The Riskiest Pick for The Pacers May Surprise You

The Indiana Pacers lost last night in a hard-fought game against the Washington Wizards. The Wizards won 112-105 against the Haliburton-less Pacers. Two teams in a battle of the tank race. A battle that NBA commissioner Adam Silver is trying to find solutions to end in 2027. The Pacers, for this year’s draft, are on track to potentially secure the first overall pick.

Final. pic.twitter.com/T80wLBnepE
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 20, 2026

When Haliburton returns next season, the Pacers will be on the clock to march back to the playoffs and into title contention. The pick in this draft will determine if they rebound in their pursuit of a championship. Today, we look at the riskiest pick in the 2026 draft for the Pacers.

The riskiest pick

When the college basketball season started, there is no situation I could have imagined that would have Darryn Peterson as the riskiest option for the Pacers, but here we are. Let’s first explore Peterson as a prospect and his year to this point in proper context.

Peterson is a 6’5” shooting guard who is one of the most polished scorers I have ever seen. That is no small feat since I have been watching NBA basketball since the late ’80s. He is right up there with the best college freshmen of all time in talent and polish.

He is averaging 20 ppg, 3.7 rebs, and 1.5 asts per game. Peterson is an outstanding three-point shooter, knocking down 43.1% of his attempts from deep on 6.8 attempts per game. He is an absolute marksman. He can hit shots from all over the floor, whether that is running off screens or taking his defender off the bounce. He uses his elite size and athletic ability to shoot right over the top.

Peterson isn’t limited to offense either. He is a two-way playmaker. He is ranked 7th in DRAPM on CBB analytics website that measures a player’s defensive impact. He is terrific off ball and in the passing lanes, but it isn’t just taking chances. When he faced off against AJ Dybantsa, he had him in jail all game long in one-on-one situations. He is clearly capable of high-level defense.

Draft Prospects - CBB Analytics

Think that my biggest Darryn Peterson thing is that both Kansas and/or his representation are not doing him favors by not having him do more consistent front-facing press.

The mystery is eclipsing the talent right now. They should take at least some of the mystery out of it.
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) February 20, 2026

What is the risk

The issue with Peterson is the mysterious circumstances where every other game seems to come with a different injury or illness. In the latest instance, he was cooking — in only 18 mins he scored 23 points — and then abruptly took himself out for the rest of the game. This came after going 6 out of 10 from deep. He was on an absolute heater and then just shut it down. He has only played in 15 out of a possible 26 games this season. This doesn’t factor in the numerous times he checked himself out mid-game.

The more this continues, the riskier this pick becomes for the Pacers. Do you want to add a guy into your organization who you can’t count on to play? When times get tough and you need a player to gut it out, will Peterson check himself out? Will he continue to improve? Does he have the drive to be great? These are all questions that will be swirling throughout his career. He obviously works at his game. He is incredibly skilled in most areas.

There is still time left in this evaluation for the Pacers. It could come out that there was some sort of minutes restriction the public wasn’t aware of, but Kansas head coach Bill Self’s comments after the last game just add more confusion into the mix.

“We've had this happen more than a couple of times. I thought he was good to go. We only got 18 minutes out of him. That's disappointing, because he could've had a really big night,” said Self. Perhaps it is a disagreement between Peterson’s camp and Kansas in terms of a medical timeframe. That is all just reckless speculation that is adding to the risk. Will the Pacers be willing to take it if they end up with the first pick?