The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NBA Draft.The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Aday Mara with the No. 12 pick on Tuesday in the NBA Draft. Mara averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.6 blocks in his one season with national champion Michigan.Mara is massive, even for an NBA center, measuring at 7 feet 3 without shoes with a 7-foot-6 wingspan and a 9-foot-9 standing reach at the combine. Those measurements are elite, even among the supergiants in the NBA. Mara has also done a good job adding strength throughout his career and came to the combine at 255 pounds. His superpower is his elite basketball IQ. It’s exceedingly rare to find a player this tall who has developed a remarkable feel for the game. He knows exactly where he’s supposed to be at all times from a spacing perspective and has an innate feel for how to find teammates as a passer. Mara’s an elite playmaker for others at the center position, a creative passer with terrific vision and a sharp mindset for how to get his teammates the ball.Mara hasn’t shown that he can play 30 minutes per night as an NBA starter; he averaged just about 23 minutes with the Wolverines, and struggled later in longer rotations when he was out there for more time than he expected.Sam Vecenie’s draft guide summaryMara is a polarizing prospect simply because you have to play a very specific scheme and structure with him. You have to be willing to play in drop coverage, and to get the most out of him on offense, you need to be willing to lean into his special passing ability from the top of the court or on the block. There will be teams that aren’t interested in playing that way. But if you’re comfortable with playing such a style, Mara is a terrific get.