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.”

• 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.

The man who drafted Sam Darnold for the New York Jets in 2018 watched from his home in Houston last Sunday as his old quarterback celebrated the NFC championship. The confetti at Lumen Field was swirling, and so were Mike Maccagnan’s emotions.

His mind wandered back to Darnold’s rainy pro day at USC, all those scouting trips to the West Coast (four consecutive weekends in the fall of 2017) and the pure elation on draft day when Darnold was available with the third overall pick.

The Jets’ former general manager recalled Darnold’s promising rookie year, and years later, he still hears the echo of that voice inside him — the one that kept saying in 2018, “We got one.” Meaning a franchise quarterback.

And so it was bittersweet for Maccagnan as he observed Darnold’s near-flawless performance in the Seattle Seahawks‘ victory over the Los Angeles Rams. While he was overjoyed for Darnold, whose crooked NFL path is one of the hot storylines heading into Super Bowl LX, it also was a heavy moment for the old scout.

“I was always kind of sad that Sam wasn’t able to fulfill that potential in New York,” Maccagnan told ESPN this week in his first interview since being fired by the Jets in 2019. “That’s where he started his journey, and, in an ideal world, he would’ve finished it there.

“But it wasn’t meant to be, and he had to go on his own journey to grow and develop in different places. It makes me feel good that he’s fulfilling his potential. It’s not necessarily vindication. In our business, when you see something, and it turns out the way you envisioned it, it makes you feel good. I think every scout probably feels that way.”

Darnold, who played three seasons in New York, was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2021 — a move that still sparks debate among Jets fans. Five years and four teams after the trade, Darnold has blossomed into the quarterback and leader the Jets always expected.

And still need.

“He showed flashes; that’s why [the trade] didn’t make sense,” former Jets safety Jamal Adams said. “Our head coach that we hired [Adam Gase] didn’t really help us out now. He did not help us out.

“Sometimes you look back like ‘Golly!’ We had Sam Darnold in our hands, and now he’s going to the Super Bowl.”

Three former teammates — Adams, wide receiver Robbie Chosen and tackle Kelvin Beachum — spoke glowingly of Darnold this week in interviews with ESPN. They remembered him as a dutiful young player with exceptional arm talent, someone who blended into the locker room and cared more about X’s and O’s than X (Twitter in those days).

They also lauded his aplomb in the aftermath of the infamous 2019 “Ghosts” game, which no doubt will be brought up in the coming days because it was against the New England Patriots — his opponent on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium.

Mostly, they appreciated his ability to avoid being chewed up and spit out by an impatient league.

“Sometimes in the league, in certain situations, it’s not always the player,” Chosen said. “It takes the foundation around you that helps you become great. I remember saying it on [a podcast], when they were trying to debate with me about him as a player. I’m like, ‘He’s good, he just hasn’t been developed correctly.'”

MACCAGNAN ISN’T A spotlight seeker. He wasn’t that way in his four seasons as the Jets’ GM and he hasn’t been since his unceremonious ouster seven years ago.

Until now.

He agreed to an interview because of his affinity for Darnold and his family. Just the other day, Maccagnan saw a reposted video on social media of Darnold’s parents, Mike and Chris, hugging Sam and backup quarterback Josh McCown outside the locker room after Sam’s first NFL game — a win over the Detroit Lions on Sept. 11, 2018. Maccagnan was standing only a few feet away from the scene.

“I’m getting a little choked up, and I didn’t think I would,” Maccagnan said at the start of the interview, mentioning the video clip.

Remember when? Sam Darnold greeted by his parents after his first Jets game – Sept. 11, 2018, a win over the Lions. Quite a journey. Now he’s going to the Super Bowl … with the Seahawks. #Jets pic.twitter.com/dzZLnIP9eq

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) January 26, 2026

A highly drafted quarterback can be a legacy-defining pick for a GM. Maccagnan didn’t get enough time to see it through. His quarterback prodigy flashed potential as a rookie, but the team finished 4-12. The Jets, seemingly in a state of perpetual change, replaced Maccagnan and coach Todd Bowles with Joe Douglas and Gase, respectively.

After a promising second season, Darnold showed significant regression in 2020, prompting Douglas to trade him for three draft picks, including a second-round choice.

Douglas, fired in 2024, politely declined to be interviewed for this story, referring to his post-trade comments. At the time, he expressed confidence that Darnold would develop into a good quarterback, but he felt the better long-term plan for the organization was to start over with a rookie — Zach Wilson, drafted second overall in 2021. Wilson turned out to be a major disappointment, but Douglas never second-guessed the decision, he told friends over the years.

There was sound reasoning behind Douglas’ decision, which included a financial component as well. The counterargument: Never give up on a young quarterback with potential. It will go down in Jets lore as one of the most compelling “what if?” scenarios.

What if they had drafted Dan Marino over Ken O’Brien in 1983? What if Aaron Rodgers hadn’t torn his Achilles in 2023? What if they had given Darnold another chance?

“My personal opinion: I would’ve liked to have seen him get a full opportunity there,” Maccagnan said. “But at the end of the day, I wasn’t in that building, so I can’t say, ‘They should’ve done this, this and this.’ I wasn’t around. But I was saddened to see them trade him.”

Adams was a year removed from the Jets when Darnold was traded, but his hope was to see Darnold flourish in the Big Apple.

play

Graziano praises the ‘common sense’ of Seahawks in roster-building

Dan Graziano discusses the Seahawks’ roster-building strategy, and in particular their decision to sign quarterback Sam Darnold.

“Man, if only New York had some patience with him,” said Adams, who was dealt to the Seahawks before the 2020 season. “Like, he was the guy, man. He was gonna be The Guy. He just needed time.”

The Darnold-led Jets didn’t have a strong roster or a strong infrastructure. At times, they were dysfunctional. It didn’t help that he contracted mononucleosis in 2019, which cost him three games early in the year. From 2018 to 2020, he ranked 37th out of 40 quarterbacks in Total QBR (40.3).

In Darnold’s three seasons, the Jets were 13-35. Now consider his past two seasons: He went 14-3 with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 and 14-3 with the Seahawks, joining Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in history to win at least 14 games in consecutive seasons.

Meanwhile, the Jets have continued to cycle through quarterbacks, going from Darnold to Wilson to Rodgers to Justin Fields, extending the franchise’s streak to 10 straight losing seasons. And now, they will most likely have a new starter in 2026.

Darnold was part of the morass, but maybe, just maybe, he needed to struggle in New York.

“Everything he has endured, everything he went through has set him up to be the player that he is, the person that he is and the competitor that he is,” Beachum said. “It’s all forged him and hardened him to be the player that he is.”

IT WAS ONE of the worst games of Darnold’s career — four interceptions in a 33-0 home loss to the Patriots on a Monday night in 2019. The enduring moment of the game actually occurred on the bench, when a miked-up Darnold told a coach, “I’m seeing ghosts.”

It was aired during the ESPN telecast. In an instant, it went viral.

Using football parlance, he admitted he was confused by Bill Belichick’s defense, creating a narrative that has followed him throughout his career. The following week, in Jacksonville, a plane flew over the stadium with a banner that read: “Gardner Minshew ain’t afraid of no ghost.” The Jaguars trolled Darnold by playing the “Ghostbusters” theme song in the stadium in the final seconds of a 14-point win.

To this day, he still gets asked about the “ghosts,” but not as often.

“I like the fact that he’s reached a stage where they’re talking more about the things he’s doing on the field as opposed to a sound bite from a game, said very quickly in frustration, sitting on the bench,” Maccagnan said. “That just hangs. In your head, you’re like, ‘OK, how many players has that happened to in the NFL?’ Probably not many. Those are things that kind of hang around.”

Adams said he thought back to the ghost game earlier this season when Darnold was intercepted four times by the Rams in November.

“This time, it was different,” Adams said. “He never flinched and he came back swinging. That’s what stood out to me.”

In a way, Darnold will confront his — ahem — demons in the Super Bowl. His career record against the Patriots is 0-4; he was outscored in those games 123-23. He has one touchdown pass and nine interceptions, the second-worst ratio for any quarterback against a single opponent since 1990 (minimum: 125 attempts), per ESPN Research.

Talking about Darnold, his former teammates cited his resilience as the driving force in his circuitous career.

He was traded by the Jets. Benched in Carolina. A benchwarmer for the San Francisco 49ers. Discarded by the Vikings in favor of the unproven J.J. McCarthy.

Still, he is set to become the third quarterback in history to start a Super Bowl while on his fifth team or more.

A new narrative emerged last season, following his poor performance (nine sacks) in the Vikings’ playoff loss: Can’t win the big one.

Darnold should adopt Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing” as his theme song. His intangible qualities are what attracted Maccagnan to him during the scouting process. They’re also what endeared him to teammates.

“He always had that greatness within him,” Chosen said. “Seeing him have the opportunity to win it all on the biggest stage, I’m very excited and happy for him.”

Adams said, “Sam is the greatest human in the world and the coolest dude ever. Seriously, he’s not only a good football player, but a great dude and a great teammate. I miss balling with him, I tell you that, because I knew he’d show up every day for work.”

Asked to describe Darnold’s journey, Maccagnan made an abstract comparison, recalling the old Marlboro Man cigarette ads from the 1970s. The man in the ad was Darnold’s grandfather, Dick Hammer, who died when Sam was only 2.

“There’s this weathered, tough man in this iconic photo, and you start thinking, Sam, in his own way, has weathered very intense storms in his development with different environments,” said Maccagnan, acknowledging “a lot of those environments” weren’t conducive to quarterback development.

Maccagnan, a senior football evaluation specialist for SumerSports, an analytics-based company serving the NFL and colleges, acknowledged that he made his share of mistakes during his Jets tenure. But he always knew, from the first time his scout’s eyes watched Darnold play quarterback, that the kid had something.

“He’s the one I never second-guessed,” the former GM said. “I always felt he was the one I got right.”