain; center at Michigan

Baba Miller, hometown is Mallorca, Spain; forward/center at Cincinnati

Hannes Steinbach, hometown is Wurzburg, Germany; forward/center at Washington

Luigi Suigo, from Italy, center at KK Mega Superbet in Serbia

Henri Veesaar, hometown is Tallinn, Estonia; center at North Carolina

READ ADDITIONAL AP COVERAGE

A history of the NBA draft lottery and its changes over time

NBA’s board of governors passes anti-tanking changes to draft lottery

Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson stays in the NBA draft after 2 seasons with Red Raiders

Florida center Rueben Chinyelu is coming back for his senior season

Washington wins NBA draft lottery, chance to pick first on June 23

Localize It is a resource produced regularly by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to the Local News Success team at localizeit@ap.org. View guides published in the last 30 days here.

FILE - This photo combination shows, from top left, BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, March 19, 2026, in Portland, Ore., Kansas guard Darryn Peterson in Lawrence, Kan., March 7, 2026, Duke forward Cameron Boozer, March 21, 2026, in Greenville, S.C., and North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson in Stanford, Calif., Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman, Reed Hoffmann, Brynn Anderson, Jeff Chiu)

Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal scored again Thursday night in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights, extending his goals streak that has put the 37-year-old center among some of the best players in NHL history.

“It’s a good time to get hot," Staal said. "I want to contribute any way I can. The puck’s been going in for me lately, and it’s good timing and (I try) to still contribute in all the other aspects that I can do.”

A look at Staal's series:

Days between goals in the final from 2009 with Pittsburgh until Staal scored in Game 1, breaking brother Eric's record of 6,198 from ‘06 to ’23.

Goals by Staal in the series, one shy of tying the modern-day record for the most by a player in the final.

Captains to score six or more goals in a final before Staal: Wayne Gretzky for Edmonton in 1985, Frank Foyston for Seattle in 1920 and Newsy Lalonde for Montreal in 1919.

Players in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers franchise history to score a goal in the final at age 37 or older before Staal: 39-year-old Ron Francis in 2002 and 38-year-old Mark Recchi in '06.

Player older than Staal to score in each of the first two games of the final: Larry Robinson with Montreal in 1989.

Players older than Staal to score in each of the first three games of the final. Brad Marchand last year with Florida was the only one to do so after turning 37.

Was the last time a player scored five-plus goals in the first four games of a final before Staal: Mario Lemieux when Pittsburgh went back to back.

Was the last time a player scored in each of the first four games of the final before Staal: Mike Bossy when the New York Islanders won the third of four championships in a row. Only two others did before that: Minnesota's Steve Payne in 1981 and Boston's Johnny Buczyk in 1970.

Was the last time a player scored in five consecutive games in the final before Staal: Yvan Cournoyer in 1973 with Montreal.

Was the last time a player scored in the first five games of the final before Staal: Jean Beliveau in 1956 with Montreal. Canadiens teammate Maurice Richard in 1951 and Cyclone Taylor of the Vancouver Millionaires in 1918 are the only other players to score in Games 1-5.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal celebrates an empty net goal by left wing Nikolaj Ehlers during the third period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)