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NBA summer league: Takeaways from Dybantsa debut vs. PetersonZach KramClose
ESPN Senior NBA Writer
Prior to joining ESPN, Golliver covered the NBA on a national level since 2010 for The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports. He is the author of Bubbleball, an account of his 93-day stay at the NBA’s “Bubble” in Disney World during the coronavirus pandemic. He is based in Los Angeles.
NBA summer league began Thursday, and the league’s 30 teams descended on Las Vegas to showcase their rookies and young stars.
The tournament’s opening day included a marquee matchup between the Washington Wizards and their 2026 No. 1 pick, AJ Dybantsa, and the Utah Jazz and No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson. Peterson, who debuted with Utah at Salt Lake City summer league on Saturday, finished the night with 21 points, three rebounds and three assists in the 92-88 Wizards win. Dybantsa led all scorers with 27 points, finishing the night with seven rebounds and two assists.
“Every time I play against him its a battle,” Dybantsa reported of Peterson after the game. “He always comes out to compete. He beat me three times previous, so this was my first win. I was glad to come out on top.”
What can we decipher from the top two picks’ first games as NBA players? NBA experts Ben Golliver and Zach Kram weigh in on key takeaways, their best moments and what part of their games had the greatest impact.
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F AJ Dybantsa, Washington Wizards
2026 draft pick: No. 1
College: BYU Cougars
Dybantsa’s offensive approach in his summer league debut can be summed up in two words: aggression and confidence.
The No. 1 pick was the Wizards’ lead ball handler for large swaths of Thursday’s game, and he wasn’t shy about calling his own number. He consistently got to his spots, even against Utah’s aggressive help defense, en route to scoring a game-high 27 points in 26 minutes.
Not all of those spots were good spots to choose, however. Just as he did in college, Dybantsa lived off a difficult shot diet on Thursday, with far too many contested midrange jumpers. His 7-for-18 showing from the field exposes a clear area in need of refinement. (He also sat out the final clutch moments of the game, due to what appeared to be leg cramps.)
But the ease with which Dybantsa penetrated the paint, and his frequent forays to the free throw line — his eight attempts would have been 15 if summer league’s rules weren’t condensing every free throw trip to one shot — are extremely bullish signs for his ability to light up the scoreboard at the NBA level.
It’s just one game, but in it, Dybantsa showed why the Wizards selected him first overall — and won the battle between the top two picks in the process.
The Wizards drafted AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick of the 2026 draft. Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesBiggest highlight: a rim-rattling dunk over four defenders Late in the first quarter on Thursday, Dybantsa beat four Jazz defenders for a highlight-reel slam. First, he accelerated from a triple threat position to blow by Cody Williams. Then, he easily fended off Peterson’s attempt to swipe from a help position. And finally, he rose between guard Justin Harmon and big Orlando Robinson, who had collapsed on the paint, and stuffed the ball through the rim.
The Thomas & Mack Center crowd erupted. And the cheers grew even louder when the jumbotron showed a close-up replay of Dybantsa’s feat — not only had he evaded four Jazz defenders on the play, but he’d briefly lost the ball in midair, before regaining control with enough time to complete the dunk.
Dybantsa himself reacted by screaming and flexing. He earned the right to celebrate. — Zach Kram
G Darryn Peterson, Utah Jazz
2026 draft pick: No. 2
College: Kansas Jayhawks
Peterson’s Las Vegas summer league debut wasn’t as dazzling or efficient as his 28-point effort in a Salt Lake City exhibition on Saturday, but he persevered through a slow start and the Wizards’ aggressive defense to provide glimpses of his elite scoring ability.
Washington tested Peterson with traps and double teams, and Wizards guard Jamir Watkins committed nine fouls in 20 minutes while ramping up the defensive pressure on the second overall pick. Still, Peterson finished with a team-high 24 points (on 6-for-18 shooting), highlighted by a pretty, wrong-footed floater in the first half and a lefty runner off the glass late in the fourth quarter.
As summer league unfolds, Utah will want to see Peterson continue to trust the pass and make better decisions in tight spaces. Peterson committed a game-high eight turnovers, and he lost his handle several times near midcourt.
“That was their game plan,” Peterson reported of the extra attention from their Wizards. “We lost, so it probably worked a little bit. But I’m expecting it. It’s good to get used to it now.”
The good news: Peterson should have much more room to operate during the regular season, when he will be flanked by scoring threats Keyonte George, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Utah Jazz selected Darryn Peterson with the No. 2 pick of the 2026 draft. AP Photo/John LocherBiggest highlight: transition dunk off high-level Jazz defense Peterson’s effortless scoring ability drew top billing during the pre-draft process, but his length and activity on defense shouldn’t be overlooked. As Utah fought back from a double-digit hole in the second half, the 6-foot-5 guard altered several shots inside the arc as a help defender.Peterson capitalized on a Washington turnover by coasting in for his highlight of the night: an uncontested two-hand dunk early in the third quarter. The Jazz’s improved defense after halftime helped them cut the Wizards’ lead to one in the final minute, but their comeback bid came up short, and Dybantsa prevailed in his much-anticipated showdown against Peterson. — Ben Golliver
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