Clippers draft Keaton Wagler with 5th overall pick

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – After a 42-40 season that left them on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture, the Los Angeles Clippers had a chance to add young talent on Tuesday night and they did exactly that at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The Clippers selected Illinois freshman guard Keaton Wagler with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, using a first-round selection they acquired from Indiana in a midseason deal that sent Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown to the Pacers for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson and future draft picks.

Why Wagler Over the Other Guards

With several of the draft’s best guard prospects still on the board at No. 5, the Clippers had their pick of the bunch and passed on Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr., Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and Houston’s Kingston Flemings to take Wagler instead.

All four guards went off the board in order from picks five through eight, so this was clearly the range where teams valued them, but the Clippers felt that Wagler’s game was the best match for where their roster stands right now.

Wagler talked about his workout with the Clippers and what they told him before selecting him at 5, saying, "When I went to work out with the Clippers, I was there for three days and I met with a lot of people. They were just super genuine with me and they just showed a lot of interest in me."

The 6-foot-6 guard from Shawnee, Kansas averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from three during his only season at Illinois, where he earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year, won the Jerry West Award and made the Consensus Second Team All-American list.

Wagler also led Illinois to the program’s first Final Four since 2005, putting up a 46-point game against Purdue that featured a 9-for-11 shooting night from beyond the arc.

Unlike Acuff and Flemings, who are true point guards that need the ball in their hands to make the biggest impact, Wagler is a combo guard who can create for others but is just as comfortable playing off the ball as a shooter and a secondary playmaker.

The Perfect Fit Next to Garland

That off-ball ability is exactly what makes Wagler such a natural pairing with Darius Garland, who posted 19.1 points and 6.9 assists per game this season while shooting 41.6 percent from three.

Garland is a high-usage creator who needs the ball in his hands to be at his best, and adding another point guard who thrives as an on-ball player would have created overlap that neither side needs going into next year.

After the draft, Wagler spoke on playing alongside Darius Garland, saying, "I think I'm going to bring a lot of versatility on the floor and being able to play on and off the ball alongside [Darius] Garland. When he has the ball in his hands, be ready to space and shoot the ball."

With Wagler, the Clippers get someone who can space the floor and hit shots while Garland runs the show, but who can also step into the lead ball-handler role when Garland heads to the bench.

The story of Wagler going from the No. 261 recruit in his high school class to a top-five pick after one college season is one of the more surprising rises in recent memory, and the Clippers are banking on that kind of growth carrying over to the NBA.

Wagler spoke on the pressure of being the Clippers' highest pick since Blake Griffin, saying, "Just stay true to myself. Not put a lot of pressure on myself. Do what I've been doing throughout my whole life, just going out there and playing and playing free. When I do that, I feel like I'm at my best. I am just going to do that the whole time."

With Garland, Wagler, Kawhi Leonard and Mathurin now in the fold, the Clippers have a core that could push them back into the playoff picture next season and this pick feels like the right step toward getting there.