No. 1 Pick Still up in the air as 2026 NBA Draft Nears

The 2026 NBA Draft is just eight days away, and with its historically deep class, is set to infuse the league with plenty more talent. Given that talent level as a whole, especially near the top, much has been made about the top overall pick, which sits with the Wizards, and will decide the rest of the order.

For months now BYU wing AJ Dybantsa has been tentatively penciled in as the top pick, usually due to his sky-high upside as a toolsy, fluid wing with potential superstar scoring ability. But Kansas’ guard Darryn Peterson and Duke big Cameron Boozer both made solid cases in their lone seasons as well, leaving it much more up in the air than usual.

Additionally, little information has been released about the potential draft order, with the Wizards, Jazz and Grizzlies, respectively, keeping things close to the vest. On Monday, some info was finally released in the form of Peterson working out with Washington, with an interesting twist.

“Darryn Peterson, the potential top pick, visited with the Washington Wizards last week, “ ESPN’s Shams Charania said on NBA Today. “But that’s not the interesting part. The major wrinkle here, about a week from the NBA Draft, is multiple sources tell ESPN that Darryn Peterson has made the decision to only work out and visit with the Washington Wizards. He is not granting anyone else any access to him, any other workout or visit with him. He’s only visiting with the No. 1 pick team in the Wizards.

Reporting for NBA Today on top prospect Darryn Peterson deciding to only grant a visit -- and access -- to the No. 1 pick Washington Wizards ahead of the June 23 draft: pic.twitter.com/mzFM3VUByu
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 15, 2026

“I’m told Peterson has met with and worked out multiple times in Washington DC and in Los Angeles with the Wizards. AJ Dybantsa, the other player expected either the No. 1 or No. 2 overall pick, he went and visited with both the Wizards and the Utah Jazz. My understanding is that both Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa believe they will be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.”

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that a player would only work out for one team – we’ve seen camps and players posture for certain landing spots before. Though given the question marks already surrounding Peterson’s season, his lack of a workout in Utah or even Memphis is interesting.

Per Ben Anderson of KSL Sports, a Salt Lake City-based station, said that Peterson isn’t necessarily trying to “avoid” Utah.

“Despite that expectation,” Anderson wrote, “There has been ‘plenty of communication’ between the Jazz and Peterson, and the Kansas guard was not ‘trying to avoid Utah at all.’

Regardless of who Washington takes, the Jazz will be happy with the second player on their board, be it Peterson, Dybantsa or even Boozer. But as of now, it's still a mystery how the order could shake out.

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