Arizona’s Jaden Bradley taken 50th overall by Raptors in NBA Draft

After a decorated career at Arizona, Jaden Bradley heard his name called during the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft on Wednesday night.

The former Wildcats guard was selected with the No. 50 overall pick by the Toronto Raptors.

Bradley, who spent his senior season anchoring the backcourt for head coach Tommy Lloyd in Tucson, became the third Wildcat from the 2025-26 Final Four team to be selected in this year’s draft. Brayden Burries went 10th overall to the Milwaukee Bucks, and Koa Peat was picked with the 30th overall pick and went to the Phoenix Suns after a trade.

Bradley started all 39 games for Arizona last season, averaging 13.3 points, 4.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 30.5 minutes per contest.

After transferring from Alabama following his freshman campaign, the 6-foot-3 point guard went from first backing up Kylan Boswell and Caleb Love as a sophomore to eventually evolving into the floor general of Arizona’s offense. 

Bradley had initially declared and went through the pre-draft process the past two years, but he returned to Arizona both times after gathering valuable feedback from scouts and NBA executives.

Despite being a skillful defender and slasher, he was overlooked by many to start his senior season. His name was either left off entirely or at the tail end of most draft boards, and while he was named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy preseason watch list (the top player in college basketball) he was excluded from every other preseason watchlist, including the Bob Cousy Award preseason list (the nation’s top point guard) and the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.

Bradley’s year, however, culminated in the Big 12 Player of the Year honors  — ahead of the first two picks, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson. He steered the Wildcats to a Big 12 regular season and tournament crown, as well as a berth in the Final Four.

Nicknamed “The Closer,” Bradley also demonstrated an innate ability to take over games late when the Wildcats needed him the most.

Bradley hit a contested fadeaway buzzer-beating jumper to propel Arizona to an 82-80 win over Iowa State in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament and later scored 12 points in the second half of Arizona’s Elite 8 come-from-behind victory against Purdue to book the Wildcats’ first spot in the Final Four in 25 years.

An impressive showing at the NBA Draft Combine in May further elevated Bradley’s draft stock. Bradley was the only Arizona player to participate in the five-on-five scrimmages, and the 22-year-old, who turns 23 in September, displayed his maturity and high basketball IQ.

“Jaden Bradley showed off his Big 12 Player of the Year credentials with a superb all-around outing at the NBA Draft Combine,” Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony posted. “Fighting over screens, picking up full court, passing out of pick-and-roll and scoring at the rim, looking like an ideal NBA backup point guard.”

Jaden Bradley showed off his Big 12 Player of the Year credentials with a superb all-around outing at the NBA Draft Combine.

Fighting over screens, picking up full court, passing out of pick-and-roll and scoring at the rim, looking like an ideal NBA backup point guard. pic.twitter.com/PsJcqTWG2B

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 14, 2026

Bradley is the eighth draft pick under Lloyd’s watch at Arizona, reinforcing the program’s reputation as a reliable pipeline to the league.

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