Canton native Darryn Peterson, among the top prospects in this year’s NBA draft, will reportedly only meet with one team ahead of the draft process.
Peterson visited with the Washington Wizards, who hold the No. 1 overall choice this year, but he does not plan to grant a meeting to other teams, according to reporting from ESPN.
As things stand, barring a trade, the Wizards, Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies, respectively, hold the top three picks in this year’s draft. Peterson, a Kansas Jayhawk, joins AJ Dybantsa (BYU) and Cameron Boozer (Duke) as being widely viewed as the top three prospects available.
Whether Peterson will go No. 1 overall to the Wizards despite not granting any other teams a meeting remains to be seen, though. ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith called out the Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy product in February, saying in part, “I can’t trust him,” and that there’s no NBA team that should draft Peterson No. 1 overall. That criticism stemmed from Peterson’s inconsistent availability while with the Jayhawks, including leaving games early due to what was reported as cramping.
Peterson defended himself against Stephen A’s comments, saying in part, “Basketball is my life.”
While Peterson reportedly doesn’t intend to meet with any other teams outside of the Wizards, “that is not considered by rival teams to be a major factor in whether the Jazz will select him (at No. 2 overall overall),” ESPN wrote.
ESPN reports that Dybantsa, the 6-foot-9 forward who became the first freshman since Trae Young to lead the country in scoring at 25.5 points per contest, is the presumed favorite to go No. 1 overall to Washington.
What were Darryn Peterson’s college stats?
In 24 regular season games played with Kansas (23 starts), Peterson averaged 20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 43.8% from the field and 38.2% from 3-point range on 6.9 attempts from long range per game.
He scored a season-high 32 points in an overtime win over TCU on Jan. 6, 2026.
Darryn Peterson injury history
Peterson sat out 11 games last season for Kansas due to issues with cramping. He attributed it to having high doses of creatine in his body.
Who is Darryn Peterson’s brother, Darryl Peterson III?
Wherever Darryn Peterson goes in the NBA draft, he won’t be the only family member in professional sports. His brother, Darryl Peterson III, was signed by the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent following the 2026 NFL draft. The elder Peterson brother went to Archbishop Hoban.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton native Darryn Peterson meets with Wizards, but not other NBA teams
Reporting by Ben Leibowitz, Canton Repository / The Repository
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By Ben Leibowitz, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
