NBA Execs Project Darryn Peterson As No. 1 Pick In 2026 Draft

Soon-to-be Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson is a native of Canton, Ohio, and began his high school career at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. And 23 years after LeBron James, Peterson could become a Northeast Ohio product taken with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.

At least, that’s what NBA executives and scouts predicted in a piece from ESPN’s Jeremy Woo. Granted, Peterson has yet to play a game for the Jayhawks, but anyone who saw him even during his first two years at CVCA knew he was a major pro prospect.

A 6-foot-5 guard, Peterson possesses many LeBron-like traits. He boasts outstanding athleticism, a strong handle, and an excellent outside shot. He plays with great poise and gets his teammates involved. The ESPN story described Peterson as “one of the best lead guard prospects in recent memory.”

He earned 12 votes from NBA execs as the most likely No. 1 pick in 2026. BYU’s AJ Dybantsa finished just behind him with eight.

Peterson transferred from CVCA after his sophomore season, spending one year at Huntington (W.Va.) Prep before finishing at Prolific (Calif.) Prep. He finished as the Naismith Prep Player of the Year and co-MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game this past spring. And he may be the most noteworthy Kansas recruit since Danny Manning.

Along with all that, he has an NIL deal with Adidas, as well as Fanatics, Inc., making him the youngest athlete in history to sign with a trading card company.

Here is what 247 Sports scouting director Adam Finkelstein wrote: “Peterson is extremely versatile. He’s a true combo guard who is equally effective playing on or off the ball. He has natural poise as a handler with now only rare moments when he can be rattled by pressure from smaller guards. He’s also a true multi-level scorer who can simultaneously see the floor, make reads, and pass well.

“He has a very smooth pull-up game, can overpower most opposing guards off the dribble, take smaller defenders into the post, and also thrive in ball-screens. His understanding of how to get to his spots is second to none and that’s why he’s such an efficient scorer, even in high volume, especially inside the arc (24 points per game in 3SSB play on 50% shooting from the floor and 57% on two-point field goals).

“He also has good natural instincts and has already developed an NBA-caliber intellect when it comes to drawing fouls and getting easy points at the free-throw line.”

And, oh by the way, he’s a 90-percent foul shooter.

Peterson first attended Hartford Middle School in Canton. He then landed at CVCA, as Royals coach Matt Futch and Peterson’s father were college teammates at Akron. Now, the younger Peterson will soon be on his way to the NBA. And he just might do it as the first of all the draft picks in his class.

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