In fact, three players can make a case to be Washington’s selection this week in a loaded 2026 NBA draft class.
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The Washington Wizards will make a franchise-defining decision Tuesday night. Presuming they hold on to the first pick in the NBA draft, selecting atop the board for the first time since 2010, whoever they bring in will immediately be scrutinized by a fan base aching for signs of life.
The Wizards’ front office will face the same scrutiny — especially General Manager Will Dawkins and team president Michael Winger, who have presided over the worst record in the NBA since their arrival in 2023. The numbers: 50 wins, including fewer than 20 each season and only 28 in front of their home crowd.
Each of the primary three options to go off the board first this week — AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer — has the upside to heal any of a franchise’s recent ailments.
“This crop of guys at the top of the draft is supremely talented,” Winger told NBC4. “We’d be lucky to have any of them.”
But with rumors swirling about workouts and visits, who will be the choice?
Let’s take a look at the candidates.
What’s good: Simply put, he can score. The 6-foot-9 wing is coming off a freshman season at BYU in which he led the country by averaging 25.5 points while shooting an efficient 51 percent from the field and 77.4 percent at the line. What separates him from other ball-dominant wings, especially at 19, is his ability to drive. He averaged 8.5 free throws per game last year — more, in total, than anyone else in the country — which often came via his versatile attacking arsenal.
He is athletic and can slash, but his willingness to bang inside to get attempts close to the rim is unparalleled for a wing prospect with his shooting skills, taking 16.9 percent of his shots within one to three feet, according to the website draftballr. And while frequently backing down smaller defenders, he’s shown an ability to pop from midrange, hitting over 50 percent between the arc and the paint last year.
His playmaking is still improving, though with better spacing in the NBA, the common belief in the college basketball ecosphere is that he will become an above-average distributor.
What’s bad: Not mentioned above: his three-point shooting. He hit 33 percent at BYU, but he was three percentage points worse in catch-and-shoot situations, which will dominate his perimeter opportunities early in the NBA.
The other area to note is the other side of the ball. Unlike many teenagers entering the draft, this isn’t an issue of not caring to play defense. He just doesn’t process fast enough to play it well yet. Among college basketball experts who spoke with The Washington Post, the presumption is that the nuance of rotations and positioning will sink in with time. But the NBA moves quickly. Until the mental side clicks, he could succumb to the tempo.
Fit: Broad strokes, Dybantsa is the best cultural fit for the Wizards. He’s a charismatic leader who won’t have any issue joining this gloomy franchise with every ounce of attention trained on him.
It’s also important to note that the NBA has grown to reward teams with a bevy of scoring-capable wings. Dybantsa will join a group of potential minute-getters that includes Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, Will Riley, Cam Whitmore, Tre Johnson and Justin Champagnie. The good: Not everyone in that group will get minutes. The bad: Not everyone in that group will get minutes. While Washington’s depth will be of value, someone may find himself left out.
But it won’t be Dybantsa.
Comparison: Paul George, with Tracy McGrady’s fluidity.
What’s good: Like Dybantsa, Peterson has shown the ability to score at all three levels. Unlike Dybantsa, his shot-making, especially beyond the arc, is generational. He hit 38.2 percent from three on nearly seven attempts per game in his one season at Kansas, and he was even better off the catch at 47.7 percent, which was among the best in the country.
He isn’t afraid to pull up, either, and his ballhandling skills are NBA-ready. He didn’t play on the ball nearly as much at Kansas as he did in high school, but he’s shown the ability to be a high-level distributor, especially working off screens.
What’s bad: At this time last year, he was the definitive No. 1 player in this class. Yet he played only 24 games at Kansas, many for a half or less, struggling with cramping that produced multiple instances in which he seemed to inexplicably ask out of games. That drama, coupled with a significant decrease in his shooting numbers during the second half of the season (39 percent from the field, 34 percent from three over the last two months), has shaken his spot atop this year’s group.
When he played full minutes in each of Kansas’s last nine games of the season, his athleticism was clearly hampered. In turn, his ability to get to the rim appeared night-and-day from his time in high school, with only 19 percent of his attempts coming within three feet of the basket. Instead, he frequently settled for contested jumpers (cue the decrease in his shooting clip). He claims he’s back to his pre-Kansas health. Whether NBA doctors agree is another thing.
Fit: Because of Washington’s wing-heavy band, he may fit within its roster a little better than Dybantsa. He’d be the clear franchise cornerstone, and with Trae Young expected to re-sign, he’d probably play off the ball at the two, with some secondary chances to run the offense.
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Johnson and Bub Carrington would almost certainly get fewer minutes, which could stunt their development, especially in Johnson’s case. His scoring and efficiency numbers decreased down the stretch last year, shooting worse than 32 percent from three in each of the last three months, as opposed to his 39 percent baseline over the first three months. His trigger was an integral part of why the Wizards took him with the No. 6 pick last year, so they probably don’t want to bury him yet.
Otherwise, at a macro level, Peterson is a self-described introvert. He won’t be the same city-captivating leader Dybantsa could be, which is noteworthy given the Wizards’ brass has been explicit with the type of character it’s looking for.
Comparison: Devin Booker, with a slightly better deep stroke.
What’s good: Earlier this month, Jalen Brunson led the New York Knicks to an NBA title. To this point in his career, he has widely been considered “unathletic,” but he beats players with his intellect and feel for the game. It’s the typical decades-old muck any good but non-slender player is doused in.
Boozer has been pigeonholed in a similar manner for the better part of the past few years. Yet at every corner, he’s outperformed both of his above counterparts. He isn’t athletically anomalous — 6-foot-9, 250 — but he’s consistently found ways to use his body to create space.
In his one year at Duke, he shot 39.1 percent from three and handed out more than four assists per game, becoming the Blue Devils’ definitive offensive hub while turning the ball over less than 14 percent of the time. And he won significantly more than the other two along the way. If past production is the best predictor of future production, as with Brunson, this is the guy.
What’s bad: His ballhandling improved throughout this year, but he isn’t nearly the central playmaker the other two have shown themselves to be. At times, that can make him disappear if his team struggles to push the ball into the post, and even then, he won’t be able to throw people around the way he did at Duke.
His size also makes it difficult for him to defend centers, yet his mobility trails that of the modern floor-spacing NBA four. All of this wraps into one central theme: The worry among college analysts The Post spoke to is that Boozer might not have much more room to grow.
Fit: With Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr both vying for starter’s minutes in the frontcourt, Boozer could find himself coming off the bench. No top pick of the past two decades has started fewer than half his games as a rookie without an injury. While the Wizards are expected to draft whom they view as the best player (which could be Boozer), not the “best fit,” their current roster build would make Boozer a difficult decision to explain.
Comparison: Kevin Love.
Despite reports that Peterson visited the Wizards and turned down workouts with every other team, this still feels like it’ll be Dybantsa. He strikes a necessary balance between the other two candidates: a proven quantity with remaining athletic upside. Within the Wizards’ young core, he’d also specifically provide a valuable — and currently missing — release valve with his ability to attack the rim, helping space the floor.
But above all else, Washington needs an immediate infusion of energy, which best fits Dybantsa’s playing style and personality.
“[We want] somebody that, when our fans come to the game and watch, they can resonate with that athlete,” Winger said. “They have to be leaders.”
That is most distinctly Dybantsa.
Caleb Wilson (North Carolina, forward): The most athletic player in the draft, he should be first off the board after the above three. Before a hand injury in February, he was slashing and driving his way to 19.8 points a game as the lead man in Chapel Hill. The issues are his defense and shooting — specifically, 25.9 percent from three — though he has all-NBA attributes, if those pieces develop. Comp: Defensive-less Kevin Garnett
Keaton Wagler (Illinois, guard): Everything starts with his shooting: 39.7 percent from three-point range on six attempts per game. From there, he can be a threat both on and off the ball because of his vision and handle. His 6-foot-6, 180-pound frame will be a problem defensively and when he drives, but with his spacing ability, the floor is still extremely high. Comp: Austin Reaves
Darius Acuff (Arkansas, guard): He is as offensively polished as they come and has a propensity for difficult shot-making. The metrics, though, scream that he’s one of the worst defenders in this draft. His prototype — ball-dominant, small lead guard — has also recently gone out of style in the NBA, which makes him a bit of a gamble. Comp: Deron Williams
Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville, guard): Similar to Wagler, his size at 190 pounds will get him thrown around some. Also similar to Wagler, his three-point shooting at 34.4 percent on 7.6 attempts makes him valuable. Skinny guards struggle in the NBA, but if he adds some weight, he has the scoring prowess to be a central contributor on a contender. Comp: Tyler Herro
Kingston Flemings (Houston, guard): His decision-making is second to none in this class, which has made his stock steadily rise. He spent 76.7 percent of the time driving and in the midrange, according to draftballr, yet he is surprisingly valuable from deep (38.7 percent) for his attempt rate (2.9 per game). He’ll need to improve his pacing, though his upside places him as an all-star-level contributor. Comp: De’Aaron Fox
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