The Denver Nuggets pick at 26th-overall in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft and with the amount of talent that will be coming into the league via the draft, even picking late in the first round nets the Nuggets a great chance at picking up a player that can make an impact right away.

Looking at the state of the Nuggets roster as it is, Denver likely doesn't need to put much emphasis on grabbing a player that needs to fill a starting slot as Denver has an established core in players like Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray along with players like Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun, who are both signed to expensive contracts.

With that in mind, the direction that the Nuggets should go in with their first-round pick should be finding a player that can round out their depth, something that was severely tested in the 2025-26 season with so many injuries to their starting rotation.

That's why the Nuggets' projected pick in a recent mock draft from The Athletic makes so much sense. 

The Athletic projects the Nuggets to select guard Ebuka Okorie out of Stanford. 

"Denver needs a second ballhandler behind Jamal Murray, given that Tyus Jones was signed and entered the rotation quickly and will now hit free agency this summer," Sam Vecenie wrote. "Okorie’s ability to pressure the rim could also blend nicely with Denver’s five-out structure and could allow him to play with Murray."

Okorie had a stellar freshman season at Stanford, averaging 23.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in 35.1 minutes per game.

With the Cardinals, Okorie had the bulk of both the scoring and the playmaking on his plate and his numbers reflect that. His ability to lead an offense stands out as a major plus of his game and is why Vecenie feels so confident about his abilities to translate to a NBA team and play with Jamal Murray. 

With his raw scoring potential, Okorie could just as easily serve as a switch-in for either Murray or rise to the starting lineup to play a hybrid guard and share the back court with Murray as well. 

With the Nuggets existing starting five mostly established, picking up someone with Okorie's versatility and raw scoring potential would be a major plus. His efficiency stands out as well, shooting 46.5% from the field and 35.4% from the field and he allowed just 1.9 turnovers per game despite being his team's primary ball handler.

The Nuggets have a talented roster in need of just a few tweaks to stay competitive in an increasingly-tough Western Conference and bringing in someone like Okorie is the kind of step in the right direction that they need.