2026 NBA Draft Thread.....

[tontoz]

Arenas might not be in this draft. He was in a bad car accident, then had knee surgery. It's iffy whether he will play at all this season.

[nate33]

Watch on YouTube

Holy crap! He showed the entire package in the second half. The Michael Jordan-esque mid-post game. The driving game. And the pull-up 3's off the bounce. All against an elite defensive team.

The part that impressed me most was at the :45 second mark. He got in an isolation at the post, recognized that no double team was coming so he stayed calm. He got to his spot. He knew he was going to take a turnaround jumper over his left shoulder. His defender knew he was going to take a turnaround jumper over his left shoulder. But AJ knew that there was honestly nothing the defender could do to stop it. He was just a better athlete and would get to a higher release point than the defender could contest. And the guy guarding him, Jaylin Stewart, is a big athletic dude (6'-7" 225 Jr.) and a 4-star recruit out of high school. You gotta love a player with an unstoppable go-to move.

AJ scored just 4 points in the first half and went 1/6 from the floor and 2/4 from the line with 2 turnovers while trying to figure out the defense. In the second half, he scored 21 points, going 7/8 from the floor and 5/6 from the line with only 1 turnover.

[dobrojim]

The guest on Locked On had Dybantsa ahead of Peterson. We need a lead guard but some say, draft for need, end up needing.

[tontoz]

Holy crap! He showed the entire package in the second half. The Michael Jordan-esque mid-post game. The driving game. And the pull-up 3's off the bounce. All against an elite defensive team.

The part that impressed me most was at the :45 second mark. He got in an isolation at the post, recognized that no double team was coming so he stayed calm. He got to his spot. He knew he was going to take a turnaround jumper over his left shoulder. His defender knew he was going to take a turnaround jumper over his left shoulder. But AJ knew that there was honestly nothing the defender could do to stop it. He was just a better athlete and would get to a higher release point than the defender could contest. And the guy guarding him, Jaylin Stewart, is a big athletic dude (6'-7" 225 Jr.) and a 4-star recruit out of high school. You gotta love a player with an unstoppable go-to move.

AJ scored just 4 points in the first half and went 1/6 from the floor and 2/4 from the line with 2 turnovers while trying to figure out the defense. In the second half, he scored 21 points, going 7/8 from the floor and 5/6 from the line with only 1 turnover.

I was talking with a Utah fan on another board that follows BYU. I said at halftime that AJ needed to slow down, that he wasn't going to be able to get to the rim against that defense. AJ literally didn't take a shot the last few minutes of the first half because he was so shook.

Then in the second half he did exactly that, slowing down and reading the defense. Seeing a freshman make an adjustment that big at halftime was surprising.

This was a hometown game for him so he had a lot of family and friends in the stands. He must have felt like crap at halftime.

[DukeLecker]

The guest on Locked On had Dybantsa ahead of Peterson. We need a lead guard but some say, draft for need, end up needing.

Not totally the same, but Hawks needed a guard and took Marvin Williams over Chris Paul because his athletic upside. Those ‘00-‘10 were really good, but always lacked an elite guard. Imagine Joe Johnson, Paul and Horford.

[9 and 20]

All of the top guys look like all stars to me, but that's what I think every year, tbh.

Boozer got some Julius Randle to him, I think. But more motor and more passing.

[nate33]

I really just can't get a read on Boozer until I see him play against guys with NBA size. He is absolutely murdering these undersized opponents, but I don't know if it will translate. Could he be completely negated just by guarding him with NBA size? If he is playing against a team like, say, the Lakers, will he be able to do anything against either Ayton or Rui? Or would he suddenly look pretty ordinary?

He reminds me of Sabonis in that Sabonis consistently feasts on mediocre centers, but he gets shut down every year in the playoffs when he goes up against one of the 12 or so centers in the league who can match up with him.

[tontoz]

The guest on Locked On had Dybantsa ahead of Peterson. We need a lead guard but some say, draft for need, end up needing.

I think AJ would actually be a good fit. He wants to attack the rim, not settle for jumpers, and he is very good at it. The college game doesn't suit him because there is no illegal defense so teams can pack the paint.

Different story in the NBA. We have guys who can shoot 3s and there is the illegal defense rule so it will be much easier to get to the rim. We need someone who can put pressure on the rim. I think Riley can do it fairly well but he isn't on the same level as AJ.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Watch on YouTube

Holy crap! He showed the entire package in the second half. The Michael Jordan-esque mid-post game. The driving game. And the pull-up 3's off the bounce. All against an elite defensive team.

The part that impressed me most was at the :45 second mark. He got in an isolation at the post, recognized that no double team was coming so he stayed calm. He got to his spot. He knew he was going to take a turnaround jumper over his left shoulder. His defender knew he was going to take a turnaround jumper over his left shoulder. But AJ knew that there was honestly nothing the defender could do to stop it. He was just a better athlete and would get to a higher release point than the defender could contest. And the guy guarding him, Jaylin Stewart, is a big athletic dude (6'-7" 225 Jr.) and a 4-star recruit out of high school. You gotta love a player with an unstoppable go-to move.

AJ scored just 4 points in the first half and went 1/6 from the floor and 2/4 from the line with 2 turnovers while trying to figure out the defense. In the second half, he scored 21 points, going 7/8 from the floor and 5/6 from the line with only 1 turnover.

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2025/11/15/byu-basketball-aj-dybansta-uconn-huskies-college-basketball/

Analysis: AJ Dybantsa made the game with UConn possible, then he nearly atoned for BYU’s early sins

BOSTON — Win or lose, Saturday night’s wild game between No. 3 UConn and No. 7 BYU at TD Garden in Boston was always going to be the AJ Dybantsa Game.

Without him, the game wouldn’t have been scheduled. The teams wouldn’t have met unless it was in the NCAA Tournament next spring. And the Cougars never would have run the parquet floor beneath the Boston Celtics’ 17 NBA championship banners 40 minutes from his home in Brockton, Massachusetts.

And win or lose, the game Dybantsa made possible was going to help BYU’s seeding in the NCAA Tournament next spring by boosting its strength of schedule.

It is, after all, the first time a top-10 BYU team played another top-10 opponent since the height of Jimmermania in 2011.

TD Garden had one open date for a college game, an organizer said. BYU and UConn eagerly agreed. So did Fox Sports, which cleared out a college football night for a matchup this juicy, with each team fielding three players listed on ESPN’s Top 100.

The rest confirms what nate already surmised, but it goes into great detail with quotes from Dan Hurley and AJD. He discusses his mindset. Very cerebral. Uber athletic. Both parents were in the front row. High character kid.

Draft this kid above Peterson. He is a Len Bias before the bad choice.

[TheBlackCzar]

Watch on YouTube

Holy crap! He showed the entire package in the second half. The Michael Jordan-esque mid-post game. The driving game. And the pull-up 3's off the bounce. All against an elite defensive team.

The part that impressed me most was at the :45 second mark. He got in an isolation at the post, recognized that no double team was coming so he stayed calm. He got to his spot. He knew he was going to take a turnaround jumper over his left shoulder. His defender knew he was going to take a turnaround jumper over his left shoulder. But AJ knew that there was honestly nothing the defender could do to stop it. He was just a better athlete and would get to a higher release point than the defender could contest. And the guy guarding him, Jaylin Stewart, is a big athletic dude (6'-7" 225 Jr.) and a 4-star recruit out of high school. You gotta love a player with an unstoppable go-to move.

AJ scored just 4 points in the first half and went 1/6 from the floor and 2/4 from the line with 2 turnovers while trying to figure out the defense. In the second half, he scored 21 points, going 7/8 from the floor and 5/6 from the line with only 1 turnover.

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2025/11/15/byu-basketball-aj-dybansta-uconn-huskies-college-basketball/

Analysis: AJ Dybantsa made the game with UConn possible, then he nearly atoned for BYU’s early sins

BOSTON — Win or lose, Saturday night’s wild game between No. 3 UConn and No. 7 BYU at TD Garden in Boston was always going to be the AJ Dybantsa Game.

Without him, the game wouldn’t have been scheduled. The teams wouldn’t have met unless it was in the NCAA Tournament next spring. And the Cougars never would have run the parquet floor beneath the Boston Celtics’ 17 NBA championship banners 40 minutes from his home in Brockton, Massachusetts.

And win or lose, the game Dybantsa made possible was going to help BYU’s seeding in the NCAA Tournament next spring by boosting its strength of schedule.

It is, after all, the first time a top-10 BYU team played another top-10 opponent since the height of Jimmermania in 2011.

TD Garden had one open date for a college game, an organizer said. BYU and UConn eagerly agreed. So did Fox Sports, which cleared out a college football night for a matchup this juicy, with each team fielding three players listed on ESPN’s Top 100.

The rest confirms what nate already surmissed, but it goes into great detail with quotes from Dan Hurley and AJD. He discusses his mindset. Very cerebral. Uber athletic. Both parents in the front row. High character kid.

Draft this kid above Peterson. He is a Len Bias before the bad choice.

Was Len Bias going to be better than Black Mamba though if he had lived?
I feel like that may be the choice you are making because Peterson on defense is a monster and that part of his game is even better than his offense, and if we drafted him he'd be the most gifted guard we've ever drafted, even more than Wall.....
Dude literally can shoot with both hands out to 3, has advanced handles, and has one of the meanest streaks I've seen in HS....
And on top of that he lit AJ up TWICE for 58 and 61... I mean damn what else he gotta do...

**Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa played against each other at least twice during their high school careers, both matchups occurring in elite national showcase events.**

---

### Head-to-Head Matchups

#### 1. **Grind Session ATL – February 10, 2025**
- **Teams**: Prolific Prep (Peterson) vs. Utah Prep (Dybantsa)
- **Final Score**: Prolific Prep 88, Utah Prep 86
- **Peterson**: 58 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
- **Dybantsa**: 49 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
- **Outcome**: Peterson hit a game-winning buzzer-beater three

#### 2. **Atlanta Showdown – Regular Season Grind Session**
- **Teams**: Same as above
- **Final Score**: Prolific Prep 88, Utah Prep 86 (same score, possibly same game referenced twice)
- **Peterson**: 61 points, including another game-winner
- **Dybantsa**: 49 points, nearly led Utah Prep to victory

[Dat2U]

I really just can't get a read on Boozer until I see him play against guys with NBA size. He is absolutely murdering these undersized opponents, but I don't know if it will translate. Could he be completely negated just by guarding him with NBA size? If he is playing against a team like, say, the Lakers, will he be able to do anything against either Ayton or Rui? Or would he suddenly look pretty ordinary?

He reminds me of Sabonis in that Sabonis consistently feasts on mediocre centers, but he gets shut down every year in the playoffs when he goes up against one of the 12 or so centers in the league who can match up with him.

Blake Griffin in Detroit before he got hurt when he was all-NBA. An offensive hub. Inside/outside versatility to back down smaller guys or face up slower bigs, can draw double teams, read the floor and find the open man. Solid defender but not a real rim protector. I think Boozer is a pretty safe projection. AJ has the superstar ceiling while Boozer will have an extremely high floor as a +starter and all-star for the next decade plus. Peterson is in a class of his own with his skill level. What a wonderful draft this is going to be. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the top 3.

[tontoz]

I really just can't get a read on Boozer until I see him play against guys with NBA size. He is absolutely murdering these undersized opponents, but I don't know if it will translate. Could he be completely negated just by guarding him with NBA size? If he is playing against a team like, say, the Lakers, will he be able to do anything against either Ayton or Rui? Or would he suddenly look pretty ordinary?

He reminds me of Sabonis in that Sabonis consistently feasts on mediocre centers, but he gets shut down every year in the playoffs when he goes up against one of the 12 or so centers in the league who can match up with him.

Blake Griffin in Detroit before he got hurt when he was all-NBA. An offensive hub. Inside/outside versatility to back down smaller guys or face up slower bigs, can draw double teams, read the floor and find the open man. Solid defender but not a real rim protector. I think Boozer is a pretty safe projection. AJ has the superstar ceiling while Boozer will have an extremely high floor as a +starter and all-star for the next decade plus. Peterson is in a class of his own with his skill level. What a wonderful draft this is going to be. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the top 3.

Not buying it on Boozer, not even a little bit. Not nearly the athleticism that blake had and no craftiness to his game at all.

He looks good against cupcakes but against legit comp he gets exposed. He was a combined 10-32 against Texas and Tenn and those teams aren't even that good.

I have yet to see him make an impressive move driving to the basket. He just drops his shoulder into guys and if that doesn't work he doesn't have a plan B.

[pcbothwel]

I really just can't get a read on Boozer until I see him play against guys with NBA size. He is absolutely murdering these undersized opponents, but I don't know if it will translate. Could he be completely negated just by guarding him with NBA size? If he is playing against a team like, say, the Lakers, will he be able to do anything against either Ayton or Rui? Or would he suddenly look pretty ordinary?

He reminds me of Sabonis in that Sabonis consistently feasts on mediocre centers, but he gets shut down every year in the playoffs when he goes up against one of the 12 or so centers in the league who can match up with him.

Blake Griffin in Detroit before he got hurt when he was all-NBA. An offensive hub. Inside/outside versatility to back down smaller guys or face up slower bigs, can draw double teams, read the floor and find the open man. Solid defender but not a real rim protector. I think Boozer is a pretty safe projection. AJ has the superstar ceiling while Boozer will have an extremely high floor as a +starter and all-star for the next decade plus. Peterson is in a class of his own with his skill level. What a wonderful draft this is going to be. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the top 3.

Not buying it on Boozer, not even a little bit. Not nearly the athleticism that blake had and no craftiness to his game at all.

He looks good against cupcakes but against legit comp he gets exposed. He was a combined 10-32 against Texas and Tenn and those teams aren't even that good.

I have yet to see him make an impressive move driving to the basket. He just drops his shoulder into guys and if that doesn't work he doesn't have a plan B.

The two things has going for him is pedigree (Highly productive, son of NBA player, High IQ, great physical build/functional strength) and his age. He is 6-12 months younger than everyone else in the top 10.

That said, I cant see how he is above Mikel Brown, who is basically Jamal Murry but with a much better athlete. .
I see floor of Murray, likely Deron Williams, and ceiling of Lillard.
I got him at 3 and will let Boozer battle it out with Caleb Wilson... But Wilson is on the fast track to a Bosh comp and not sure I can put Boozer above him even.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Blake Griffin in Detroit before he got hurt when he was all-NBA. An offensive hub. Inside/outside versatility to back down smaller guys or face up slower bigs, can draw double teams, read the floor and find the open man. Solid defender but not a real rim protector. I think Boozer is a pretty safe projection. AJ has the superstar ceiling while Boozer will have an extremely high floor as a +starter and all-star for the next decade plus. Peterson is in a class of his own with his skill level. What a wonderful draft this is going to be. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the top 3.

Not buying it on Boozer, not even a little bit. Not nearly the athleticism that blake had and no craftiness to his game at all.

He looks good against cupcakes but against legit comp he gets exposed. He was a combined 10-32 against Texas and Tenn and those teams aren't even that good.

I have yet to see him make an impressive move driving to the basket. He just drops his shoulder into guys and if that doesn't work he doesn't have a plan B.

The two things has going for him is pedigree (Highly productive, son of NBA player, High IQ, great physical build/functional strength) and his age. He is 6-12 months younger than everyone else in the top 10.

That said, I cant see how he is above Mikel Brown, who is basically Jamal Murry but with a much better athlete. .
I see floor of Murray, likely Deron Williams, and ceiling of Lillard.
I got him at 3 and will let Boozer battle it out with Caleb Wilson... But Wilson is on the fast track to a Bosh comp and not sure I can put Boozer above him even.

Yeah. I have Brown ahead of Boozer, and probably have Wilson too. I think I'd be looking at Dybantsa, Peterson, Brown, Wilson, Boozer, Avdalas, Peat, Ament top 8 as of now.

I just started watching Houston vs Auburn on my DVR, after watching the Go Go and Wizards games... Cenac opened with a sweet J, he's another one worth a look (I currently have him at 9, C/PF 6-10 with 7-3 wingspan). Petiford is playing great too btw. Only halfway through the 1st at this point. I didn't know Bruce Pearl was no longer the coach for Auburn.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Wow great game! Houston over Auburn 73-72.

Cenac finished with 18 & 9 boards, made some nice shots & looked good. Also Houston's freshman PG Kingston Flemings was good (NBA Draft Room mocked at 18) had 22 & 7 assists..

Watch on YouTube

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Holy crap! He showed the entire package in the second half. The Michael Jordan-esque mid-post game. The driving game. And the pull-up 3's off the bounce. All against an elite defensive team.

The part that impressed me most was at the :45 second mark. He got in an isolation at the post, recognized that no double team was coming so he stayed calm. He got to his spot. He knew he was going to take a turnaround jumper over his left shoulder. His defender knew he was going to take a turnaround jumper over his left shoulder. But AJ knew that there was honestly nothing the defender could do to stop it. He was just a better athlete and would get to a higher release point than the defender could contest. And the guy guarding him, Jaylin Stewart, is a big athletic dude (6'-7" 225 Jr.) and a 4-star recruit out of high school. You gotta love a player with an unstoppable go-to move.

AJ scored just 4 points in the first half and went 1/6 from the floor and 2/4 from the line with 2 turnovers while trying to figure out the defense. In the second half, he scored 21 points, going 7/8 from the floor and 5/6 from the line with only 1 turnover.

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2025/11/15/byu-basketball-aj-dybansta-uconn-huskies-college-basketball/

Analysis: AJ Dybantsa made the game with UConn possible, then he nearly atoned for BYU’s early sins

BOSTON — Win or lose, Saturday night’s wild game between No. 3 UConn and No. 7 BYU at TD Garden in Boston was always going to be the AJ Dybantsa Game.

Without him, the game wouldn’t have been scheduled. The teams wouldn’t have met unless it was in the NCAA Tournament next spring. And the Cougars never would have run the parquet floor beneath the Boston Celtics’ 17 NBA championship banners 40 minutes from his home in Brockton, Massachusetts.

And win or lose, the game Dybantsa made possible was going to help BYU’s seeding in the NCAA Tournament next spring by boosting its strength of schedule.

It is, after all, the first time a top-10 BYU team played another top-10 opponent since the height of Jimmermania in 2011.

TD Garden had one open date for a college game, an organizer said. BYU and UConn eagerly agreed. So did Fox Sports, which cleared out a college football night for a matchup this juicy, with each team fielding three players listed on ESPN’s Top 100.

The rest confirms what nate already surmissed, but it goes into great detail with quotes from Dan Hurley and AJD. He discusses his mindset. Very cerebral. Uber athletic. Both parents in the front row. High character kid.

Draft this kid above Peterson. He is a Len Bias before the bad choice.

Was Len Bias going to be better than Black Mamba though if he had lived?
I feel like that may be the choice you are making because Peterson on defense is a monster and that part of his game is even better than his offense, and if we drafted him he'd be the most gifted guard we've ever drafted, even more than Wall.....
Dude literally can shoot with both hands out to 3, has advanced handles, and has one of the meanest streaks I've seen in HS....
And on top of that he lit AJ up TWICE for 58 and 61... I mean damn what else he gotta do...

**Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa played against each other at least twice during their high school careers, both matchups occurring in elite national showcase events.**

---

### Head-to-Head Matchups

#### 1. **Grind Session ATL – February 10, 2025**
- **Teams**: Prolific Prep (Peterson) vs. Utah Prep (Dybantsa)
- **Final Score**: Prolific Prep 88, Utah Prep 86
- **Peterson**: 58 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
- **Dybantsa**: 49 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
- **Outcome**: Peterson hit a game-winning buzzer-beater three

#### 2. **Atlanta Showdown – Regular Season Grind Session**
- **Teams**: Same as above
- **Final Score**: Prolific Prep 88, Utah Prep 86 (same score, possibly same game referenced twice)
- **Peterson**: 61 points, including another game-winner
- **Dybantsa**: 49 points, nearly led Utah Prep to victory

I did not know about their HS matchups.

I met Len Bias on Maryland's campus. He was down-to-earth and friendly. He spoke to me first when I was in awe, too nervous to speak. I had seen him play Hakeem and Phi Slamma Jamma tough. At the time, I thought he was better than Jordan. Len Bias is the greatest player I have ever seen live, and I saw Jordan beat the Terps at Cole.

That said, since Bias hung with Brian Tribble and other knuckleheads, my answer is he would not have maximized his gifts. I corresponded with someone in a position to know, and he told me that Bias' cocaine use wasn't a one and done. I don't know, but I respect that person's statements

Peterson must really be the shiznitz. I have read that both he and Dybantsa are better prospects than Cooper Flagg.

Peterson plays a different position than Dybantsa. I need to watch each play more.

[prime1time]

The only issue I have with Dybantsa is his lack of playmaking. It's tough to be ball dominant in the NBA if you're generating easy looks for others. From that one game, I get T-Mac vibes from Dybantsa. That combination of size, athleticism, skill and feel for the game is impressive. But he doesn't naturally create for others - 0 assists last game even though being ball dominant. Skilled scoring wings that can't create for others don't always lead to wins. Look at Carmelo. Look at KD. KD struggled to win in Phoenix. T-Mac struggled to win in Orlando. The MJ comparisons aren't apt because MJ could create for others when he wanted to. Versus, the guys I listed they just got the ball and look to score.

[nate33]

The only issue I have with Dybantsa is his lack of playmaking. It's tough to be ball dominant in the NBA if you're generating easy looks for others. From that one game, I get T-Mac vibes from Dybantsa. That combination of size, athleticism, skill and feel for the game is impressive. But he doesn't naturally create for others - 0 assists last game even though being ball dominant. Skilled scoring wings that can't create for others don't always lead to wins. Look at Carmelo. Look at KD. KD struggled to win in Phoenix. T-Mac struggled to win in Orlando. The MJ comparisons aren't apt because MJ could create for others when he wanted to. Versus, the guys I listed they just got the ball and look to score.

I think it's a fair criticism, but let's give him a few more games before we conclude that he isn't a playmaker. Against UConn, they decided to guard him 1 on 1 so it didn't really make sense for him to pass much. Why pass when you can score with such efficiency? The interesting part will be when teams start to throw double teams at him. Then we will see if he has tunnel vision or not.

He doesn't have to be a true PG like Luka. It's good enough for him to be a scoring wing who can make the simple pass - like SGA, Tatum or prime Kawhi.

[tontoz]

AJ does have a rep for a bit of tunnel vision. That is certainly something for him to work on in college.