Tennessee's Ja'Kobi Gillespie is a Sleeper Star in the NBA Draft

The 2026 NBA Combine has come to an official close, and now, scouts and franchises are looking ahead to the big event: the 2026 NBA draft.

While there were few surprises at Combine when it came to the big names in the draft, some of the more unassuming players made noise and a strong case for themselves to emerge as sleeper favorites. One of those players is Tennessee‘s Ja’Kobi Gillespie.

In a feature for Bleacher Report after the week-long NBA Combine, Jonathan Wasserman gives the winners and losers of the event. “Every year, the NBA Draft Combine gives prospects a chance to change their draft stock in front of dozens of front offices - through measurements, athletic testing, scrimmages and closed-door interviews,” he states.

One of his biggest winners of the event is Gillespie, noting that he had strong numbers that surprised scouts in a good way.

More sports news: Bulls Linked to Surprise Draft Move Nobody Saw Coming

“Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 24 points in the first half of Wednesday’s scrimmage,” he noted. “He went into microwave mode making five threes, and despite measuring small (as expected), he couldn’t have done a better job selling himself as an instant-offense weapon for the next level.”

He added: “Between the shotmaking production the past two seasons (and now the NBA combine) and his playmaking at Tennessee, Gillespie has maximized his chances of hearing his name called on June 24.”

My Take: Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie is a Sleeper Star

More sports news: Lakers Linked to True Big Man in NBA Draft

In most mocks, Gillespie is projected to go late in the second round of the draft, and while he probably made a case to go higher with his Combine performance, he’s still a question mark. He measures small, and that’s what holds teams back, but it really shouldn’t. He proved with Tennessee that he’s a star in the making, and he doubled down on that with an intense Combine appearance that should entice NBA teams.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 11:03 AM.