Top NBA draft prospect Darryn Peterson has met with the Washington Wizards and declined to grant visits to any other team ahead of next week’s draft, a move that has drawn significant attention from rival franchises holding lottery picks and sent a clear signal about where he believes his future lies.
The Wizards own the first overall selection in a draft that begins June 23. Peterson’s decision to limit his pre-draft access exclusively to Washington stands in contrast to the more conventional approach of touring multiple teams, and league observers have noted the choice as meaningful even if it does not guarantee a specific outcome.
Two players, one spot, mutual confidence
AJ Dybantsa, the other player most prominently connected to the top of the draft, has taken a different approach, visiting both Washington and the Utah Jazz, who hold the second overall pick. Despite their contrasting strategies, both players reportedly believe they will be the first name called on draft night, creating a genuine competition at the top of the board with real consequences for the direction of two rebuilding franchises.
Dybantsa arrived at BYU as one of the most anticipated freshmen in college basketball history and delivered accordingly. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 25.5 points per game, leading the entire country in scoring and becoming the first freshman to accomplish that feat since Trae Young did so at Oklahoma in 2018, and only the third ever to do it.
Peterson’s case rests on a different foundation. The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 20.2 points per game at Kansas, the most by any freshman in the program’s storied history. His season was interrupted by injuries that kept him sidelined for 11 games, more missed games than any projected top overall pick coming out of college since Kyrie Irving was selected after playing just 11 games for Duke in 2011. Peterson has since attributed the mysterious cramping that derailed stretches of his season to the effects of high-dose creatine use, a conclusion his doctors reached through testing conducted after the college season ended.
Washington’s position and Utah’s calculation
Peterson’s choice not to visit Utah is being closely monitored but is not seen as decisive in terms of how the Jazz might proceed. There is recent precedent for teams drafting players who declined to work out for them, as Utah’s general manager selected a player fifth overall last year despite that prospect’s camp choosing not to visit. The same logic may apply at the top of this year’s draft.
The Wizards entered the lottery tied for the best odds to land the first pick after finishing 17 and 65 last season. Washington has not won a playoff series since the 2017-18 season, and the franchise’s basketball leadership has described the top pick as a reward for fans who supported the team through a deliberate and extended rebuild.
The Jazz finished 22 and 60 and made a midseason trade for a veteran big man who played only three games before undergoing knee surgery. Utah enters the draft in a similar position to Washington, needing a transformative young player to anchor whatever comes next.
What the draft will settle
The dynamic at the top of the 2026 draft is unusually direct. Two players, two teams, two picks, and two organizations that have been rebuilding long enough that the stakes of this decision are difficult to overstate. Peterson’s exclusive visit to Washington may reflect genuine mutual interest or a calculated attempt to influence the Wizards’ thinking before any other option becomes available. Either way, his message to the rest of the lottery was unambiguous. He is not shopping around.
