Who's No. 1 Player in 2026 NBA Draft? Execs, Scouts Sound Off on Peterson, Dybantsa in New Poll

Kansas shooting guard Darryn Peterson received 12 votes and BYU small forward AJ Dybantsa got eight votes in a poll of 20 NBA scouts and executives that asked who they thought would be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft.

ESPN's Pete Thamel conducted the poll and revealed the results in advance of BYU's Saturday afternoon road matchup at Kansas.

One veteran scout vouched for Peterson, who is averaging 21.6 points on 49.3 percent shooting (42.0 percent from three) and 4.6 rebounds in 27.2 minutes per game.

"It's Darryn Peterson for me," the scout told Thamel. "He makes things look so effortless, it's unbelievable. His shotmaking is unmatched. He's the closest thing to Kobe Bryant I've seen since Kobe in terms of shotmaking and ability to create his own shot. He's not the same athlete as Kobe, but no one is. He's really special."

Peterson has been tremendous. Unfortunately, injuries have held him to 10 games to a hamstring injury, cramps and an ankle sprain. Peterson missed one matchup (last Saturday's 86-62 win over Kansas State) with the ankle injury, but he will be back for the BYU game.

One scout wasn't thrilled with his lack of availability.

"I don't like the drama of playing and not playing," one scout (who chose Peterson) said. "But he's a scoring menace. He's just a killer offensively."

As for the 6'9", 210-pound Dybantsa, a veteran NBA executive cited his slightly higher ceiling for why he felt he'll go first.

"It's so close," the executive told Thamel. "I'm saying 51 percent to 49 percent, just barely. I just feel like there's a little bit more potential with AJ Dybantsa as a player who makes others better. But if you call me on March 1, I could tell you that I changed my mind."

Dybantsa is averaging 23.6 points on 53.0 percent shooting, 6.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. His two-way potential hasn't gone unnoticed, with one scout telling Thamel: "He's the only one who has a chance to be elite on both ends."

Right now, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has Peterson as his No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. Duke forward Cameron Boozer is No. 2, and Dybantsa is third. Boozer is fantastic in his own right, averaging 23.5 points and 9.8 rebounds for a 20-1 Duke team.

He isn't seen as having as much upside as Peterson and Dybantsa, but Boozer should be a top-three pick at worst and could be a fantastic pro.