Jazz’s Darryn Peterson reveals ruthless Kobe Bryant-inspired mindset

Darryn Peterson is making plenty of waves for the Utah Jazz in the early goings of Summer League. The second overall pick of the 2026 NBA Draft, Peterson is wowing NBA fans with his incredible shot-making and shot-creation talent, as he is showing that the Jazz made the correct pick.

Peterson has looked like a man amongst boys through two games of Summer League. In his SL debut for the Jazz, his offensive talent was in full display, as he finished with 28 points on 11-21 shooting from the field in a 103-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks in overtime. And the 19-year-old guard followed that up with another impressive scoring night, outdueling 2026 third overall pick Cameron Boozer in a 109-100 win — recording 25 points and 12 assists.

Suffice to say, Peterson is matching the hype surrounding his name, especially when many talent evaluators believed as though he was the most talented player in the 2026 NBA Draft class. And it will be music to the ears of Jazz fans to hear that Peterson is aiming to take after the mindset of the legendary Kobe Bryant, who always wanted to go at the opposition with such ruthlessness.

“I say it all the time, I’m a Kobe [Bryant] guy… Anytime I can assert dominance, I try to, so at the end of games, I try to kill,” Peterson said in his postgame interview on Monday.

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