CHICAGO — They positioned A.J. Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson on podiums a few feet apart in the center of a hotel ballroom, their backs to one another with only two NBA Draft Combine backdrops separating them.
But two of the favorites to be the top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft needed only to walk in to demonstrate the differences teams must evaluate at this annual pre-draft convention of front office personnel and in the weeks ahead before the first round begins on June 23.
Peterson arrived first wearing the standard issue combine sweatsuit the majority of prospects don throughout the week. Dybantsa walked in a few minutes later in a brown pinstripe suit. It stood out and it was intentional, the BYU star explained. His father told him this is the first job interview of his life, “so come professional, come in a suit,” Dybantsa said.
But he also came with a clear goal in mind.
“I’ve been No. 1 in the rankings since, like, ninth grade and I ain’t drop,” Dybantsa declared in front of the cameras on Wednesday, May 13 in Chicago, “so I’m not planning on dropping in the draft.”
The debate over the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft is likely to rage until the Washington Wizards are officially on the clock. Dybantsa, Peterson and Duke’s Cameron Boozer have long been pegged as the most likely candidates, and Caleb Wilson of North Carolina could also be in consideration. The chance that all four could become NBA All-Stars eventually has helped fuel the positive perception of this draft class and the historic amount of tanking NBA teams did at the end of this past regular season.
But Dybantsa has separated himself in one regard – a willingness to admit how badly he wants to go No. 1.
Darryn Peterson wants NBA to ‘learn the real me’
Peterson, for instance, used his session with reporters on Wednesday to emphasize that he’s using the pre-draft process to help teams “learn the real me and not what people are saying about me,” after a freshman season at Kansas in which he missed 11 games and left several others early due to cramping issues.
Peterson said he’s back to feeling like himself athletically after recently determining creatine usage was causing his health problems. He also noted, after mostly being used off the ball with the Jayhawks, he views himself as a point guard.
“Being No. 1 is cool,” Peterson said, “but I’m more worried about what’s the best fit for me and my career.”
AJ Dybantsa’s current starting 5:
PG: LeBron James
SG: Steph Curry
SF: AJ Dybantsa
PF: Kevin Durant
C: Nikola Jokic“I’ll have Curry at the 2, but he’s strictly there to shoot.” 🤣
(via @SportsCenter, h/t @ClutchPoints)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 13, 2026
The meetings and workouts to determine that have already started, with a wave of them occurring in conjunction with the scouting combine in Chicago this week.
Dybantsa slots more cleanly as the No. 1 pick in Washington’s current lineup as a 6-foot-8 athletic freak with elite three-level scoring ability. But that’s only if the Wizards are committed long term to point guard Trae Young.
If not, Peterson could be the right call. There’s also the chance Washington trades back, with speculation that the Utah Jazz might want to move up to No. 1 to choose Dybantsa over Peterson due to Dybantsa’s relationship with Jazz owner Ryan Smith, who is also a prominent BYU booster.
Cameron Boozer looks ahead, Dybantsa looks back
Boozer, like Dybantsa, might be the least athletic of the three but perhaps the most polished, with an inside-outside skill set, a cerebral feel for the game and a competitiveness that has him slotted ahead of Dybantsa and Peterson in certain advanced statistical models. The son of longtime NBA player Carlos Boozer said Wednesday the pick isn’t as important as the place.
“You’ve heard some other people talk about it,” added Boozer. “For me, whether I go 1, 2, 3, 4 or even lower than that, for me it’s just about going to the right fit, the right situation for me. What organization believes in me and understands what I bring to the table for the organization. I understand where you go matters for your career and how your trajectory goes, so that’s the biggest thing for me.”
The impetus behind Dybantsa’s strategy might be more straightforward. He lost to Peterson twice, once in high school and then again when the two played in Big 12 play this year. It still eats at him, he admitted.
So when asked for the toughest player he’s gone against, Dybantsa immediately thought about the person seated only a few feet behind him, and why he can’t just talk his way into being the No. 1 pick.
“Probably Darryn,” he said. “He got the best of me.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA Draft 2026: AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer on No. 1 pick
