Tobi Lawal gets drafted with 48th pick to Dallas Mavericks
Peckham’s Tobi Lawal has been drafted into the NBA, selected 48th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night.
The 6-8 forward, who only picked up a basketball at 16, completes a remarkable rise from the courts of south east London to the world’s best league.
A product of the City of London Academy (CoLA) basketball programme, Lawal is the latest British talent to come through the system and reach the professional ranks. He featured in the Hoopsfix All-Star Classic in 2021 before heading to the United States for a prep year at Lee Academy in New England, and then on to college basketball at VCU and Virginia Tech.
His selection makes Lawal just the seventh homegrown British player to be drafted into the NBA in the last 25 years, following Rob Archibald (2002), Luol Deng (2004), Joel Freeland (2006), Ryan Richards (2010), Jeremy Sochan (2022) and Amari Williams (2025).
Lawal spent his freshman year at VCU, averaging 5.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 13.6 minutes per game, before transferring to Virginia Tech. The move proved the making of him. In 2024-25 he led the Hokies in total points (372), field goals made (128), rebounds (210) and blocks (20).
He kicked on again as a senior, averaging 12.3 points on 54.2 per cent shooting, 8.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks across 23 games (17 starts) in 2025-26.
Across his two seasons with Virginia Tech, the London native scored 20 or more points seven times. He twice posted a career-high 23, first on his debut against Delaware State on 4 November 2024, then again versus Virginia on 15 February 2025. He grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds twice this season, against Charlotte on 16 November 2025 and at NC State on 7 February 2026, and registered a career-high five blocks against Louisville on 24 January 2026.
A GB senior international, Lawal now joins a growing list of Brits making their mark at the highest level, and does so having only started playing the game seven years ago.
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