{"id":2004522,"date":"2026-06-22T13:45:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T10:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2004522"},"modified":"2026-06-22T13:45:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T10:45:29","slug":"five-burning-nba-draft-questions-including-wholl-go-no-1-and-the-guard-puzzle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2004522","title":{"rendered":"Five burning NBA Draft questions, including who\u2019ll go No. 1 and the guard puzzle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Welcome to NBA Draft Week 2026. The draft is earlier in the week than normal, coming on Tuesday this year. But the madness should remain the same, with a loaded crop of talent entering the league.<\/p>\n

Yet, a significant number of questions remain, including even something as basic as who will be the No. 1 pick.<\/p>\n

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I dove deep into that, and the four other biggest questions that we\u2019re looking to find out as we enter a momentous week that will change the trajectories of multiple franchises league-wide.<\/p>\n

Who will the Washington Wizards take at No. 1?<\/h2>\n

The Wizards have quickly turned into one of the most interesting teams in the NBA over the last six months, acquiring both Trae Young and Anthony Davis to accentuate a strong young core that includes Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson and Will Riley. Now, they have hit the jackpot and get to select No. 1 in what is seen as a strong draft.<\/p>\n

The Wizards seem to have narrowed their choice down to BYU\u2019s AJ Dybantsa and Kansas\u2019 Darryn Peterson. Dybantsa is a dynamic 6-foot-9 wing who creates the most valuable shots on an NBA court \u2014 attempts at the rim and free throws \u2014 at a prodigious rate for a 19-year-old. He\u2019s improving as a passer and playmaker for his teammates but isn\u2019t necessarily a natural there. Defensively, he has all the tools to be terrific, but he seems to struggle making quick decisions on that end. If you were making me choose a favorite right now, I think he would be the leader in the clubhouse.<\/p>\n

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Overall<\/span> 1<\/span><\/span> Wing<\/span> 1<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

AJ Dybantsa<\/span><\/span> BYU<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

Elite tools for a wing; could easily become a top-10 NBA player.<\/p>\n

Read full profile \u203a<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Photo<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

But sources have maintained to\u00a0The Athletic\u00a0<\/em>throughout the process that the Wizards have done a large amount of due diligence into Peterson, meeting with him multiple times. Peterson had a strange year at Kansas, missing time and the second halves of games because of cramping issues and an early-season hamstring injury. The team situation at Kansas was also not ideal, as he had no spacing or shooting around him. But many scouts and executives believe him to be the most complete player offensively in the class based on his high school tape, where he showcased the ability to play with the ball in his hands and make high-level decisions out of ball screens. And yet, scouts still worry about whether he will pressure the paint enough to be a true No. 1 option, first-team All-NBA-style guard.<\/p>\n

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Overall<\/span> 3<\/span><\/span> Guard<\/span> 1<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Darryn Peterson<\/span><\/span> Kansas<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

An elite shooter with All-NBA scoring guard upside, despite his strange Kansas year.<\/p>\n

Read full profile \u203a<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Photo<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The key for the Wizards is that they cannot go wrong with either player. This is a home-run situation for what will undoubtedly be one of the most improved teams in the NBA next season. Really, it\u2019s just a matter of preference. And while I have Dybantsa at No. 1 and Peterson at No. 3 on my personal board, I think the race between the top three players in this year\u2019s class \u2014 throwing Duke\u2019s Cameron Boozer into the equation as well \u2014 is closer from an evaluation perspective than any draft I\u2019ve covered in more than a decade of doing this job. The basketball world is split on who the best prospect is, so it should come as no surprise that there would be multiple discussions and opinions regarding the choice in Washington\u2019s front office.<\/p>\n

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What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
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\n The Wizards\u2019 NBA lottery gift? Taking AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick\n <\/div>\n
\n Dybantsa has too much potential to become the kind of star the Wizards haven’t had around here since Chris Webber’s brief star turn.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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What will the Utah Jazz do at No. 2?<\/h2>\n

Like the Wizards, the Jazz have also become very interesting. Following their trade for Jaren Jackson Jr. at the deadline, Utah is now loaded with potential frontcourt pieces in Jackson, Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler. On top of that, their No. 5 pick from last season was Ace Bailey, whose best role would seem to be at the nominal three or four spots, even if coach Will Hardy\u2019s offensive scheme is as positionless as any you\u2019ll find in the league. Under his tutelage and scheme, the Jazz should have one of the NBA\u2019s best offenses. However, what\u2019s so exciting about this team is that it\u2019s collected an immense number of massive, skilled humans who can score while providing size on the defensive end, after years of struggling on that side of the court.<\/p>\n

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The one area that seems deficient is the ability to handle the ball and make passing reads. Jackson, Markkanen and Bailey lack those skill sets for the roles they play. Kessler is a center whose calling card is rim running and shot-blocking. He\u2019s also a restricted free agent, although sources remain steadfast in the belief that the most likely outcome is that he\u2019ll be back in Utah next season. So that should make this decision fairly easy for the Jazz, right? Take the best perimeter player who falls to them on draft night. And yet, it\u2019s not. Sources have indicated that Dybantsa, Peterson and Boozer are on the table as potential options.<\/p>\n

Realistically, the Jazz need to decide if they think they\u2019re good enough as presently constructed to contend by taking a player who fits best or if they need to simply take the best player available. Utah has been connected heavily with Dybantsa, who played at Utah Prep in high school and then at BYU. Jazz owner Ryan Smith is a significant donor to BYU and met with Dybantsa\u2019s father twice before his commitment to the Cougars, per ESPN<\/a>. The franchise also has connections to Boozer, whose father, Carlos, is a former NBA All-Star who currently works in the team\u2019s front office. Yet sources have told The Athletic<\/em> that these connections will play no role in the decision at No. 2.<\/p>\n

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Why AJ Dybansta is the no. 1 prospect in this year’s NBA Draft<\/div>\n
Sam Vecenie<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
{“@context”:”https:\/\/schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”@id”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/b0kQJtPd5KtUsjU\/”,”url”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/b0kQJtPd5KtUsjU\/”,”name”:”Why AJ Dybansta is the no. 1 prospect in this year’s NBA Draft”,”uploadDate”:”2026-06-09T19:38:53.528Z”,”duration”:”PT2M12S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/b0kQJtPd5KtUsjU\/59yKkTyxO91U.0000000.jpg”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/b0kQJtPd5KtUsjU\/59yKkTyxO91U\/59yKkTyxO91U.m3u8″,”transcript”:”BYU’s AJ Debota has long been seen as a future star. An explosive 6′ 9 wing, he has all the tools required to become an offensive hub in the NBA. And beyond that, DeBa has the exact temperament and personality to become the face of an NBA franchise. Here’s why the NBA sees AJ Debota as a future all NBA player. Simply put, DeBanta has better physical tools entering the NBA than any wing I’ve seen. in a while. His ability to play with elite bend mixed with explosiveness allows him to consistently get into the teeth of the defense as a straight-line driver. He moves people with bumps around the rim and has real counters with his gathers and footwork, allowing him to live at the foul line. He’s also a terrific mid-range shooter in terms of having a counter to the defense. There’s simply just not a better blend of size, power, length, athleticism, body control, skill in This class, scoring 25.5 points per game while shooting 51% from the field, 33% from 3, and 77% from the line. Debosa is a historically productive scorer for his age in college basketball. Here are a couple of plays that show why. So on this first one, Debosa is gonna catch on the empty side of the court in a mismatch with Baylor center Cayden Powell. Watch how he sets him up with a little hesitation and then boom. It’s gonna hit him with a quick crossover to go baseline. He’s going to use that shoulder. To bump him out of the way and then he’s going to finish through contact for an and one. Then on this one, watch him hit just a little stutter rip here against Arizona’s Anthony Del Orso, blow by him, see center Toby Iwaka rotate over and help, and then just calmly Eurostep around for the easy lay-in. This next one, Debosa, he’s going to set a little ghost screen for Rob Wright and slip to the wing where he catches, pump fakes, and gets a killer defender in Iowa State’s Killian Torre in the air. He’s going to jump. Stop after he attacks the clothes out, hits a little mid-range jumper, just really sweet as a counter there. Debosa projects to me as a bigger Jalen Brown. There are some questions you’ll need to answer in terms of his handle, his passing, his off-ball defense, things that Brown also had to answer coming out of Cal about a decade ago. But at the end of the day, Debosa is too good of a shot creator and athlete to fail at the next level. Expecting him to be a star very early in his NBA career.”,”ineligibleRegion”:[“BI”,”BY”,”CD”,”CF”,”CU”,”IQ”,”IR”,”KP”,”LB”,”LY”,”ML”,”NI”,”RU”,”SD”,”SO”,”SS”,”SY”,”UA”,”VE”,”YE”,”ZW”],”publisher”:{“@type”:”NewsMediaOrganization”,”@id”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher”,”name”:”The Athletic”,”url”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/”,”foundingDate”:”2016-01-25″,”logo”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”@id”:”https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”url”:”https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”contentUrl”:”https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”creditText”:”The Athletic”,”height”:”60″,”width”:”435″},”publishingPrinciples”:”https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/”,”sameAs”:”https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic”},”author”:[{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”Sam Vecenie”}]}<\/p>\n
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