Throughout the 2025-26 Kansas basketball season, one of the more popular topics in both college and NBA circles was the question about which player would go No. 1 in this summer’s NBA draft.
Now that we’re a week away from draft night — Round 1 is slated for 7 p.m. central next Tuesday from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, with Round 2 playing out one day later — let’s take a look at where things stand, seeing how former Kansas guard Darryn Peterson remains in contention to be the No. 1 overall pick.
Because of the way DP’s lone season as a Jayhawk played out, there are plenty of people out there who want no part of him in the top spot.
I get it. It’s risky to take a player with that kind of injury history, issues that not only took Peterson out of nearly half of KU’s season but also impacted how effective he could be when he was on the floor for Bill Self’s team.
You know what else is risky?
Passing on him.
It’s easy to sit here and say that I’d take Peterson with the No. 1 pick if I were making the decision because I’ve got no stake in the game. I’m not making the pick. It’s not my job — and future — that’s on the line. And my name won’t be the one that is dragged through the mud for years, maybe even decades, if I make the wrong pick.
So, with real empathy for the men and women charged with making these decisions, I wish them nothing but luck and good fortune no matter what direction they decide to go.
Just know, in case you care, that if it were me in those shoes, I’d take Peterson. And I wouldn’t hesitate for one second.
Peterson and his people clearly agree. On Monday, reports surfaced that indicated he planned to only visit Washington, which holds the No. 1 pick, and no one else before next week's draft.
🏀 Take a peek at a few mock drafts 👀
• ESPN.com • CBS Sports • The Athletic
• SB Nation. • Yahoo! Sports. • NBA Draft Room
• NBADraft.net. • Bleacher Report. • SI.com
It’s not just about his all-around game, NBA-ready frame and the fact that the Kobe Bryant comparisons, when he’s really cooking, are not crazy at all.
It’s the fact that, for one, Peterson looks and acts the part in every way. I’ve seen it up close and talked to the guy one-on-one. He’s wired different. His mind was made for this. And I wouldn’t hesitate to hand him the keys to just about any franchise, not to mention to those at the bottom of the league that need a lift.
For two, while I haven’t paid super-close attention to everything DP has done since leaving Kansas, everything I have seen has led me to believe that the past is in the past. He’s worked out and tested well. His training sessions remain and look elite. And his interviews and answers about what went wrong at KU were both open and honest and also provided a real explanation for what happened.
The only question coming out of those sessions — at least from the parts I read about and saw on video — is are you worried it’s going to happen again?
I wouldn’t be. I’m not. And I’d take him with the No. 1 pick 10 times in a row, plugging him into the starting five and putting everything imaginable behind him to make him not only the face of my franchise but also one of the emerging young faces of the entire league.
Some of this opinion is based on what I saw and experienced myself during my recent year covering the guy. But even more of it is based on what others have said, none carrying more weight than KU coach Bill Self.
I know that Self is not an NBA GM or even an NBA head coach. But the guy knows ball. He knows talent. He knows people and personalities. And I’ve never heard him gush about someone the way he gushed about Peterson for the better part of 2+ years.
DP’s time at KU didn’t play out anywhere close to the way he or Self thought it would. But if that kind of production and regular performance is still in the cards for him, he’s going to be a star.
That’s not to say AJ Dybantsa isn’t. He’s a tremendous player with great size, incredible athleticism and serious upside. But DP is the more polished dude right now. Not to mention the more NBA ready.
Dybantsa is going to need help to reach his ceiling, with the right role and roster and people getting him involved in a way that best suits his skills.
Peterson can take the ball on Day 1 and run the entire show while making others better and leading a team in scoring at the same time.
That, to me, is the kind of thing you want from a No. 1 overall pick.
So, if it’s me offering my advice to an NBA GM, I’d simply say forget the risk of his past health issues and eliminate the risk of looking foolish by passing on him.
It could happen, of course. In fact, there are plenty of people who think it will and Dybantsa will go No. 1. And the most recent mock drafts appear to have it being a 50/50 split, with a lean toward Dybantsa.
If AJ does go No. 1, Peterson absolutely has to go No. 2, but even that puts at least one man — Washington Wizards GM Will Dawkins — on the hook for looking foolish in the years to come.
It’s one thing for the team at the top, with all of the pressure that comes with the No. 1 pick, to pass on a guy like DP, but for two teams to do it? That’s crazy talk and something we haven’t seen since Michael Jordan went No. 3 overall in the 1984 NBA draft, behind Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie.
There isn’t always a ton of intrigue around the No. 1 overall pick. Most years, we know well in advance who it’s going to be. This year, the fun on draft night starts right away, with yet another Kansas Jayhawk vying to become the top dog in his draft class.
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