Brooklyn Nets select UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau with No. 43 pick
Forward Tyler Bilodeau attempts a floater over an opposing defender. Bilodeau was drafted 43rd overall by the Brooklyn Nets following two seasons at UCLA. (Zimo Li/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Jacob Nguyen
June 24, 2026 7:18 p.m.
The NBA just got one Bruin larger.
UCLA men’s basketball’s Tyler Bilodeau was drafted 43rd overall by the Brooklyn Nets in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft on Wednesday. The forward was selected a day after former Bruin-turned-Wolverine Aday Mara was chosen No. 12 by the Oklahoma City Thunder the day before, and he is the first immediate UCLA product to be drafted since center Adem Bona went 41st overall to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2024.
[Related: Former Bruin Aday Mara drafted 12th to Thunder after NCAA title run]
Bilodeau competed under coach Mick Cronin for two seasons, following two years at Oregon State, and was the only Bruin entered in this year’s draft after former teammate guard Donovan Dent did not receive an invite to the NBA Draft Combine and subsequently retired from basketball.
[Related: Breaking down Tyler Bilodeau’s prospect profile ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft]
The 6-foot-9 draftee led the Bruins in scoring through his two seasons in Westwood, averaging 13.5 points per game as a junior before jumping to a career-high 17.6 in his senior campaign. Bilodeau also averaged 5.6 rebounds per game in his final year and 4.9 across his four seasons in the NCAA.
The Kennewick, Washington, local entered the draft as one of the class’s top shooters, increasing both his volume and efficiency every year and knocking in 46.4% of his shots from behind the arc in his final season – a Big Ten best.
Bilodeau will bring a depth of experience to Brooklyn, having started all but one game across his 96 played in his latter three seasons in college.
In two seasons at UCLA, Bilodeau helped send the Bruins to two NCAA tournaments, falling in the second round both times – first to Tennessee and then to UConn. UCLA also made it to the Big Ten tournament semifinals in 2026, losing to eventual champion Purdue following a Bilodeau knee injury in the previous match.
Bilodeau joins a young Nets squad whose roster boasts a majority of players younger than 25 years old. Brooklyn’s first draft pick came on Tuesday, selecting guard Mikel Brown Jr. out of Louisville sixth overall.
Bilodeau enters as a frontcourt option for a team that recently traded for former NBA All-Star Julius Randle and will likely serve as a reserve behind Danny Wolf and Noah Clowney.
