​Darryn Peterson is a bit of a cult favorite for NBA fans who closely followed the 2026 draft class. Though the Washington Wizards ultimately opted to select the versatile and tantalizing BYU wing, AJ Dybantsa, with the number-one overall pick, there’s a vocal chunk of NBA fans and talent evaluators who believe that the Utah Jazz came away with the most promising prospect in the class with Peterson.Not bad value for the number-two overall pick.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd through his first two appearances with the Utah Jazz Summer League team, Peterson lived up to the hype in abundance, posting 28 and 25-point performances in his debut games — and a 12-assist night for good measure in the latter contest.The way he plays and the comfort with which he scores the ball is unlike any prospect the NBA has seen in over a decade (at least), and that’s why he receives outlandish player comparisons like Devin Booker, Kobe Bryant, or this one from Jay Bilas, aligning the Jazz rookie with one of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen.”The last guy I could say that scored it as easily as [Darryn] Peterson was Kevin Durant.”That’s a comparison that shouldn’t be made lightly, but Bilas isn’t alone in projecting greatness onto Peterson before he’s set foot onto a proper NBA playing surface.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEven Peterson hopes to claim some of the stardom of those who came before him, naming Bryant as one of his fundamental inspirations for his mentality and approach to the game.But his clear path to stardom was met with some rocky roads when Peterson and the Jazz met with Dybantsa and the Wizards in the Las Vegas Summer League. Utilizing a hyper-aggressive defense and the abilities of NBA players Tre Johnson and Will Reily, Washington was hell-bent on making Dybantsa’s first Summer League duel a successful one — especially at Peterson’s expense, as his NBA-level help boiled down to Cody Williams.Despite the pestering and nine-foul outing of his primary defender, Peterson lived up to the Durant comparisons by still pushing 24 points in a 40-minute contest despite not shooting the ball especially well from the floor. That’s what great scorers do, and that’s what was put on display in the Jazz Summer League team’s first loss of the circuit.Now that Ace Bailey is back on the roster, perhaps some of the attention will be drawn away from Peterson, freeing him up to play comfortably and unleash the supernova he was in Salt Lake City.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEither way, Peterson has flashed more than enough upside to have Utah Jazz fans believing that their mired franchise has finally secured an elite player capable of elevating the team to the highest level of the sport.