Breaking down draft week scenarios for Graham Ike and Gonzaga's other NBA hopefuls
Framed NBA jerseys take up most of the real estate on the navy concrete wall that runs between the media conference room and home locker room inside a back hallway at McCarthey Athletic Center.
The jerseys, accompanied by photos and name plates, represent every former Gonzaga player to lace up their sneakers in an NBA game - from high lottery picks like Chet Holmgren and Jalen Suggs to second-round success stories like Andrew Nembhard, Robert Sacre and Ronny Turiaf.
Not to mention, roughly a dozen former Zags who worked their way onto an NBA court despite draft-night disappointment.
Drew Timme and Ryan Nembhard, two of the players who meet that criteria, were the most recent additions to the NBA wall. Next in line will be Malachi Smith, who toiled away in the G League for two seasons before getting his shot with the Brooklyn Nets last year on a 10-day contract.
Those stories are especially relevant this week because, based on intel and analysis from various NBA mock drafts, Gonzaga isn't projected to have a player selected for the second straight year. It comes on the heels of a four-year stretch where Gonzaga had at least one selection, and seven total players drafted, from 2021-24.
The first round of the 2026 NBA draft begins at 5 p.m. on Tuesday at the Barclays Center with the second round following on Wednesday at the same time. ESPN is televising both days of the event.
A small group of Gonzaga players including All-American forward Graham Ike will likely have their phones nearby Wednesday night when the second round finishes to see which teams call to offer two-way contracts, Exhibit 10 deals or NBA Summer League invitations.
Ike's name hasn't surfaced in recent mock drafts, but the forward is widely considered to be one of the 15-20 next -best prospects available, suggesting the 23-year-old should be a candidate to land a two-way contract that could allow him to split time between the NBA and G League.
The 6-foot-9 Ike landed at No. 69 on NBA draft big boards from both ESPN.com and the Athletic, with the latter describing him as a "massive, long post player who needs to change play style for (the) NBA."
The veteran forward left Gonzaga as college basketball's active scoring and rebounding leader with 2,575 career points and 1,144 boards, gradually developing different aspects of his game during his time in Spokane.
None has been more important than Ike's improved outside shooting, something that could help him latch on with an NBA team. The forward made 24 3-pointers during his first four college seasons at Wyoming and Gonzaga before knocking down 24 last season alone, and at a serviceable clip of 33.8%.
The Aurora, Colorado, native completed his 11th workout with the Sacramento Kings last Wednesday and had at least one more workout scheduled, with the Golden State Warriors, in the days that followed.
"It was an amazing workout, we had a great group, great coaching staff that led the workout with amazing intensity, great communication," Ike told media members in Sacramento after his workout with the Kings. "It was fun overall, this process has been amazing to me. It's my 11th workout, I've had a great time meeting new faces, learning new terms and coverages and just getting to check out all the facilities and getting an early start to the lifestyle has been amazing."
NBA teams have also shown interest in Gonzaga's Jalen Warley, a 6-foot-7 wing whose defensive versatility became a major asset for Mark Few's team last season, especially during a West Coast Conference stretch in mid-January when both Ike and junior forward Braden Huff were sidelined with injuries.
Warley, who averaged 7.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals last season while taking on various responsibilities at both ends of the floor, told The Spokesman-Review he'd already worked out with five NBA teams including the Warriors, Pacers, Lakers and Clippers, and indicated he had a few others scheduled before the draft.
A two-way/Exhibit 10 contract or Summer League deal also appears to be the most likely outcome for both Warley and Gonzaga teammate Tyon Grant-Foster, who was medically cleared to play in the NBA last week by the league's fitness-to-play panel. It's unclear if Grant-Foster, who suffered two life-threatening heart incidents midway through his college career, has participated in NBA workouts since he was cleared.
Even without any projected draft picks, Gonzaga fans may still tune in the next two days to see when and where former Zag signee Jack Kayil is selected. The German combo guard was expected to be a candidate to start for Gonzaga this fall before electing to keep his name in the draft, where agent Milan Nikolic indicated the Alba Berlin standout has "first-round potential" during an interview in May with Basketball World.
Kayil appeared as a first-round prospect in a few early mock drafts but updated projections mostly point to the 19-year-old guard hearing his name called in the second round, somewhere between No. 31-45.
Former Gonzaga wing Michael Ajayi, who spent one year in Spokane during the 2024-25 season between stops at Pepperdine and Butler, also has an outside shot of being drafted. Ajayi, who earned All-Big East First Team honors after setting Butler's single-season rebounding record (356), came in at No. 63 on ESPN's big board, six spots ahead of his former college teammate Ike.
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