SAN DIEGO
Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson and BYU star AJ Dybantsa are both in contention to become the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but neither player calls it a rivalry.
Why? There’s too much shared history between them.
“I said it three times, I might not go to the league, so, y’all can stop saying competing for the number one overall pick for the 2026 NBA Draft. But I don’t know if I would call it a rivalry,” Dybantsa told The Star at the Big 12 Tournament. “People are just going to make it what it is because we’re two good players, but I’ve been playing against him since I was (on) the U16 USA (team). Great player.
“He can score in all the different ways. Playmaking improving. He can play a little bit of defense, just a great player overall.”
Peterson shared a similar sentiment, noting their relationship isn’t quite “buddy-buddy,” but the two players were cool with each other.
This duo isn’t the only one with a shared history. This class of freshmen, which some consider one of the best freshman groups ever, has a lot of familiarity.
“It’s really cool,” Arizona’s Koa Peat told The Star. “I’m pretty close to most of those guys. You know, we played a lot of basketball together, USA Basketball, AAU basketball.”
Peterson, who described himself as loner, said he isn’t super close with most of the class besides Peat. Still, he takes pride in being part of this class.
“It’s super cool,” he said. “We kind of watched each other grow up, playing with each other. And just to compete at this level and all of us to still be at the top, is pretty cool. … We all respect each other.”
And there’s plenty of admiration for Peterson from his peers. This season, Peterson is averaging 19.8 points and 4.4 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game.
“He’s a great player,” Houston freshman Kingston Flemings said. “He’s great moving off ball, off-ball shooting, on ball too. When you’ve got the best defender guarding you all game, it’s going to be tough, but just the way I think he makes it easier on his teammates because he’s such a good scorer is always great.”
Peterson and these other talented freshman will likely declare for the NBA Draft after this season. So many of them are taking in what may be their one chance to play in the NCAA Tournament.
For them, it’s a moment they’ve dreamed about for a long time.
Likewise, Peterson knows there are plenty of expectations for this KU squad. And he’s ready for it.
“I feel like this is my destiny, like, my purpose in life,” Peterson said. ”I’ve been hooping my whole life. So nothing really (has) changed.”
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Shreyas Laddha covers KU hoops and football for The Star. He’s a Georgia native and graduated from the University of Georgia.