2026 NBA Draft Roundtable: Who goes No. 1 overall? Experts favor AJ Dybantsa over Darryn Peterson

The 2026 NBA Draft is just days away. On Tuesday night, we will finally get the answers to some of the most pressing questions of the draft cycle. It's also the start of the journey for one of the best and deepest draft classes of the modern era.

The debate of who is the best player in the 2026 draft class has been discussed since these players were in high school. Darryn Peterson finished as the No. 1-ranked player in the 2025 recruiting cycle by 247Sports -- ahead of AJ Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer -- so it should come as no surprise that those three players are now in line to be the first three picks in the draft in some order.

But it was Dybantsa who put together the most dynamic offensive season in college, averaging 25.5 points per game for BYU. Right behind him was Boozer (22.5 points per game), who was consistently dominant inside for Duke.

Even outside of Peterson, Dybantsa, Boozer and Caleb Wilson, there is star power in the class who will be instant contributors on their respective teams. There are always gems who are picked outside of the lottery and deep into the first round. Because of how deep this year's guard class is, players such as Stanford's Ebuka Okorie, Texas Tech's Christian Anderson and Iowa's Bennett Stirtz are considered players to watch in the back half of the first round.

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Ahead of next week's draft, our CBS Sports experts are debating the biggest topics and storylines. The first installment of our roundtable series highlights who we would take with the No. 1 pick, the debate between Wilson and Boozer and then who the potential sleepers are outside of the top 20 picks.

Let's dive in!

Who would you take with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft?

Gary Parrish

AJ Dybantsa. I just think he's the best high-ceiling/high-floor prospect in this draft. There's no way, barring injuries and other things impossible to predict, that he isn't an elite scorer in the NBA. Size is not a problem. Athleticism is not a problem. Worst-case scenario, he's really good. Best-case scenario, he's a multi-time scoring champ and face of a championship-contending franchise. He's safe with no ceiling. He should be the first pick.

Adam Finkelstein

AJ Dybantsa. There would be three players in consideration – Dybantsa, Peterson, and Boozer. In a vacuum, my final choice would be Dybantsa, but that could be swayed but what I learned in the pre-draft process. I would be very interested in Dybantsa's answers to hard questions, pertaining to his disappointing senior year of high school, inability to consistently drive winning, and the disconnect between his defensive tools and impact. Assuming those were satisfactory, I think he's the safest pick here. He's too polished of a shot creator with tremendous wing size, length, athleticism, and elasticity. Just as important, we saw him make a big jump this year at BYU, and that's very relevant for a player who came up the ranks with a big early reputation but looked to be stagnating late in high school.

David Cobb

AJ Dybantsa. Among the select few college players who have ever averaged 25+ points, 6+ rebounds and 3+ assists during a season are names like Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Pete Maravich, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West. To do it as a freshman in the Big 12 with a 55% effective field goal percentage? Yeah, Dybantsa is the real deal. And he comes without the red flags associated with Darryn Peterson.

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Cameron Salerno

Darryn Peterson. My top-ranked prospect since the start of the 2026 draft cycle last summer has been Peterson. That is who I would take No. 1. Yes, Peterson had an up-and-down year at Kansas due to cramping, but his two-way upside is hard to ignore. He has the potential to be an All-NBA player if everything goes right. I would confidently take him with the No. 1 overall pick.

Isaac Trotter

AJ Dybantsa. He's the best bucket-getter in this class, and it's impossible for defenders to bottle him up for too long. Dybantsa's mix of polish and power should help him find pathways to score at the next level from the jump. He's a special athlete. He has special size for a wing. Plus, I love the strides he took as a playmaker, defender and shooter at BYU. This is a close race at No. 1, which makes fit the potential decider. Dybantsa just looks different than anyone the Washington Wizards currently have on the roster. 

Eric Bossi

Darryn Peterson. At 247Sports, we ranked Darryn Peterson No. 1 in high school, and when I was able to see him healthy at Kansas, I thought he was the best player in the country. While there are some valid questions regarding Peterson's freshman year in Lawrence that make him risky in some people's eyes, I'm sticking with Peterson. When he's on, his combination of shot creation, shot making and easy playmaking is just too good to pass up on.

Cameron Boozer or Caleb Wilson at No. 3? Make your case.

Parrish

Cameron Boozer. I think Wilson has the higher ceiling of the two -- but I'd go with Boozer. He's a little like Dybantsa in that he has both a high ceiling and high floor. I can't imagine him struggling in that league considering how awesome he's been in every other league he's ever played in. He's skilled and strong with zero red flags. Again, if Wilson's jumper ever becomes reliable, watch out. But, at this point, between those two, I think I'm selecting Boozer, especially if it's the Grizzlies making the decision with the third pick, which seems like a likely scenario. Memphis cannot miss with this pick. Boozer is, I think, the best can't-miss prospect in the draft.

Finkelstein

Cameron Boozer. I dove into this topic and spent about 2,000 words breaking down the case for both. Ultimately, Boozer was the choice. It just comes down to prioritizing his overlap of size, skill, physicality, basketball acumen, and history of winning over Wilson's unmatched athleticism and still vast untapped upside. I do think the upside conversation gets a little lost though when we think about the number of current NBA stars who reach the highest levels of the sport with perceived physical limitations (Brunson, Curry, Donkic, Joker, etc.) I'm not saying Boozer is going to be as good as those guys, but once upon a time there were hoards of people saying they didn't have upside either.

Cobb

Cameron Boozer. Boozer's ability to serve as an offensive hub at the next level sets him apart from Wilson. You can run your offense through Boozer with confidence that you're going to get a high-quality look. That's because he's a three-level scorer and an advanced passer with an elite feel for the game. While Wilson is a better athlete, the gap isn't as wide as you might think. Boozer's wingspan measured over 7-foot-1 at the NBA Draft Combine, more than an inch better than Wilson's, and Boozer actually timed better than Wilson in lane agility and shuttle run. It's close, but Boozer so obviously has the pedigree, intangibles, skill, measurables and talent to be a franchise cornerstone. Wilson could be that as well, but he needs more refining.

Salerno

Cameron Boozer. It might be crazy to say, but Boozer has somehow become underrated as this draft cycle has gone on. He is the second-best player in the class behind Peterson, in my opinion. He's an elite rebounder, will be one of the best passers in the NBA from Day 1, and can stretch the floor. The way Boozer processes the game is what stands out above all else. Boozer had one of the best one-and-done seasons in college basketball history. Still, somehow, he's the third-best player based on consensus. Part of that speaks to how good the top of the class is, but I don't think we should ignore how productive Boozer was at Duke.

Trotter

Cameron Boozer is like Thanos. Simply inevitable. Boozer's combination of relentless rebounding, soft touch from downtown and expert playmaking all packed into a huge 6-foot-9, 250-pound frame is just so tantalizing. While I have concerns about whether Boozer can be a No. 1 option offensively, I'm open to the idea that he's just too smart and too productive to not reach that threshold. That feels like the separator here because while I love Caleb Wilson's competitive fire and physical tools, he's got a ways to go to be a top option of a functional offense. Wilson strikes me as an elite second fiddle, but Boozer's range of potential outcomes includes becoming the best player from this draft. 

Bossi

Cameron Boozer. There's a big part of me that wants to say Caleb Wilson here. I think he's an elastic athlete who is incredibly versatile on both ends of the floor and just scratching at the surface of his potential. However, I've been watching Cameron Boozer since before he even started high school, and he's too sure of a thing for me to pass up on. 

I do believe Wilson has a higher ceiling, but Boozer's floor may be better than anybody else's in the draft, and he's the best pure basketball player in this class. So I'll go with him.

What prospect ranked outside of the top 20 of CBS Sports' prospect rankings has the potential to be an All-Star?

Parrish

Christian Anderson. He's regarded as the best shooter in the draft after making 41.5% of the 7.9 3-pointers he attempted as a sophomore at Texas Tech. Yes, he's on the small side. But he's a take-care-of-the-ball point guard who can really shoot and pass. I tend to bet on guys like that.

Finkelstein

This isn't the answer people are looking for, but the reality is no one knows. If they did, they wouldn't be picked outside the top 20 when you have thirty organizations investing tens of millions of dollars into figuring out this very question. What we can say is that the players who drastically exceed expectations associated with their draft status are outliers who almost always possess the highest level of processing ability, comparable skill, and were crossed off because of perceived physical limitations (again, think of guys like Brunson, Joker, etc.) Christian Anderson may be the prospect who encompasses that overlap best this year with his skill and IQ, but questions about his size.

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Cobb

Joshua Jefferson is the complete package as a versatile 6-foot-8 forward who plays both ends of the floor at a high level. He's being overlooked because he's turning 23 early in his rookie season and lacks the elite athleticism required to draw attention. When it comes to feel for the game as a passer and scorer, he's got it all along with the requisite defensive versatility needed to be relied upon in key situations. There's a realistic scenario in which Jefferson spends 12 years in the league as a highly productive second option for playoff-caliber teams.

Salerno

Based on our CBS Sports prospect rankings, two names that come to mind are Christian Anderson and Ebuka Okorie. Anderson is arguably the best shooter in this year's class and Okorie had one of the best scoring seasons in college basketball. This guard class is so deep that one of those names could end up in an ideal situation with a contender and become a solid No. 2 option down the line.

Trotter

Frankly, the right answer here would probably be none in this watered-down draft, but I can't quit Ebuka Okorie. The Stanford guard checks in at No. 24 on the CBS Sports Big Board and has a wide array of opinions in the league, but I buy into more of the bullish outcomes with Okorie because his ability to carve up that first wave of a defense is such a necessity. He's an awesome athlete with a get-off-me first step. I trust his mind. I trust his jumper. I love that he has a huge wingspan that's nearly 6-foot-8, which will be essential to finishing over the trees. I think he has legit answers to the test offensively at all three levels. A lot would have to break right for Okorie to get to All-Star levels, but I want to bet on him.

Bossi

Picking a guy with All-Star potential outside of the top 20 is tough because if we thought a guy was a potential All-Star, we'd all have him rated higher. But, the name that sticks out to me is Ebuka Okorie. It seems that most people have the surprise Stanford one-and-done ranked in the 20s, but I see him as a lottery-level talent. Okorie gets to his spots and makes contested shots. The only reason I can see him not being higher on boards is because he just didn't get the national spotlight at Stanford. I think Okorie would have put up huge numbers at any program in the country and would be a lot more highly regarded had he done what he did last season at a glamour program instead of Stanford. 

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