Jazz Take Kansas' Peterson at No. 2 in NBA Draft
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- Darryn Peterson, a 19-year-old Kansas guard, was taken No. 2 overall by the Utah Jazz, becoming the program's first freshman to average 20.2 points per game.
- Peterson's lone college season was disrupted by severe cramping that caused him to miss 11 games, which he attributed in May to high creatine doses; Jazz team sources told ESPN their own medical research raised no red flags.
- Austin Ainge, the Jazz's president of basketball operations, praised Peterson's 'talent and character and work ethic' on Jazz+, saying Utah believes he 'can help us win now and in the future.'
- The selection continues a pattern: it's the second straight year the Jazz have used a lottery pick on a prospect who declined a pre-draft visit, following No. 5 pick Ace Bailey, a second-team All-Rookie selection last year.
- Peterson is projected to pair in the Utah backcourt with Keyonte George, 22, who broke out with 23.6 points and 6.1 assists per game in his third NBA season.
- The pick matches the highest in franchise history — Utah also held No. 2 in 1980, when Louisville guard Darrell Griffith was taken and went on to win Rookie of the Year and spend all 10 NBA seasons with the club.
- The Jazz are eyeing a leap from four straight lottery finishes, citing the February trade for two-time All-Star Jaren Jackson Jr. plus the Peterson selection as the foundation: 'We think we can really turn the corner and hit the gas this offseason,' Ainge said.
Why it matters: The Jazz have spent four straight years in the lottery, and Peterson is the highest pick since 1980 — a bet that a 19-year-old who missed 11 games to cramping can be the backcourt cornerstone alongside Keyonte George. Utah's own medical review cleared the same issues that shadowed his college season, shifting the risk from unknown to evaluated.
