As the NBA season has gotten underway, some teams have their eyes set on championship glory, while others are already looking ahead to the NBA Draft lottery in May. Teams like the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, and Washington Wizards have gotten off to abysmal starts to this season, and luckily for them, the 2026 NBA Draft is projected by many to be loaded with potential star talent.
Two of the biggest names expected to be on the board are BYU forward AJ Dybantsa and Kansas point guard Darryn Peterson, and recently, NBA insider Jake Fischer broke down the latest buzz about who has the upper hand between those two.
“I continue to believe that AJ Dybantsa's playmaking ability at such size — picture an even more imposing Paul George — will ultimately prove too much for most front offices to resist at No. 1. Yet there is no consensus top selection at this juncture and recent history tells us that these can definitely shift with talents like Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer and Nate Ament also in play,” wrote Fischer on Marc Stein's Substack.
Stein also noted that “it's likewise true today that Peterson has surged ahead of Dybantsa in the eyes of some scouts already.”
A loaded 2026 NBA Draft
After a 2025 draft in which there was no doubt that Cooper Flagg would be going number one overall no matter who got the first pick, there doesn't seem to be any consensus at this point as to who the top prospect will be next year.
Stein referenced recent late draft developments between Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren, Karl-Anthony Towns and Julius Randle, and others as evidence of one player surpassing another very late in the scouting cycle before the draft, and it certainly wouldn't be a surprise to see something similar unfold in 2026.
In any case, don't expect the Nets, Pacers, or Wizards to be highly encouraged to start stacking together wins anytime soon.
