Jazz Owner Ryan Smith Revisits Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa Debate

The Utah Jazz are only a few weeks away from seeing their second-overall pick Darryn Peterson get on the floor for his first NBA regular season game.

But it wasn't too long ago when there was a bit of debate surrounding whether or not the Jazz could end up with BYU star AJ Dybantsa in this year’s draft, who would ultimately wind up going No. 1 to the Washington Wizards this past June.

Had the Jazz been able to get their hands on Dybantsa, it would've made for a bit of a storybook start to his NBA career. Dybantsa had gone through the high school and college levels through Utah before declaring for the draft, and considering the Jazz were lucky enough to get the No. 2 pick, it was easy to connect the dots on what the team's excitement would be with that outcome.

In the end, though, it was Dybantsa who won that No. 1 pick debate, and Peterson who landed with the Jazz–– an outcome that owner Ryan Smith certainly feels confident in moving forward.

Ryan Smith Revisits AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson Debate

Ryan Smith was recently interviewed by Front Office Sports heading into the new season, where, when the topic came to the Jazz likely preferring Dybantsa over Peterson in this offseason's draft, Smith made it clear that he and the organization love what they got in their No. 2 pick.

"I feel like we feel really good about where we're at with Darryn [Peterson], and things happen for a reason," Smith said. "But love AJ [Dybantsa], heck of a player. But, you know, we've been watching Darryn and AJ and we really like what Darryn's got."

Considering Smith himself is an alum of BYU, as are front office executives Danny and Austin Ainge, seeing this year's presumed No. 1 prospect end up on their own team in Utah would've been a dream come true on paper.

The buzz around that fit certainly made its rounds throughout draft season, so much so that when the Jazz got the No. 2 pick in May's draft lottery, many raised the possibility of Utah trading up the board to get the top pick so they could secure themselves Dybantsa over anyone else.

For as much of an easy fit Dybantsa would be in Utah, though, there's an argument that the Jazz actually got a better outcome by landing Peterson.

Jun 23, 2026; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver greets the second pick in the 2026 NBA draft, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson after he was selected by the Utah Jazz at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Peterson, for as good as Dybantsa projects to be, is a prospect many experts have viewed as the best talent coming out of this class, has upside on both ends of the floor, and plugs in as a perfect one-two punch of the future within the backcourt next to Keyonte George.

And throughout the most recent college season, there were often times that Peterson was touted as the No. 1 prospect in the class, which would only be derailed because of some funky health issues that arose throughout his tenure at Kansas, but have since subsided per the Jazz and Peterson himself.

Clearly, Smith––and the organization as a whole––loves that the Jazz were able to land that talent, even if a BYU product was within arm's reach of them. He's a franchise cornerstone type of player that many teams can only dream of landing in any given draft.

And if Peterson hits the ground running for his rookie season, which now sits around a month away from tipping off, many might end up wondering why he wasn't the top pick in this class instead of Dybantsa. Time will tell.

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