Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer Headline ESPN's 2026 NBA Mock Draft

With the 2025 NBA Draft officially in the rearview mirror, front offices are shifting their attention to the vaunted 2026 draft class.

Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN released their early mock draft for 2026 on Friday, describing the top end of the field as having "historic star power" and that four players appear to be "franchise-caliber" talents.

Givony and Woo predicted Darryn Peterson would be selected first overall by the Washington Wizards. Peterson has a 6'6'', 185-pound frame and is committed to play at Kansas next season. He spent last season at Prolific Prep in California and averaged 30.4 points, 7.4 assists and 7.2 rebounds.

The next prediction was A.J. Dybantsa, an incoming BYU freshman, going second overall to the Utah Jazz.

Givony and Woo then had Cameron Boozer going third overall. The son of two-time All-Star Carlos Boozer, the 17-year-old is headed to Duke alongside his brother Cayden.

Other notable players included Nate Ament going fourth overall and Mikel Brown Jr. going fifth overall.

In his first 2026 NBA mock draft for Bleacher Report, Jonathan Wasserman also predicted Peterson, Dybantsa and Boozer to come off the board with the first three picks before Koa Peat at No. 4.