Arkansas star guard Darius Acuff Jr. is declaring for the 2026 NBA draft, he announced Wednesday on ESPN's "NBA Today."
Acuff is currently slotted as the No. 6 prospect in the draft, according to ESPN's Jeremy Woo.
"First, I want to just thank God. I want to thank my family, of course. Without them, I wouldn't be here," Acuff said. "I want to thank all of the coaches that I've dealt with in my life, all of the teammates. With that being said, I'm going to be declaring for the 2026 NBA draft."
Acuff had a historic season for the Razorbacks, which included SEC Player of the Year honors in his freshman season and a spot on The Associated Press All-America first team. He led Arkansas to the Sweet 16 this season after averaging 23.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He also made 44% of his 3-point attempts.
On Tuesday, Acuff watched the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of their opening-round series in the NBA playoffs. Acuff, a 6-foot-3 point guard, said he can envision himself as a standout in the postseason at the next level.
"I see myself there, for sure. That's one of my goals," he said Wednesday. "Just watching the NBA, even at first, seeing the Lakers game, that was definitely a great feeling. It was a different feeling. It's a way faster-paced game. Teams were playing way harder for their first world championship, so I definitely see myself there, for sure."
Acuff is the latest point guard under John Calipari to enter the NBA draft as a potential top-10 pick. Derrick Rose was the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA draft after leading Calipari's Memphis squad to the national title game that season. In 2010, John Wall led Kentucky to the Elite Eight in Calipari's first season as the head coach of the Wildcats before he too was the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft that summer. Brandin Knight, De'Aaron Fox, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were also lottery picks who developed under Calipari.
Acuff said Calipari's track record with point guards encouraged him to sign with Arkansas.
But NBA legend Allen Iverson inspired him to play the position with flair. The two have formed a relationship in recent months.
"When I first watched his highlights, I told my dad, 'This might be my new favorite player,'" Acuff said. "I wasn't old enough to ever go watch him play, so I've never seen him, but YouTube was enough for me. I'm going to be honest. We've got a lot of similarities. He's one of the reasons I got cornrows, so he inspired me a lot. He always told me to just play every game like it's your last. I take pride in that for sure."