KU basketball coach Bill Self offers his take on Tuesday night’s NBA Draft
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bill Self won’t be in the NBA Draft Green Room Tuesday after surgery, he says.
- Self said he had no inside knowledge and called the No. 1 pick a coin flip.
- Mock drafts list AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson as primary candidates at No. 1.
Bill Self, a fixture in the NBA Draft Green Room whenever a Kansas Jayhawk is a prospective lottery pick, won’t be in his usual seat in Brooklyn, New York’s Barclays Center this year.
Self, Kansas’ 24th-year men’s basketball coach, told The Star on Monday night he had recent knee surgery thus “is not able to travel yet.”
So instead of being there in person with family and friends of Darryn Peterson to hear commissioner Adam Silver announce the first pick, he’ll be viewing Tuesday’s first-round 2026 NBA Draft proceedings on TV (7 p.m., ESPN, ABC).
He insists that, as of Monday night, he had no inside knowledge regarding the Washington Wizards’ opening pick of the draft, which will conclude with round two on Wednesday night (7 p.m., ESPN).
“I believe it’s a coin flip at No. 1,” Self said Monday night in a text message to The Star.
That coin flip, according to various authors of mock drafts, would be between former KU combo guard Peterson and former BYU small forward AJ Dybantsa, heavy favorites to hear their names called by Silver at No. 1 or No. 2.
Asked if he had a “final prediction” to offer regarding Peterson’s draft status, Self said simply via text: “It will be a special night for the Petersons and for KU.”
ESPN’s mock draft as of Monday night had the Wizards taking Dybantsa No. 1 and the Utah Jazz selecting Peterson at No. 2, followed by Duke’s Cameron Boozer to Memphis at No. 3 and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson to Chicago at No. 4.
CBS Sports’ Adam Finkelstein, Gary Parrish and Isaac Trotter in their separate mock drafts on Monday night had Dybantsa No. 1 and Peterson No. 2, while CBS’ Cameron Salerno went with Peterson No. 1 and Dybantsa No. 2.
On Monday ESPN reported that the Washington Wizards had reached agreement on a four-year, $212 million deal with point guard Trae Young. Analysts are unsure how that affects the Wizards’ No. 1 draft pick.
With Young a fixture at the point, they could bring in Dybantsa for his ability to play on the wing next to frontcourt standout Anthony Davis. Or the Wizards could see value in selecting Peterson as potentially an outstanding on-the-ball fit next to Young.
Some analyst takes differ.
“Washington now has its point guard of the future locked up and isn’t going to select Darryn Peterson,” wrote Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN said Monday night that “this doesn’t preclude them (Wizards), they say, from taking Peterson with the No. 1 pick. Now whether we believe that or not is a different story.”
Windhorst did say most believe the likely scenario is for Washington to now take Dybantsa since Peterson and Young are both point guards.
Perhaps the most famous college hoops analyst of all, Jay Bilas, on Monday wrote, “There is not a no-brainer as the first overall selection. This draft has three prospects who are worthy of the No. 1 pick: Peterson, Dybantsa and Boozer. Each makes an interesting case, and it wouldn’t shock or surprise me to hear any of their names called first.
“Peterson is the most talented, Dybantsa is the prototype who fits the NBA suit and Boozer is the best pure basketball player — the dream date of analytics. From my seat, Peterson is the pick. Though Dybantsa led the nation in scoring, Peterson is the most fluid, smooth and athletic scorer in the draft. He averaged 20 points at Kansas, and 27.8 points per 40 minutes. With his athleticism, size and length, Peterson also projects as an impact defender in the NBA. There isn’t a bad choice here — nothing says all three can’t have NBA careers worthy of the top slot.”
