Updated 8:10 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, 2026:
Former Kansas guard Darryn Peterson was selected No. 2 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night, making him the highest-drafted Jayhawk since 2014.
Peterson is the first KU player selected in the first round since 2023 and in the top five since 2017.
He did not quite match Danny Manning or Andrew Wiggins as the first overall pick — the Washington Wizards ultimately selected BYU’s AJ Dybantsa No. 1 overall — but Peterson did become the first-ever Jayhawk taken No. 2.
“I’m really happy for him,” KU coach Bill Self said later on Tuesday night. “I think he’s going to a perfect fit for him based on personnel, so he’ll have the ball in his hands. I’m sure he’ll be the point guard, and I’m really excited for him. I’m excited for his family, and certainly he’s worked really hard.”
Peterson, whom Self has called the best player he has recruited at KU, spent one year with the Jayhawks. Over the course of the season, he battled injury, illness and most notably a recurring issue with cramping. Taken together, they caused him to miss 11 games and leave a handful of others early. But all told, he still appeared in 24 games, averaging 20.2 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 43.8% from the field and 38.2% from deep, frequently showing flashes of brilliance.
Some of his most memorable moments with the Jayhawks included a season-best 32-point showing in a comeback win over TCU in which he drew a foul and made three free throws in the final seconds to force overtime, a dunk over two BYU players as part of a memorable first half in which he outdueled Dybantsa at Allen Fieldhouse and back-to-back 3-pointers to steal a stunning victory on the road at Texas Tech.
Peterson also scored 28 points against Cal Baptist and 21 against St. John’s in the NCAA Tournament before his college career ended in the second round.
“Unfortunately, you hear all these accolades that everybody gives him — and it’s deservedly so — about his talent, and we didn’t get a chance to see it consistently,” Self said. “We saw it at times but not consistently, with health issues. So it makes me very happy for him, but also kind of feeling of a what-if a little bit as well.”
In the months since the season concluded, Peterson has said that he solved his cramping issues by ceasing to take creatine, which when combined with his high “baseline level” apparently became problematic for his health.
He will now join a Jazz roster looking to take a step forward after finishing 22-60 last season to tie for the worst record in the Western Conference. Utah is led by forwards Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. and guard Keyonte George.
“Well, I mean obviously, with Danny (Ainge, the CEO) at the top of it, I think that that bodes well, and you have somebody that’s been there and done everything,” Self said. “And I don’t know (head coach) Will Hardy well, but I do know of him and know him a little bit. And I’m very impressed with him and their front office, some of the guys in their front office. So I think it’s a good fit. I do.
“I think we get so hung up on location or city or a lot of different things. You’ve got a franchise that needs somebody to be their franchise player. And you’ve got experience in the front office that have been there and has done it, not only as a player and won a championship, but also done it as a coach and also done it as a front-office guy, obviously with the Celtics.”
Svi Mykhailiuk is currently on the Jazz, having just put together one of the best seasons of his pro career for last year’s team. Several other former Jayhawks have played in Utah in recent years, including Ochai Agbaji. The most recent player that the Jazz drafted out of KU was Udoka Azubuike in 2020; other notable selections include Greg Ostertag and Jacque Vaughn (now a KU assistant coach) in the 1990s.
Self said he believes Peterson can become a perennial NBA All-Star.
“You know, it may take him a year or two to get his legs under him,” Self said. “But I think he’ll be one of the best guards in the league, he’ll be one of the most talked about, he’ll be a guy that averages 20, 25 a game, I think, over the course of his career.”
Darryn Peterson is interviewed after being chosen by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York.
AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura