Kansas basketball’s top freshman and potential No. 1 pick in the next NBA Draft has made headlines for his sporadic availability in a frustratingly inconsistent season, including Wednesday night. As attention shifts to March Madness and college basketball takes the annual spotlight, the Peterson discourse moves beyond how his persistent injuries and cramp issues could hamper the Jayhawks’ NCAA Tournament hopes. Could they also impact his draft prospects?
And the debate has reached the loudest platforms in sports media.
“There is no team that should take Darryn Peterson No. 1,” Stephen A. Smith said Thursday on ESPN’s “First Take.” “The first ability is availability. … What the hell is going on? … I can’t trust him.”
“There’s no team that could take Darryn Peterson at No. 1. … [Peterson] cannot be trusted.”@stephenasmith SOUNDS OUT about Peterson’s availability this season 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/WRq5gswRrv
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 19, 2026
Despite the public criticism, Peterson’s NBA prospects remain steadfast. At least for now.
“I haven’t heard from anyone I’ve talked to anything like, ‘Wow, he’s going (pick number) 10 now,’” said one NBA scout, who was granted anonymity, as were others who spoke to him. The Athleticsin exchange for speaking candidly about a college perspective. “If I’m finally on the clock, I don’t think a few missed games because of hamstring issues or whatever is going to convince anyone that drafting Darryn Peterson isn’t worth it.
“He’s such a valuable archetype, right? Big enough. Can lead an offense. Makes hard shots.”
The biggest threat to Peterson’s draft stock is the reality that he’s a player in an alien freshman class — perhaps the best we’ve ever seen. In other years, the difference between Peterson and the next best prospect could be a chasm. This cycle? Even if Peterson were fully healthy, there is serious debate among NBA personnel about his upside compared to BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Duke’s Cameron Boozer, North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson, Houston’s Kingston Flemings and a slew of other first-year stars.
“What makes this difficult is that the class is elite,” said a second NBA scout. “You get (Arkansas star Darius) Acuff last night. You get AJ playing at such a high level. I mean, Boozer has been the ultimate dependable in terms of production and double-doubles and all that. … Caleb has been great, and then he gets hurt (with a broken left hand).”
Multiple college and NBA sources familiar with Peterson and his college recruitment said so The Athletics He was known to have missed high school games as well. However, unless the pre-draft process and medical data are cause for concern, the sentiment in NBA circles is that Peterson will still be one of this year’s top picks. Not so the top choice.
“He’s elite, elite, elite,” the second scout said. “When he’s fully healthy, his shot making is on another level. … When it comes down to it, man, if you’ve seen this guy play in high school, and you’ve seen those matchups, like: Darryn is the boy. Certainly.”
Despite playing less than 40 percent of Kansas’ minutes this season, Peterson continues to wow NBA evaluators when he plays. An industry source familiar with Peterson’s recruitment — and who agrees he should be the top pick in June’s draft — called the Ohio native a “complete” player and said the flashes he has shown have been “even better” than most NBA decision makers expected.
None of this makes this season-long ordeal any less strange.
The basic facts of Peterson’s first year are confusing. He is a five-star prospect and one of the top recruits in the class of 2025. He has only spoken publicly a few times. The 6-foot-1 senior guard has lived up to those expectations on the floor, averaging 20 points and shooting 49 percent overall and 43 percent from three-point range. His feel for the game has drawn comparisons to Kobe Bryant.
The problem is that he has only played in 15 of Kansas’ 26 games and is averaging 26.9 minutes in those 15 appearances. He missed seven straight games in November and early December with a hamstring injury, including non-conference losses to Duke and UConn. Since then, he has been limited by hamstring issues, cramp issues and a twisted ankle in Big 12 play, including a few bizarre instances.
In an overtime win against TCU on January 6, Peterson was brilliant, scoring a season-high 32 points. Except he also spent most of his late comeback with heating wraps around his legs, only to check back in for the final 5.4 seconds, commit a three-point foul and drain all three free throws to send the game to OT. Then he didn’t play at all in extra time.
In a big Saturday showdown on Jan. 31 against BYU and fellow standout Dybantsa, Peterson was transcendent during an 18-point first half and seemed to answer any doubts about who should be the NBA’s top pick.
‘He wanted it cook AJ,” the second scout said. “He had that dunk against BYU. He stood up for that game.”
UNREAL. pic.twitter.com/rMEBRVZq3A
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) January 31, 2026
Until he dropped out of the last 17 minutes due to cramps.
Last week he missed a Big Monday game against No. 1 Arizona due to flu-like symptoms, an absence that was announced minutes before tipoff after Peterson tried to go through pregame warmups. The Jayhawks staged a dramatic comeback in the second half without him.
The constant yo-yo of injuries and illnesses with minimal details — especially from Peterson, arguably one of the highest-paid players in the sport — led to speculation that he would shut things down or shield himself from the draft process. It got loud enough that Kansas coach Bill Self publicly defended Peterson a few days after the Arizona game.
“I’ve read some stories about him, and they’re not even remotely true,” Self said. “The stories are BS. … It’s a lot when you’re 19 years old and dealing with everyone who has a story about everything that’s going on.”
But in Wednesday night’s win over Oklahoma State, Peterson poured in 20 in the first half, hit a 3-pointer early in the second half and promptly ruled himself out for the remainder of the game due to cramps. Again. It was reminiscent of BYU’s performance and seemed to catch Self off guard.
“I didn’t expect that at all tonight. I thought he was ready to go,” Self said after the game. “We only got 18 minutes ahead of him. That’s disappointing because he could have had a very good evening. It’s happened often enough that our boys have learned to play without him, even if that’s not the way we want to play. But that’s certainly something we’re not used to at the moment.”
Many in the industry feel that frustration — from Peterson, Self, Kansas and fans — is finally spilling over to the public.
If there is any concern about Peterson at the NBA level, it is not – at least not yet – rooted in his talent. But there are those who wonder whether Peterson’s inner circle provided the best guidance in this situation and whether that can carry over to the next level.
However, any concerns for Kansas are certainly justified. When Peterson is on the floor and playing anywhere near his abilities, he is one of the best in the sport, and the Jayhawks are a legitimate national title contender. The team proved it can win without him, even against a top-ranked Arizona team that was undefeated and at full strength. But without Peterson, the ceiling is lower in Kansas, and the uncertainty about what we can expect from him doesn’t help. Maybe Peterson will start to feel healthier along the way, but it’s hard to imagine things will stabilize if he has to play back-to-back days at the Big 12 Tournament or two high-wattage games in three days at the NCAA Tournament.
At the same time, these appear to be real health issues holding Peterson back, as opposed to some kind of calculated gamesmanship regarding his NBA future.
“I don’t know what they call it medically,” said the first scout, “but you can’t hide from the combine.”
As dark and frustrating as this freshman season has been, if all he cared about was his draft position, he would have shut it down by now. As Self said, load management refers to four games in seven days, not two full halves. The erratic availability is concerning, but the fact that Peterson continues to go out and perform when he does has endeared him to some at the next level.
“I do feel bad for Darryn in some ways,” said the second scout, “because I think he looks at it like, ‘I’m trying to play, and I could have closed it out.’”
Barring a significant change in the next six weeks, the NBA Draft Combine, along with team workouts, interviews and medical analysis, will determine how high Peterson is picked this summer. The twists and turns haven’t changed that.
What it means for Kansas next month could be another story.
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