Kansas shooting guard Darryn Peterson and BYU forward AJ Dybantsa loom as the projected top two picks in the upcoming NBA draft. They are the precocious cream of what projects to be one of the best NBA drafts — particularly in the top 10 — in the past generation.

Who will be No. 1? ESPN polled 20 NBA scouts and executives to get an early vibe, and the results indicate that there will be a rigorous debate right up to June’s draft.

Peterson received 12 votes and Dybantsa eight for the top spot. With No. 13 BYU visiting No. 14 Kansas on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), it will mark the first collegiate matchup between the two stars.

“It’s Darryn Peterson for me,” a veteran scout told ESPN. “He makes things look so effortless, it’s unbelievable. His shotmaking is unmatched. He’s the closest thing to Kobe Bryant I’ve seen since Kobe in terms of shotmaking and ability to create his own shot. He’s not the same athlete as Kobe, but no one is. He’s really special.”

Few of the scouts and executives polled indicated the choice was easy.

“It’s so close,” a veteran NBA executive told ESPN. “I’m saying 51% to 49%, just barely. I just feel like there’s a little bit more potential with AJ Dybantsa as a player who makes others better. But if you call me on March 1, I could tell you that I changed my mind.”

The NBA is descending on Lawrence, Kansas, this weekend for some additional empirical evidence.

At least 32 NBA front office personnel from 17 teams are attending the game, with seven general managers/decision-makers expected to be among them. (Also slated to attend is Atlanta Hawks owner Tony Ressler.)

Some teams are sending multiple scouts and executives, including a majority of the front office staffs of both the Hawks (five attendees) and Indiana Pacers (six attendees). Both the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards are sending three reps.

Multiple NBA sources told ESPN that they are eager to see how Peterson looks after missing a game against Kansas State last Saturday with an ankle sprain. Kansas coach Bill Self has said he anticipates Peterson to play, and the injury has not been considered long term.

Peterson missed nine games over two separate stretches earlier in the season with a hamstring issue. With the ankle injury costing him a game, it means that he has missed half of Kansas’ games this season. He has also been managing a cramping issue.

“I don’t like the drama of playing and not playing,” said one scout, who chose Peterson as his No. 1 pick. “But he’s a scoring menace. He’s just a killer offensively.”

Dybantsa is listed at 6-foot-9 and 210 pounds. Peterson is 6-foot-6 and 205 pounds. It’s uncertain if they will often match up directly with each other on the floor Saturday, but they will certainly be compared and debated in the upcoming months.

The core of the debate comes to Peterson’s rare offensive upside against Dybantsa having more athleticism and two-way upside. Multiple scouts and executives mentioned having both Duke‘s Cam Boozer and North Carolina‘s Caleb Wilson in the conversation about the top pick, but none picked those players as their preference for No. 1.

One scout summed up his Dybantsa pick this way: “He’s the only one who has a chance to be elite on both ends.”

Another said about Peterson: “I think he can be a championship-level shot creator in the NBA.”

Peterson is averaging 21.6 points per game in 27.2 minutes. He is also averaging 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists and shooting an impressive 42% from 3-point range.

Dybantsa is scoring 23.6 points per game, snags 6.7 rebounds and dishes 3.6 assists. He has played in all 20 of BYU’s games and is shooting 31.8% from 3-point range.

No one is debating the talent at the top of this draft, as college basketball is having a freshman renaissance this season. This draft is both elite at the top and deep, with freshman stars such as Houston‘s Kingston Flemings, Louisville‘s Mikel Brown Jr., Tennessee‘s Nate Ament, Arkansas‘ Darius Acuff Jr., Arizona‘s Koa Peat, UConn‘s Braylon Mullins, Houston’s Chris Cenac Jr. and Illinois‘ Keaton Wagler giving the sport an adrenaline shot of young talent.

“It is extra deep with high-end talent,” said a veteran scout. “This draft will hold up historically as one of the better ones in the last 20 years.”

Pakistan have achieved a series whitewash against Australia by winning the third T20 match with a huge margin of 111 runs.

After winning the toss, Pakistan elected to bat first and posted 207 runs.

In response, the Australian team was bowled out for just 96 runs. Mohammad Nawaz delivered a career-best bowling performance, taking five wickets for only 18 runs.

Babar Azam scored his 38th T20 international fifty in the match, remaining unbeaten on 50. Shadab Khan contributed a quick 46 runs off 19 balls, while Saif Ayub scored a blistering 56 runs off 37 deliveries. Other notable performances with the bat included Khawaja Nafi with 21 runs.

As said by Pakistan captain Salman Agha, Pakistan made three changes to the team. Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafi and Shaheen Afridi were included in the final XI, while Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan and Usman Tariq were left out.

In the previous match, Pakistan secured a comprehensive 90-run victory over Australia to take a 2-0 lead.

In the whole series, Australia’s bowling attack struggled to contain Pakistan’s middle order, despite wickets shared among the bowlers.

• Decision comes as ICC removes Bangladesh from tournament lineup.
• ICC chief Jay Shah criticised for partial, biased decisions: sources.
• Pakistan will play T20 World Cup 2026 matches at neutral venues.

In an unprecedented move, Pakistan on Sunday announced that it would participate in the T20 World Cup 2026 but would boycott the match against arch-rival India.

The decision, announced by the Pakistani government, follows the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) removal of Bangladesh from the tournament after Dhaka raised security concerns over playing in India.

“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026,” the government said in a post on X.

“…however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India.”

The reasons behind Pakistan’s decision not to play the T20 World Cup match against India on 15 February have come to light. The move was intended to show solidarity with Bangladesh, government sources told Geo News.

Multiple factors influenced the decision, with the ICC’s perceived biased stance towards Bangladesh playing a central role, they said, adding that the Pakistani team was instructed not to take the field against India on February 15 as “a form of protest”.

The sources said that ICC chief Jay Shah’s partial decisions had effectively turned the International Cricket Council into an extension of the Indian cricket board.

They further said that these biased decisions have undermined the principles of fairness and equality, accusing the ICC of applying different standards to different countries on its platform.

“We are going to the World Cup,” Pakistan T20 skipper Salman Ali Agha said, adding, “We will do whatever our cricket board instructs us to do.”

Agha made the remarks during a post-match press conference today after Pakistan defeated Australia in the third and final T20I at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, completing a clean series sweep.

On Pakistan’s decision to boycott the match against India, he said: “The decision not to play against India is made by the government.”

The development comes after the ICC rejected the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) request to move their matches to a venue outside India.

The BCB had sought the change following the removal of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on the instructions of the Indian cricket board, a move that sparked widespread outrage in Bangladesh.

However, the ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in the tournament on Saturday, stating that it was not feasible to revise the schedule so close to the February 7 start of the World Cup.

Meanwhile, under an existing arrangement between Pakistan and India, the Men in Green will play any ICC fixtures, including their T20 World Cup matches, at neutral venues.

For the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan’s matches are scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka.