Unsurprisingly, Darryn Peterson has slotted in at second on our community draft board. The Kansas guard is one of three players widely considered to be worthy of the top spot in the draft. Whichever team lands him in June will surely be ecstatic.
What makes Peterson such a great prospect? It all starts with his intersection of size and scoring. At the Draft Combine, he measured 6’4.5” tall barefoot with a 6’10” wingspan. He’s a guard with legitimate NBA wing size and athleticism, and he’s the best
bucket getter in the class.
There’s not a shot in the game that Peterson can’t (and won’t) take and drain while making it look easy. He’s an elite jumpshooter who drilled 38.2% of his 6.9 three-point attempts per game in his lone season at Kansas, and many of those tries were tough ones off the dribble. The mid-range is also a hot spot for him.
Peterson can fall in love with the jumper a bit too much at times, but when he attacks the rim, he’s hard to stop. He’s bursty and vertically gifted, and he’s super shifty with the rock. He gets wherever he wants on the floor if he wants to get there.
On top of the scoring, Peterson has encouraging ancillary skills. He’s a better defender than most offensively inclined stars like him. He’s a capable playmaker (more on that soon). He competes. This isn’t some Jordan Clarkson variant we’re talking about here. Think more Anthony Edwards.
Now, there are some notable concerns with Peterson that hold him back from being the consensus first choice. Most prominently, he has a spotty injury history. He only played 24 games for Kansas as a freshman, struggling with cramps that he recently blamed on misguided creatine usage. During the season, it was a weird situation to monitor, and seeing him randomly pop up on injury reports at the last minute and ask to get subbed out in the middle of games was certainly worrying.
But, he seems to think he’s overcome those problems. Time will tell if he’s telling the truth. As for actual on-court weaknesses, his passing is somewhat of a question mark. He dished out just 1.6 assists per game in 2025-26 while coughing up 1.6 turnovers. The reason for his seemingly selfish tendencies varies depending on who you ask. Some would say he didn’t have enough help at Kansas or that he was told to just go score in his role. Others think tunnel vision is a real issue for him.
All told, though, Peterson is a special talent. It’s too bad he won’t be balling in Milwaukee next year.
What are your thoughts on Darryn Peterson? Drop your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to vote for the next spot on the board!
