Top overall draft pick AJ Dybantsa records 1st victory over KU’s Darryn Peterson
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- Dybantsa scored 27 points to lead the Wizards to a 92-88 summer league win over Utah.
- Peterson scored 24 points with eight turnovers, three assists and three rebounds.
- Dybantsa’s 27 points tied Blake Griffin’s Las Vegas summer league debut record.
Former Kansas Jayhawks combo guard Darryn Peterson no longer is undefeated in games played against AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 overall pick of the Washington Wizards in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Dybantsa, whose BYU Cougars lost to KU last season in Allen Fieldhouse and whose Utah Prep team went 0-2 versus Peterson’s Prolific Prep squad in 2024-25, scored 27 points to pace the Wizards to a 92-88 victory over Utah on Thursday night in the Las Vegas summer league opener for both teams.
Peterson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 draft after a one-and-done season at KU, scored 24 points on 6-of-18 shooting (2-of-7 from 3-point range) with eight turnovers against three assists and three rebounds in 30 minutes.
Dybantsa was 7-of-18 from the field (0-for-5 from 3) with seven rebounds in 26 minutes as he improved to 1-3 versus Peterson.
“It was great. Every time I’ve played against him it’s a battle. He always comes out to compete,” Dybantsa said of Peterson. “He beat me three times previous. That was my first win so I was trying to come out on top.”
The 6-foot-9 Dybantsa’s 27 points tied Blake Griffin’s record for points scored by a No. 1 overall draft pick in a Las Vegas summer league debut. Griffin scored 27 for the Los Angeles Clippers against the Lakers in his first NBA game in the summer of 2009.
“I haven’t played in four months. I haven’t played since March. I got bounced out the first round (against Texas), so I had to get out there and just hoop,” Dybantsa said. The Wizards made their summer debut Thursday. Peterson, meanwhile, scored 53 points in 55 combined minutes in a pair of Jazz victories Saturday and Monday in Salt Lake City’s own summer league.
“It was great to get out there and play in my first NBA game,” Dybantsa added. “During summer practices I was making a lot of plays at the rim so it felt good to get out there and do more of the same.”
Peterson, a 6-foot-6 combo guard, was whistled for nine fouls in 30 minutes of playing time. It takes 10 infractions to foul out in summer league; six in the regular season. Dybantsa picked up just one foul in 26 minutes.
Former Texas Longhorn guard Tre Johnson scored 20 points on 11-of-20 shooting in 28 minutes and Will Riley 18 points for Washington.
“It’s a team game. There’s five guys on the court. I think it’s fun to play when everybody’s eating, not just when one guy’s killing,” said Dybantsa, who had the play of the game when he dunked over four Utah defenders.
Washington’s defense trapped Peterson repeatedly with double teams. Wizards guard Jamir Watkins picked up nine fouls while shadowing Peterson much of the game.
“That was their game plan,” Peterson said of the extra attention from their Wizards in an interview with ESPN. “We lost, so it probably worked a little bit. But I’m expecting it. It’s good to get used to it now.”
“Every year, there’s always someone in the draft taken above someone else and him (Dybantsa) going ahead of me just going to drive me to be a better player,” Peterson added to NBA.com. “This isn’t the last time we’ll match up and every time I just want to do whatever it takes to help my team win but we came up short tonight.”
Former Missouri Tiger and Piper High School guard Tamar Bates scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and three boards in 21 minutes for Utah.
The Jazz next meet the Clippers at 9 p.m., Central time, Sunday. The Wizards will take on the Kings at 7 p.m.
Vegas Summer league tidbits : Former KU center Hunter Dickinson scored 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting (2-of-4 from 3) with six rebounds, three assists, three turnovers and two blocked shots in New Orleans’ 105-92 loss to Minnesota. Dickinson, who played in the NBA G League last season, started and played 24 minutes versus the Timberwolves. ... Former K-State guard Markquis Nowell scored 20 points with six assists, five steals and four rebounds for the Pelicans. ... Former KU players who did not enter their games on Thursday via coaches decision: Melvin Council Jr., (New Orleans), Dajuan Harris (Minnesota), Zeke Mayo (Atlanta), KJ Adams (Golden State). ... Former Shawnee Mission Northwest guard Keaton Wagler scored seven points on 1-of-7 shooting (1-5 from 3) with one assist to one turnover in 27 minutes in the Los Angeles Clippers’ 91-85 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
