AJ Dybantsa still looks like the safest bet at No. 1, but Darryn Peterson has turned the final stretch before NBA Draft night into a real Washington Wizards debate.
The 2026 class is stacked at the top.
With draft night closing in, the first pick increasingly appears to come down to two names.
AJ Dybantsa No. 1 race faces Darryn Peterson pressure
Marc Stein reported a late twist in Washington’s thinking, writing, “Multiple draft experts have passed along that they legitimately believe Washington could select Kansas’ Darryn Peterson over BYU’s AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 overall pick.”
That has not erased Dybantsa’s position. He remains the favorite across several respected mock drafts, with Bullets Forever’s roundup listing ESPN, Yahoo, SB Nation, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, The Ringer, ClutchPoints, and NBC Sports all projecting the BYU wing to Washington earlier in the process.
The case is easy to understand. Dybantsa led college basketball at 25.5 points per game, bringing elite wing size and giving a rebuilding team a clean pathway to acquire a franchise-leading scorer.
Peterson’s challenge is more complicated, but louder now. ESPN reported that he visited the Wizards and does not plan to grant any other team a meeting. That is a bold play from a prospect whose Kansas freshman year came with health and availability concerns, even while he averaged 20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and shot 38.2 percent from three.
The message from Peterson’s side is clear. He believes Washington should take him first, and he is acting like a player convinced the draft board will catch up.
Why Darryn Peterson should be No. 1 over AJ Dybantsa
Washington can justify Peterson if it views him as the better long-term on-ball solution. The Wizards already have wing talent in Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, Will Riley, and Justin Champagnie. Adding Dybantsa would raise the ceiling, but Peterson gives the roster a different kind of star.
Peterson can score from three levels, create late in the clock, and pressure defenses as a big guard. For a franchise still searching for a long-term offensive engine, that archetype is difficult to pass up.
There is also the Utah factor. Dybantsa landing with the Jazz would be a dream fit in its own way. He starred at BYU, Jazz owner Ryan Smith has local ties to that basketball ecosystem, and Utah can sell him as the face of a rebuild without forcing Washington deeper into a wing-heavy build.
Dybantsa may still go first. Peterson has done enough, through talent and pre-draft brinkmanship, to make Washington think twice before turning in the card.
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