The 2026 NBA Draft might be over a month away, but the speculation on the potential outcomes this historic class can bring has been running wild. The Washington Wizards won the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery and will decide who goes first in a generational draft class with four incredible talents at the top.
The top four prospects in the draft are AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson. The general perception so far has been that Dybantsa and Peterson are competing against each other for No. 1 and 2, while Boozer and Wilson are competing against each other for No. 3 and No. 4. However, it might not be that simple from the Wizards’ perspective.
After reports of the team not viewing projected No. 1 pick Dybantsa as a ‘franchise-savior,’ the latest ESPN 2026 NBA Mock Draft from Jeremy Woo reveals that rival teams don’t view Dybantsa as a lock to go No. 1, with no true consensus emerging. The Wizards are expected to analyze all top-four prospects as options with their pick.
“Rival teams don’t view Dybantsa as a lock to go first, however, as there has been no true consensus No. 1 among scouts all season. Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, and Caleb Wilson are all expected to receive consideration as the Wizards go through their process.”
Woo also indicated that the presence of four elite prospects at the top might lead to more trades among the top.
“The fact that there is a consensus group of four has led some executives to view the top of this draft as more ripe for trades than in a typical year, but only if the top four teams see value in moving around within that tier.”
The potential outcomes for the Wizards with their pick are plentiful, which is a good problem to have. They’ve largely been mocked to select either Dybantsa or Peterson because they have an obvious hole in the roster they can fill, compared to Wilson or Boozer being selected to join a crowded frontcourt behind Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr.
The most discussed potential trade at the top of this draft is between the Wizards and the Utah Jazz at No. 2. The Jazz and Dybantsa seem to be gravitating towards each other, and if Utah doesn’t want to leave things up to chance and gamble on who the Wizards select, they could guarantee themselves the rights to Dybantsa by acquiring the No. 1 pick. Potential trade frameworks include Washington getting the No. 2 pick, Ace Bailey, and another future pick for their No. 1 selection.
Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals with the BYU Cougars last season, leading the NCAA in scoring. Peterson went through a tough but productive season with the Kansas Jayhawks, but still averaged 20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.4 steals, projecting to be a high-potential two-way star in the NBA with arguably the biggest ceiling here.
If the Wizards do determine that someone like Wilson or Boozer is the player they want to add, they could offer to trade down with a team like the Memphis Grizzlies at No. 3 or the Chicago Bulls at No. 4, acquiring even more future assets as they continue in their rebuild.
Boozer averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.4 steals with the Duke Blue Devils last season. Wilson averaged 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks with the UNC Tar Heels and projects to have the highest defensive potential of all four prospects, but with genuine question marks about whether he can be a No. 1 option on a contending team.
It’s far more likely that the Wizards trade with the Jazz and select Peterson to fit him in as their starting shooting guard next to Trae Young instead of taking a gamble on fitting Boozer or Wilson into an already-crowded frontcourt.
Washington gets to decide how the draft goes with their selection, so they will continue evaluating the prospects before a decision is made on a potential trade down the order or on which player they wind up selecting.
