2026 NBA Draft Roundtable: Who goes No. 1 general? Consultants favor AJ Dybantsa over Darryn Peterson

The 2026 NBA Draft is simply days away. On Tuesday night time, we are going to lastly get the solutions to a number of the most urgent questions of the draft cycle. It is also the beginning of the journey for probably the greatest and deepest draft lessons of the trendy period.

The talk of who’s the very best participant within the 2026 draft class has been mentioned since these gamers have been in highschool. Darryn Peterson completed because the Basketball/RecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=highschool” goal=”_blank”>No. 1-ranked participant within the 2025 recruiting cycle by 247Sports — forward of AJ Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer — so it ought to come as no shock that these three gamers at the moment are in line to be the primary three picks within the draft in some order.

Nevertheless it was Dybantsa who put collectively essentially the most dynamic offensive season in school, averaging 25.5 factors per recreation for BYU. Proper behind him was Boozer (22.5 factors per recreation), who was constantly dominant inside for Duke.

Even exterior of Peterson, Dybantsa, Boozer and Caleb Wilson, there may be star energy within the class who will probably be immediate contributors on their respective groups. There are all the time gems who’re picked exterior of the lottery and deep into the primary spherical. Due to how deep this 12 months’s guard class is, gamers resembling Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie, Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson and Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz are thought of gamers to observe within the again half of the primary spherical.

Forward of subsequent week’s draft, our CBS Sports activities specialists are debating the largest subjects and storylines. The primary installment of our roundtable sequence highlights who we’d take with the No. 1 choose, the controversy between Wilson and Boozer after which who the potential sleepers are exterior of the highest 20 picks.

Let’s dive in!

Who would you’re taking with the No. 1 choose within the 2026 NBA Draft?

Gary Parrish

AJ Dybantsa. I simply suppose he is the very best high-ceiling/high-floor prospect on this draft. There is not any approach, barring accidents and different issues unimaginable to foretell, that he is not an elite scorer within the NBA. Dimension will not be an issue. Athleticism will not be an issue. Worst-case state of affairs, he is actually good. Finest-case state of affairs, he is a multi-time scoring champ and face of a championship-contending franchise. He is secure with no ceiling. He ought to be the primary choose.

Adam Finkelstein

AJ Dybantsa. There can be three gamers in consideration – Dybantsa, Peterson, and Boozer. In a vacuum, my closing selection can be Dybantsa, however that might be swayed however what I discovered within the pre-draft course of. I’d be very concerned about Dybantsa’s solutions to arduous questions, pertaining to his disappointing senior 12 months of highschool, incapability to constantly drive profitable, and the disconnect between his defensive instruments and affect. Assuming these have been passable, I feel he is the most secure choose right here. He is too polished of a shot creator with large wing measurement, size, athleticism, and elasticity. Simply as essential, we noticed him make an enormous bounce this 12 months at BYU, and that is very related for a participant who got here up the ranks with an enormous early repute however appeared to be stagnating late in highschool.

David Cobb

AJ Dybantsa. Among the many choose few school gamers who’ve ever averaged 25+ factors, 6+ rebounds and three+ assists throughout a season are names like Larry Fowl, Julius Erving, Pete Maravich, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West. To do it as a freshman within the Huge 12 with a 55% efficient discipline objective proportion? Yeah, Dybantsa is the actual deal. And he comes with out the crimson flags related to Darryn Peterson.

Cameron Salerno

Darryn Peterson. My top-ranked prospect for the reason that begin of the 2026 draft cycle final summer season has been Peterson. That’s who I’d take No. 1. Sure, Peterson had an up-and-down 12 months at Kansas as a consequence of cramping, however his two-way upside is tough to disregard. He has the potential to be an All-NBA participant if every little thing goes proper. I’d confidently take him with the No. 1 general choose.

Isaac Trotter

AJ Dybantsa. He is the very best bucket-getter on this class, and it is unimaginable for defenders to bottle him up for too lengthy. Dybantsa’s mixture of polish and energy ought to assist him discover pathways to attain on the subsequent degree from the bounce. He is a particular athlete. He has particular measurement for a wing. Plus, I like the strides he took as a playmaker, defender and shooter at BYU. It is a shut race at No. 1, which makes match the potential decider. Dybantsa simply appears totally different than anybody the Washington Wizards at present have on the roster. 

Eric Bossi

Darryn Peterson. At 247Sports, we ranked Darryn Peterson No. 1 in high school, and once I was capable of see him wholesome at Kansas, I believed he was the very best participant within the nation. Whereas there are some legitimate questions relating to Peterson’s freshman 12 months in Lawrence that make him dangerous in some folks’s eyes, I am sticking with Peterson. When he is on, his mixture of shot creation, shot making and straightforward playmaking is simply too good to go up on.

Cameron Boozer or Caleb Wilson at No. 3? Make your case.

Parrish

Cameron Boozer. I feel Wilson has the upper ceiling of the 2 — however I would go along with Boozer. He is a bit of like Dybantsa in that he has each a excessive ceiling and excessive flooring. I can not think about him struggling in that league contemplating how superior he is been in each different league he is ever performed in. He is expert and robust with zero crimson flags. Once more, if Wilson’s jumper ever turns into dependable, be careful. However, at this level, between these two, I feel I am deciding on Boozer, particularly if it is the Grizzlies making the choice with the third choose, which looks as if a possible state of affairs. Memphis can not miss with this choose. Boozer is, I feel, the very best can’t-miss prospect within the draft.

Finkelstein

Cameron Boozer. I dove into this matter and spent about 2,000 phrases breaking down the case for each. Finally, Boozer was the selection. It simply comes right down to prioritizing his overlap of measurement, ability, physicality, basketball acumen, and historical past of profitable over Wilson’s unmatched athleticism and nonetheless huge untapped upside. I do suppose the upside dialog will get a bit of misplaced although after we take into consideration the variety of present NBA stars who attain the best ranges of the game with perceived bodily limitations (Brunson, Curry, Donkic, Joker, and so on.) I am not saying Boozer goes to be pretty much as good as these guys, however as soon as upon a time there have been hoards of individuals saying they did not have upside both.

Cobb

Cameron Boozer. Boozer’s means to function an offensive hub on the subsequent degree units him other than Wilson. You may run your offense by Boozer with confidence that you’ll get a high-quality look. That is as a result of he is a three-level scorer and a complicated passer with an elite really feel for the sport. Whereas Wilson is a greater athlete, the hole is not as broad as you would possibly suppose. Boozer’s wingspan measured over 7-foot-1 on the NBA Draft Mix, greater than an inch higher than Wilson’s, and Boozer truly timed higher than Wilson in lane agility and shuttle run. It is shut, however Boozer so clearly has the pedigree, intangibles, ability, measurables and expertise to be a franchise cornerstone. Wilson might be that as properly, however he wants extra refining.

Salerno

Cameron Boozer. It may be loopy to say, however Boozer has by some means turn out to be underrated as this draft cycle has gone on. He’s the second-best participant within the class behind Peterson, in my view. He is an elite rebounder, will probably be probably the greatest passers within the NBA from Day 1, and might stretch the ground. The way in which Boozer processes the sport is what stands out above all else. Boozer had probably the greatest one-and-done seasons in school basketball historical past. Nonetheless, by some means, he is the third-best participant based mostly on consensus. A part of that speaks to how good the highest of the category is, however I do not suppose we must always ignore how productive Boozer was at Duke.

Trotter

Cameron Boozer is like Thanos. Merely inevitable. Boozer’s mixture of relentless rebounding, comfortable contact from downtown and knowledgeable playmaking all packed into an enormous 6-foot-9, 250-pound body is simply so tantalizing. Whereas I’ve issues about whether or not Boozer could be a No. 1 choice offensively, I am open to the concept that he is simply too good and too productive to not attain that threshold. That feels just like the separator right here as a result of whereas I like Caleb Wilson’s aggressive fireplace and bodily instruments, he is bought a methods to go to be a high choice of a useful offense. Wilson strikes me as an elite second fiddle, however Boozer’s vary of potential outcomes contains changing into the very best participant from this draft. 

Bossi

Cameron Boozer. There is a massive a part of me that wishes to say Caleb Wilson right here. I feel he is an elastic athlete who’s extremely versatile on each ends of the ground and simply scratching on the floor of his potential. Nevertheless, I have been watching Cameron Boozer since earlier than he even began highschool, and he is too certain of a factor for me to go up on. 

I do imagine Wilson has a better ceiling, however Boozer’s flooring could also be higher than anyone else’s within the draft, and he is the very best pure basketball participant on this class. So I will go along with him.

What prospect ranked exterior of the highest 20 of CBS Sports activities’ prospect rankings has the potential to be an All-Star?

Parrish

Christian Anderson. He is considered the very best shooter within the draft after making 41.5% of the 7.9 3-pointers he tried as a sophomore at Texas Tech. Sure, he is on the small aspect. However he is a take-care-of-the-ball level guard who can actually shoot and go. I are likely to wager on guys like that.

Finkelstein

This is not the reply persons are in search of, however the actuality is nobody is aware of. In the event that they did, they would not be picked exterior the highest 20 when you could have thirty organizations investing tens of tens of millions of {dollars} into determining this very query. What we will say is that the gamers who drastically exceed expectations related to their draft standing are outliers who virtually all the time possess the best degree of processing means, comparable ability, and have been crossed off due to perceived bodily limitations (once more, consider guys like Brunson, Joker, and so on.) Christian Anderson will be the prospect who encompasses that overlap finest this 12 months along with his ability and IQ, however questions on his measurement.

Cobb

Joshua Jefferson is the entire bundle as a flexible 6-foot-8 ahead who performs each ends of the ground at a excessive degree. He is being ignored as a result of he is turning 23 early in his rookie season and lacks the elite athleticism required to attract consideration. In relation to really feel for the sport as a passer and scorer, he is bought all of it together with the requisite defensive versatility wanted to be relied upon in key conditions. There is a reasonable state of affairs through which Jefferson spends 12 years within the league as a extremely productive second choice for playoff-caliber groups.

Salerno

Primarily based on our CBS Sports activities prospect rankings, two names that come to thoughts are Christian Anderson and Ebuka Okorie. Anderson is arguably the very best shooter on this 12 months’s class and Okorie had probably the greatest scoring seasons in school basketball. This guard class is so deep that a kind of names might find yourself in a super scenario with a contender and turn out to be a strong No. 2 choice down the road.

Trotter

Frankly, the correct reply right here would most likely be none on this watered-down draft, however I can not give up Ebuka Okorie. The Stanford guard checks in at No. 24 on the CBS Sports activities Huge Board and has a big selection of opinions within the league, however I purchase into extra of the bullish outcomes with Okorie as a result of his means to carve up that first wave of a protection is such a necessity. He is an superior athlete with a get-off-me first step. I belief his thoughts. I belief his jumper. I like that he has an enormous wingspan that is practically 6-foot-8, which will probably be important to ending over the bushes. I feel he has legit solutions to the check offensively in any respect three ranges. So much must break proper for Okorie to get to All-Star ranges, however I wish to wager on him.

Bossi

Selecting a man with All-Star potential exterior of the highest 20 is hard as a result of if we thought a man was a possible All-Star, we would all have him rated increased. However, the identify that stands out to me is Ebuka Okorie. Plainly most individuals have the shock Stanford one-and-done ranked within the 20s, however I see him as a lottery-level expertise. Okorie will get to his spots and makes contested pictures. The one cause I can see him not being increased on boards is as a result of he simply did not get the nationwide highlight at Stanford. I feel Okorie would have put up big numbers at any program within the nation and can be much more extremely regarded had he executed what he did final season at a glamour program as a substitute of Stanford.