Optim Analyse

Darryn Peterson selected by the Utah Jazz with the No. 2 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft

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The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NBA Draft.

The Utah Jazz selected Darryn Peterson with the No. 2 pick Tuesday in the NBA Draft.

Peterson spent one season at Kansas, playing in 24 games and averaging 20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. In high school, he showed he was a strong ballhandler who counters defenders well with his herky-jerky actions. He can not only keep his dribble alive, but also threaten defenses with his creativity out of ball screens.

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At the NBA combine, he measured at 6 feet 4.5 without shoes, with a wingspan of 6 feet 9 3/4 inches and an 8-foot-7 standing reach. He plays with strength and physicality and has a powerful, skinny frame that looks like it will continue to fill out in the next three years.

Sam Vecenie’s draft guide summary

Why Darryn Peterson’s best basketball is still ahead of him
Sam Vecenie
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Peterson was as complete a guard as I’ve evaluated entering college basketball in a long while. He’s an aggressive shot hunter on the court, and I love the way he went about improving his passing ability out of ball screens. Until this season at Kansas, he had never stagnated, continually working his way up a steady trajectory to the top of his recruiting class.

But then he plateaued with the Jayhawks, and there is a case that he took a step back in some respects — especially as a passer and playmaker. How much of it was because of injury? How much of it was because of the situation around him at Kansas? How much of it was because college basketball was harder than high school? Peterson’s performance raised questions, especially in regard to his decision-making and ability to consistently get paint touches. However, it’s possible these issues will go away once he gets into an NBA offensive scheme.

I’m buying into what I saw from Peterson in high school. It’s exceptionally hard to find players who are this creative, who can make shots at this level at such a young age and who have at least demonstrated the ability to pass and defend at some point, even if those skills have been inconsistent. Yes, there are questions that Peterson needs to answer for NBA teams. But the talent is the talent, and Peterson projects to be the kind of player who can dribble, pass, shoot, defend and think the game at a high level, as long as his development goes well over the next two years.

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Overall 3 Guard 1

Darryn Peterson Kansas

An elite shooter with All-NBA scoring guard upside, despite his strange Kansas year.

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Photo of Darryn Peterson Kansas

John Hollinger’s analysis

Peterson came into the year as the No. 1 player on most draft boards, but his injury-riddled season at Kansas left a lot of questions. In particular, the minutes he played didn’t really showcase him as a lead creator despite a high scoring rate. His stat line is more of an elite 3-and-D guy, which obviously still has value, but that would be a slightly disappointing outcome this high in the draft.

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The most notable stat for Peterson is 9.9 field goal attempts for every assist in Big 12 play, which isn’t quite in Cam Thomas territory but definitely isn’t good for a guard prospect. You can only blame him playing off-ball for some of that; most of the other elite wing prospects from recent years averaged between 4 and 7 shots per assist. Even Dybantsa, who wasn’t exactly nicknamed the Human Assist, was at 5 shots per assist.

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Peterson’s injuries and limited minutes somewhat obscured how much he was scoring, though; in conference games, he averaged 40.2 points per 100 possessions, more than Dybantsa. That’s partly because when he went to the rim in the half court, he was shooting every time; in transition, oddly, he threw some tremendous alley-oops. Peterson, alas, wasn’t quite as efficient as he could have been on those shots; he lacked explosion at the rim, and his left hand frequently let him down as a finisher.

David Aldridge’s draft confidential

Eastern Conference scout No. 1: Darryn has the higher floor (over Dybantsa). He’s going to be really good. Can he be a core player, a Steph (Curry) or Klay (Thompson)? I think he has the ability to be Klay-level. He’s really, really good. I went to a few practices, and he’s as good as any college player I’ve seen. It wasn’t like it was a bunch of first-round picks around him, like if he was at Duke. … His high school team was the same way — it wasn’t great.

Teams try to take him out. I saw him shoot with his left hand on four straight possessions: a jumper, a layup off the glass. … There’s a lot of poise to him. I don’t like anybody doing the Kobe Bryant, “I’ve got Mamba Mentality.” I don’t really like that. He’s a quiet kid. He’s not going to seek attention. I think he’s closer to Kawhi (Leonard) than Kobe in terms of personality.

College assistant coach No. 1 (his team played Kansas): I love his demeanor. He seemed locked in. (But) when we jumped on them, I felt like he had a little bit of “I don’t want any of this.” There wasn’t a lot of fight from him, which I was a little surprised with. When we played BYU, the skill (from Dybantsa) was there, but I was like, “This guy’s competitive.” I didn’t get that from Peterson.

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The size, the shooting was there. That’s a given. I think he handles it fine. He keeps it simple when he needs to. I saw him a lot in high school and AAU, and he’s got a good enough handle. He’s got good size for that position. I just think, naturally, he wants to shoot the ball. But his passing and assists were fine. Defense was OK. Dybantsa, I was like, this dude isn’t the best defender, but he cares.

This story will be updated.

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