The discourse surrounding the 2026 NBA Draft has mainly centered on two standout players, Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa. They have become the finalists for the upcoming number one pick. Peterson had the luxury of playing on a better team than Dybantsa. However, there’s many question marks surrounding Peterson, which has created increasing doubt, especially for Stephen A. Smith.
Advertisement
There is no denying that, on skill level alone, Peterson deserves the top overall pick. His ability to generate scoring opportunities with ease is enough to swoon any NBA scout. The numbers support the eye test, as Peterson averaged 20.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for the Kansas Jayhawks.
Unfortunately, his collegiate career has seemingly come to an end following Kansas’ heartbreaking loss to St. John’s in the NCAA Tournament. In that decisive game, Peterson finished with 21 points and 4 rebounds in 36 minutes. He appeared to be able to play for the majority of the game, but that hasn’t been the case throughout the season.
Stephen A. reacted to the game by acknowledging Peterson’s quality as a player but questioning his availability and ability to show up in key moments. He used that question to justify not picking Peterson as a top 5 draft pick in the upcoming NBA drafts.
“Hell no [he shouldn’t be a top-five pick in the NBA Draft]. Every single game, we find ourselves asking, ‘What is he doing?’ That is not an investment that you can trust with the number one overall pick in the NBA Draft,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take.
“Every single game we find ourselves asking, ‘What is he doing?’ That is not an investment that you can trust with the number one overall pick in the NBA Draft.”
—@stephenasmith on Darryn Peterson following their loss vs. St. John’s ✍️ pic.twitter.com/txiB60FaWt
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 23, 2026
Peterson has become a popular talking point for sitting out for extended periods during games. The school revealed that the reasoning is cramps. However, people have speculated that Peterson wasn’t fully committed to the team or his teammates. He tried his best to denounce any of those narratives back in late February.
“Everybody’s got an opinion on it,” Peterson told ESPN. “But basketball is my life. If I could have been out there every game this year, I would have. If you would have asked me last year, what were my goals for this year, I would never mention missing games. So all this stuff kind of just happened, but I’ve got to deal with it.”
Peterson understood at that time that people would continue to have their own opinions. Fast forward to the Jayhawks’ recent elimination, and Stephen A. Smith has now formed his opinion on Peterson. Not only does he not have faith in Peterson as the top prospect, but he also believes his NBA Draft stock should be lower than projected.
Smith has nothing bad to say about Peterson’s skill set as a player. He even referred to the freshman as “special.” His main concern is with Peterson’s lack of availability. He is struggling to be on the court in a season which lasts around 30 games; if he is unable to change his ways, he is in for a rude awakening once he has to endure an 82-game NBA season.
Of course, Peterson will then receive the best medical treatment from whichever NBA team he lands with, but it’s a burden that teams ideally don’t want to deal with. However, saying he isn’t a top-five pick is a bit of a stretch. He is too talented to fall out of the top five. There’s certainly a possibility that once he gets to the league, none of these issues will matter anymore. We will truly know the answer in a few months.
