With little to gain from playing in NBA Combine scrimmages as a projected lottery pick, Brayden Burries still put on a show in testing earlier this week.
The departing Arizona guard ranked highly in nearly all shooting drills, drawing ESPN’s praise as one of the most impressive players on Tuesday, and also was among the leaders in vertical leap testing, with a 35-inch standing jump and a 38.5-inch maximum (running) vertical leap.
Already 20 years old, Burries also had a chance to show off his maturity and personality behind the scenes during interviews with NBA executives while taking a brief turn behind ESPN’s microphone Tuesday.
“They’re getting a great person, somebody who's a winner, who loves to compete,” Burries told ESPN when asked what a drafting team would receive with him, “and somebody that's funny and likes to troll, mess around.”
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Regardless of his efforts, though, Burries’ fate may have already been sealed by the lottery results Sunday. ESPN, The Athletic and CBS all project Burries going to the No. 9 spot that Dallas picked up in Sunday’s lottery draw, considering his potential availability there and the Mavericks' need for his skills.
“Burries would be a terrific complement to Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving as they look to make a jump next year,” The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie wrote.
Also, the Mavericks' new GM is an Arizona grad, Mike Schmitz, who was the assistant GM of the Portland Trail Blazers when they added former UA standout Caleb Love as an undrafted free agent last summer.
Meanwhile, Burries’ former UA teammates at the Combine — Koa Peat, Jaden Bradley and Tobe Awaka — all have had more to prove on the court this week.
Though he’s not on the major mock NBA Draft boards, Awaka may have helped himself in both shooting and agility testing. He posted a 37.5-inch maximum vertical leap, while shooting 63.3% off the dribble and 52.0% in spot-up shooting, among other results.
Jaden Bradley participates in the 2026 NBA Draft Combine at Wintrust Arena May 11, 2026, in Chicago, IL.
Bradley shot 63.3% off the dribble, 48.0% in a 3-point “star drill" (zig-zagging to various spots on the perimeter) and 40.0% in a spot-up drill, while Peat struggled with his shooting.
Considered a possibility to return to UA if he does not project in the middle of the first round, Peat shot 50% off the dribble but only 28.0% in the 3-point star drill and finished last in spot-up shooting at 24.0%. However, Peat's athleticism was clear with a 37.5-inch maximum vertical leap and a 3.16-second three-quarter court sprint
Burries, Peat and Awaka were not scheduled to participate in the Combine's five-on-five scrimmages Wednesday and Thursday, but Bradley will be the point guard for a team that includes former Houston guard Emanuel Sharp and former Florida center Reuben Chinyelu.
Here’s a full list of how former UA players did in NBA Combine testing and measurements earlier this week, with body measurements of players from UA's 2025-26 roster:
Shooting drills
In percentage
(According to No Ceilings NBA unless otherwise noted; official NBA results not yet available)
Off dribble
(Leader: Ryan Conwell 93.3)
– Brayden Burries 70.0
– Jaden Bradley 63.3
– Tobe Awaka 63.3
– Henri Veesaar 60.0
– Koa Peat 50.0
– Kylan Boswell 46.7
3-point star drill
(Leader: Kingston Flemings 76.0)
– Brayden Burries 68.0
– Jaden Bradley 48.0
– Henri Veesaar 48.0
– Kylan Boswell 48.0
– Tobe Awaka 36.0
– Koa Peat 28.0
Side-mid-side drill
Tobe Awaka participates in the vertical leap test at the 2026 NBA Draft Combine at Wintrust Arena May 11, 2026, in Chicago, IL.
Via WFUV
(Leader: Alex Karaban 84.0)
– Tobe Awaka 55.6
– Henri Veesaar 53.6
– Brayden Burries 48.1
– Jaden Bradley 46.2
– Kylan Boswell 44.8
– Koa Peat 40.0
Spot-up shooting
(Leader: Bennett Stirtz 80.0)
– Brayden Burries 56.0
– Tobe Awaka 52.0
– Kylan Boswell 48.0
– Henri Veesaar 44.0
– Jaden Bradley 40.0
– Koa Peat 24.0
Shooting off dribble
(Leader: Ryan Conwell 93.3)
– Brayden Burries 70.0
– Jaden Bradley 66.7
– Tobe Awaka 63.3
– Henri Veesaar 60.0
– Koa Peat 50.0
– Kylan Boswell 46.7
Speed and agility testing
No-step vertical jump
In inches
(Leader: Tobi Lawal 40.0)
– Brayden Burries 35.0
– Koa Peat 34.5
– Kylan Boswell 33.0
– Tobe Awaka 32.5
– Jaden Bradley 30.5
– Henri Veesaar 28.0
Max (running) vertical jump
(Leader: Tobi Lawal 45.5)
– Brayden Burries 38.5
– Kylan Boswell 38.0
– Tobe Awaka 37.5
– Koa Peat 37.5
– Jaden Bradley 36.0
– Henri Veesaar 32.5
3/4 Court sprint
Koa Peat participates in the vertical leap testing at the 2026 NBA Draft Combine at Wintrust Arena May 11, 2026, in Chicago.
In seconds
(Leader: Darius Acuff and Billy Richmond 3.02)
– Koa Peat 3.16
– Tobe Awaka 3.19
– Jaden Bradley 3.20
– Brayden Burries 3.21
– Kylan Boswell 3.22
– Henri Veesaar 3.42
Shuttle run
(Leader: Aaron Nkrumah 2.48)
– Brayden Burries 2.92
– Kylan Boswelll 2.92
– Henri Veesaar 2.92
– Tobe Awaka 3.02
– Jaden Bradley 3.13
– Koa Peat 3.39
Pro lane drill
Via WFUV
(Leader: Billy Richmond 10.23)
– Brayden Burries 10.59
– Jaden Bradley 10.75
– Kylan Boswell 10.82
– Tobe Awaka 10.94
– Koa Peat 11.0
– Henri Veesaar 11.20
Body measurements
()
Tobe Awaka
– 6-8.0 height w/o shoes
– 261.1 weight
– 7-2.25 ft wingspan
– 8-9 ft standing reach
– 9.25 in hand length
– 10.0 in hand width
Jaden Bradley
– 6-2.5 height w/o shoes
– 205.4 weight
– 6-6.25 ft wingspan
– 8-0 ft standing reach
– 8.0 in hand length
– 9.25 in hand width
Brayden Burries
– 6-3.75 height w/o shoes
– 215.4 weight
– 6-6.0 ft wingspan
– 8-2.50 ft standing reach
– 8.25 in hand length
– 9.25 in hand width
Koa Peat
– 6-7.0 height w/o shoes
– 245.0 weight
– 6-11.25 ft wingspan
– 8-8.0 ft standing reach
– 9.0 in hand length
– 10.0 in hand width
Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @brucepascoe
Bruce Pascoe
Reporter
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