Rookie Darryn Peterson landed at No. 85 on our preseason NBA99, ranking the 99 best players in the NBA as the 2026-27 season begins. AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick, was 10 spots behind him, at No. 95. Check out the rest of the list here.

In the 2026 NBA draft, the Washington Wizards selected AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 overall pick. The Utah Jazz took Darryn Peterson at No. 2.

The panel of voters for the first edition of FanSided's NBA99 ahead of the 2026-27 season saw things differently. Peterson landed at No. 85 overall, while Dybantsa was 10 spots below him at No. 95. (And no, it wasn't just because Dybantsa missed the Wizards' season opener with an ankle injury.)

Dybantsa very well might wind up being better than Peterson in the long run. But Peterson should have a clearer runway early in his NBA career than Dybantsa based on where they landed in the draft.

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Why Peterson has the early edge

Peterson had a quiet regular-season debut against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, finishing with only nine points on 3-of-7 shooting, four rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes. No. 3 overall pick Cam Boozer was even worse efficiency-wise (seven points on 2-of-15 shooting), but he chipped in 11 rebounds and five assists to help the Grizzlies dominate Peterson and the Jazz, particularly on the glass.

Granted, Peterson won't be running into 7-foot-3 centers every night. Zach Edey was a unique rim protector to begin his NBA career against. But in the preseason, Peterson showed flashes of what made him such a highly coveted NBA prospect.

Against the Denver Nuggets, Peterson had 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting in 30 minutes. Some of that production came against backups, but the Nuggets did play their starters for roughly 15-20 minutes. Peterson also had 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, five assists and two rebounds against the San Antonio Spurs in 24 minutes, although he didn't encounter Victor Wembanyama that night.

Peterson's three-level scoring and shot-creation ability give him the clear upside to emerge as Utah's No. 1 option on offense even though he plays alongside Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George and Ace Bailey. He's bound to go through some rookie-season growing pains, particularly after his up-and-down campaign at Kansas, but he appears to be past the cramping issues that plagued him during his time with the Jayhawks.

Despite his quiet start to the season, Peterson has a clear path to average 15-plus points per game as a rookie. Dybantsa faces more of an uphill climb in that regard.

As Bub Carrington openly admitted, the Wizards tanked down the stretch last season to improve their chances of landing the No. 1 overall pick. Four-time All-Star point guard Trae Young played only five games for them after they acquired him in early January, while Anthony Davis never suited up due to hand and groin injuries.

Davis made his Wizards debut on Wednesday night and erupted for a team-high 34 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in a 128-116 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Young chipped in 20 points and 13 assists, while Kyshawn George (18 points), Deandre Ayton (11 points) and Carrington (10 points) provided some supplementary scoring punch.

Dybantsa missed the season opener due to an ankle injury that he suffered toward the end of the preseason. Whenever he makes his regular-season debut, he'll slot in as Washington's No. 2 option on offense at best. There's a real chance that he's third in the pecking order behind both Davis and Young, at least to start the season.

Granted, Dybantsa doesn't see that as a negative.

"I feel like there's not a lot of pressure on me because I have such a great team around me," he told reporters at media day. "A lot of No. 1 picks come to the situation where they are the guy, (and) everything's kind of centered around them. But I have All-Stars on my team that I can really get some knowledge from. I can just bond with these guys and learn it slowly and learn how to play the right way."

Davis said at media day that Dybantsa has "all the tools to be successful in this league" and described him as a "special talent." Again, there's a reason why Dybantsa went ahead of Peterson in the draft and was ranked ahead of him heading into college, too.

But the NBA99 rankings are meant to be a snapshot in time that include "blended assessments of both present and future value." Even if the voting panel expects Dybantsa to be better than Peterson in the long run, Peterson's clearer runway in the short term likely helped push him above Dybantsa for now.

Either way, having four rookies crack the top 99 players in the league heading into the season speaks to the high-end talent that was available at the top of this year's draft.