Darryn Peterson’s complicated injury situation hasn’t hurt his standing among NBA teams heading into the 2026 draft. Five NBA executives and scouts who spoke with The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie indicated that the Kansas guard remains a top-three prospect despite missing time and dealing with several leg issues throughout the season. The teams plan to closely examine the medical results during the pre-concept process before making final evaluations.
Peterson’s injury has become one of the biggest talking points of the college basketball season. The classification of the condition has changed several times since the beginning of the year. Kansas coach Bill Self has variously described it as a hamstring injury, quad cramps and a minutes restriction at various points.
Peterson struggled late in Kansas’ Dec. 13 game against NC State with what Self called quad cramps. He returned Saturday against UCF and scored 26 points in 23 minutes before sitting out the final 11 minutes. Peterson himself said after the game that he had a minutes restriction.
On Monday, Self said Peterson’s legs were no longer letting him play. Peterson scored 32 points against TCU on Tuesday night, but sat out the overtime period. Self attributed the absence to cramps.
When Peterson has played, he has dominated as a perimeter scorer. He hasn’t shown the same explosiveness getting to the rim as he did in high school. The freshman from Kansas has not appeared to be fully healthy all season.
NBA teams will rely on mandatory medical exams under the new collective bargaining agreement to determine if there are any long-term concerns. Results for prospects projected to place in the top 10 will only be distributed to teams that pick within that range. Teams at the top of the draft will closely examine Peterson’s medical information.
“The good news is we don’t have to make that decision right now,” said a front-office executive who was granted anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly about the draft prospects. “We’ll find the information that’s important for his leg at the combine and go from there. By scouting him, I’d like to see Peterson play. Ultimately, if he doesn’t end up playing enough, it could lead to the No. 1 team being more comfortable from a safety perspective with one of the other two guys at the top. I can’t speak for everyone, but I’ve seen enough of Peterson, both at the high school level and in college, to feel comfortable with him being at least in the top three. player in the class, as long as his long-term medical diagnosis is clear.”
NBA teams don’t think anything questionable is happening with Peterson’s situation. Self is adamant there has been no discussion about shutting down Peterson for the season to preserve his draft stock.
The injury situation has raised questions that scouts will need to explore once Peterson begins the pre-draft process. The overall impression from NBA decision makers remains that Peterson’s stock has remained stable despite the complications.
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