Jayden Quaintance remains a projected NBA lottery pick as he nears end of ACL rehab

The current college freshman class is absolutely loaded with future NBA talent — but we can’t forget about one particular sophomore inching closer to making his debut in a Kentucky uniform.

6-foot-10 big man Jayden Quaintance is trending in the right direction as he nears the end of his ACL rehab. Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said last Friday that Quaintance is now participating in live 2-on-2 drills. This comes after Pope said on Nov. 6 that the Arizona State transfer has a “really important strength test” coming up three weeks from then, which would be sometime later this week if that timeline holds firm.

“He’s making real progress,” Pope said on Friday of Quaintance, who continues to see his name pop up as a potential NBA lottery pick in next year’s draft despite having yet to play a game for the Wildcats this season. Last week, ESPN’s Jeremy Woo and Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman both included Quaintance among the top 10 in their updated 2026 mock drafts.

• ESPN: Quaintance –> No. 9 Memphis Grizzlies
• Bleacher Report: Quaintance –> No. 8 Oklahoma City Thunder (via LA Clippers)

Wasserman also included Kentucky senior Otega Oweh in his two-round mock, projecting the 6-foot-5 guard to the Phoenix Suns (via Denver Nuggets) at pick No. 58.

For Quaintance to still be mocked this high is no small note. In spite of his injury, he remains highly-regarded in the draft world as a top-end prospect, even with so many talented freshmen climbing up the ranks early on in the 2025-26 season.

In both ESPN and Bleacher Report’s updated mocks, the only prospects ahead of Quaintance are college rookies. You have to go pick No. 15 in either mock before finding a player who isn’t a freshman or an international prospect. JQ is the only projected lottery pick who is in his second college season, although the 18-year-old is just as old (or even younger, in some cases) as all of them.

“Optimistically, he projects as a vertical spacer and lob threat who can also anchor a team defensively, but he’s not a good outside shooter nor super skilled for a 5-man, likely creating some limitations on how he might be used on offense,” Woo wrote. “NBA teams are eager to see him retake the floor to get a better feel for his readiness and upside.”

There is true star potential within Quaintance, especially on the defensive end. He averaged 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.7 steals/blocks in 29.5 minutes per outing as a 17-year-old freshman at Arizona State. At least through the first six games of the season, Kentucky has yet to have a player break out as a “star” — Quaintance could very well be that player whenever he’s able to see the floor again.

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