New NBA Draft 2026 Big Board from ESPN's Jeremy Woo amid AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson Rumors
Less than a month out from the 2026 NBA draft, the prospect order at the top of the class hasn't shifted in the view of ESPN's Jeremy Woo.
BYU's AJ Dybantsa remains atop Woo's newest big board, and he's followed by Kansas' Darryn Peterson and Duke's Cameron Boozer. Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr. (No. 7) is the first player to move up, gaining two places.
In general, Dybantsa is the popular pick at No. 1. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected him to lead off the draft and land with the Washington Wizards.
According to Woo, however, there isn't a unanimous belief in Dybantsa as a superior choice to Peterson, Boozer or North Carolina big Caleb Wilson.
"It's worth emphasizing that Dybantsa has never been the true consensus No. 1 pick in this class, with Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer also garnering strong support around the league, and Caleb Wilson also considered to be in that tier by some," Woo wrote. "But NBA executives have widely come to view him as the safest choice of that group."
Wasserman's assessment aligned with that as he called Dybantsa "the safest choice at No. 1."
The 6'9" forward averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists as a true freshman. He hit double figures in scoring in all 35 of his appearances.
In addition to his consistency, Dybantsa boasts more raw physical tools than Boozer, so it's easy to see why he gets the edge.
Peterson's outlook, meanwhile, is unchanged from what it has been in recent weeks as well.
"Based on current information, it would be surprising to see Peterson fall out of the top two, with both Washington and Utah presenting strong long-term fits," Woo said. "He's the most gifted scorer and shotmaker in the class, with room to improve as an on-ball creator, something NBA teams will recall he did plenty of in high school. At his best, no player in the draft can match his scoring prowess, and those moments were loud but infrequent at Kansas."
Especially with Keyonte George breaking out in his third season, adding Peterson to the mix would give Utah a dynamic backcourt for the future.
As rough as the last few years have been in Utah, the overall vision is becoming clearer with the franchise poised to land a serious difference-maker in the draft.
