Top 2026 NBA Draft prospect Darryn Peterson met with the Wizards in the lead-up to next week’s 2026 NBA Draft and does not plan to meet with any other team, per ESPN’s Sham Charania and Jeremy Woo.
Washington holds the No. 1 pick in the draft.
The other teams in lottery slots have taken note of Peterson’s decision not to meet with them, including the Jazz, who hold the No. 2 pick.
Utah has set a precedent of selecting players who refused to meet with them in the past, though, with general manager Austin Ainge taking Ace Bailey fifth overall last year, despite the Rutgers product electing not to work out with the team.
The confusing part of the decision is that former BYU player AJ Dybantsa is the presumed No. 1 overall pick after the 6-foot-9 forward led the nation in scoring, becoming the first freshman to do so since Trae Young at Oklahoma in 2018, meaning there is no guarantee that Peterson is selected at No. 1.
If selected, he would have the most missed games by a No. 1 overall pick since Kyrie Irving was taken by the Cavaliers in 2011.
It was reported in May that Peterson was dealing with debilitating cramping. Tests after the season found his use of high doses of creatine created the condition.
The Wizards won the rights to the first overall selection after going 17-65 last season.
“It’s our fans that have endured the most,” Wizards top basketball executive Michael Winger said. “And to me, this No. 1 pick is for them. It’s a reward for hanging in there with us. It’s a reward to continue to support us despite sometimes really bad basketball. They knew and they supported a multiyear teardown, a multiyear reinvention of the franchise.”
