The Washington Wizards acquired center Felix Okpara from the Orlando Magic during the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft, sending out picks No. 51 and No. 60 in exchange for the No. 46 selection, according to NBA insider Shams Charania.
The deal was part of a busy second-round night, with Washington also involved in the movement of No. 60 after Orlando later sent that pick to the Milwaukee Bucks for cash.
Okpara arrives in Washington after a four-year college career split between Ohio State Buckeyes men’s basketball and Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball. The 6-foot-11 big man finished his senior season at Tennessee averaging 8.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 26.9 minutes per game.
The Nigerian center was one of the more consistent interior defenders in the draft class. Over his college career, Okpara averaged 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 59.0% from the field, with his offensive profile built primarily around finishing near the basket. He improved his scoring each season, moving from 4.0 points per game as a freshman at Ohio State to 8.0 points in his final year.
Okpara’s offensive limitations were reflected in his shooting profile. He attempted only 0.2 three-pointers per game across his college career and connected on 26.1% of those attempts. His value comes from rebounding, rim protection and defensive activity rather than perimeter scoring.
Washington entered the 2026 offseason coming off a 17-65 season, the worst record in the Eastern Conference, and continued reshaping its roster around young players. The Wizards selected AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 overall pick and added Okpara later in the draft to strengthen their frontcourt development pipeline.
The Magic received Washington’s No. 51 pick, which was used on South Florida forward Izaiyah Nelson. Nelson enters the NBA after a productive senior season in which he averaged 15.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks in 34 games. He shot 56.1% from the field and finished his college career averaging 10.3 points and 7.8 rebounds.
The No. 60 pick involved in the deal eventually moved to Milwaukee, which selected South East Melbourne Phoenix guard Malique Lewis. Lewis brings international experience after playing professionally in Spain, the G League and Australia. In the 2025-26 NBL season, he averaged 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 25 games while shooting 38.7% from three-point range.
