Former Northwestern star Nick Martinelli is climbing up NBA Draft boards. Where will he be picked next month?
Name, Image and Likeness have made it so athletes can now make millions of dollars while playing collegiately. That's led to fewer underclassmen entries in professional sports league drafts, with players sometimes making more money in school than they would've at the next level.
That's led to a surge of experience taking over events like the NBA Draft. With raw talents turning down the NBA for another year to develop and get paid in college, seniors and graduate students are in high demand. Northwestern star Nick Martinelli could be a major beneficiary of this recent change.
Two years ago, former Wildcat forward Brooks Barnhizer declared for the 2024 NBA Draft. He went through workouts and received feedback from NBA organizations before returning to Evanston for his senior season. Barnhizer then declared for the 2025 NBA Draft last spring, and while he started outside the top 100 of most big boards, No. 13 in purple managed to climb rankings as more and more prospects went back to school. The Oklahoma City Thunder ended up selecting the Northwestern senior with the No. 44 overall pick in the second round.
Martinelli followed a similar path to his former roommate, declaring early for the 2025 NBA Draft and withdrawing to play his senior season for the 'Cats. His 2025-26 campaign — in which No. 2 recorded a second consecutive season of leading the Big Ten in scoring — improved Martinelli's draft stock tremendously. It should not surprise anyone if Martinelli is drafted even higher than Barnhizer.
Mar 10, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) defends against Penn State Nittany Lions forward Ivan Juric (3) during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn ImagesCombined with a strong performance at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, Martinelli projects to receive a massive boost from the NCAA's withdrawal deadline. The NBA announced on Thursday that 38 players had chosen to remove their names from the 2026 NBA Draft pool, including athletes like Baylor's Tounde Yessoufou, Alabama's Amari Allen, Kentucky's Malachi Moreno, Iowa State's Milan Momcilovic, Kansas' Flory Bidunga, Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr., Vanderbilt's Tyler Tanner, Arkansas' Billy Richmond, North Carolina State's Matt Able, Illinois' Andrej Stojakovic and Florida's Rueben Chinyelu.
Each of those players was predicted to be drafted higher than Martinelli (No. 57 overall) by ESPN's Jeremy Woo, while seven of the 11 were picked over Martinelli (No. 44 overall) in Kevin O'Connor's recent mock draft for Yahoo! Sports.
Considering Martinelli's success at the Combine and the withdrawal deadline thinning the player pool, it's not outrageous to believe that Martinelli could be in the conversation to be a late first-round pick.
According to HoopsHype, Martinelli has worked out for the Charlotte Hornets and the Dallas Mavericks.
