Where AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson Land in Latest NBA Mock Draft
The 2026 NBA Draft begins on Tuesday, June 23, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Since the Washington Wizards won the NBA Draft lottery in May, the discussion has been between Kansas Jayhawks star Darryn Peterson and BYU Cougars sensation AJ Dybantsa for the top pick in the draft.
For a long time, Dybantsa has been projected to go first overall, and the BYU star has taken visits with Washington and the Utah Jazz as well.
Peterson, on the other hand, has only visited the Wizards and decided not to visit the Jazz in a bit of a surprising move.
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic compiled a new mock draft with the start just a few days away, and he still had Dybantsa at first overall.
"I'm sticking with Dybantsa here, but sources say that Washington continues due diligence and that the Wizards haven't made a decision yet. One thing that has been made clear in recent days is that the team is doing a lot of research into Darryn Peterson to understand everything it needs to know about him," Vecenie wrote.
Developments ahead of the June 23-24 NBA draft: BYU's AJ Dybantsa has conducted formal visits with both the Washington Wizards (No. 1) and Utah Jazz (No. 2) while Kansas' Darryn Peterson only visited the Wizards and does not plan to grant anyone else a meeting, sources tell me…
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 15, 2026
Vecenie says that the Wizards are doing research on Peterson, and that certainly signals that no decision has been made, at least not yet.
Darryn Peterson Lands at No. 2 with the Wizards
Peterson's decision not to visit the Jazz might suggest that the Wizards have made a decision, although Vecenie insists that isn't the case, at least not yet.
"However, sources have also said not to read too much into the fact that Peterson is not currently scheduled to go to the Utah Jazz to work out; they don't think that means the Wizards have made an undisclosed promise to pick Peterson," he wrote.
On that note, he has Peterson going at No. 2 to the Wizards.
Reports came out that The Team, Peterson's representation group, is a bit hesitant for him to land in Utah because they also represent Keyonte George, who is up for an extension soon.
At the end of the day, the Wizards appear very unsure of what to do, as Vecenie added.
"Regardless, sources indicate that the Jazz are also undecided on what to do at No. 2. Do not expect, however, that connections to Cameron Boozer through his father Carlos (who works in the Jazz front office) or Dybantsa through team owner Ryan Smith at BYU will be the deciding factor here," he concluded.
Duke big man Cameron Boozer can also sneak into the conversation at No. 2, and if Dybantsa isn't selected at No. 1 overall, then that could change quite a bit.
Related: Darryn Peterson's ‘Confident' Reason for Only Visiting Wizards Ahead of NBA Draft
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This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 10:49 AM.