2026 NBA Draft grades, second-round pick-by-pick analysis

We handed out grades for every first-round pick of the 2026 NBA Draft. Now it’s time to grade the second round:31. Houston RocketsBruce Thornton, 6-0, Ohio State senior guardGrade: A+The Rockets traded up to acquire Thornton from the Knicks, giving them a third small guard alongside Fred VanVleet and Reed Sheppard. Could this make Sheppard, the third pick in 2024, more expendable? Perhaps so, because Thornton is a three-level scorer with playmaking feel and the competitive fire that lifts