The 2026 NBA Draft is filled with several premiere prospects that actively have teams defying the league's push to stop actively tanking.
With names like Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa and Darius Acuff headling a list of blue-chip prospects, it's clear that the overview of this upcoming draft class is that there are plenty future stars for teams to make a push to land.
However, the one player who's ranking has seemingly fallen some since the start of the college season is projected No. 1 overall pick Darryn Peterson.
Peterson's draft stock has seemingly taken a hit over the last couple of months, and not because of his play, but concerns about his character off the court.
With questionable work ethic and desire to devote himself to the craft that will pay him millions, many are wondeirng if he's worth the gamble at the top of the draft.
For the Washington Wizards though, if the chance to select Peterson is there, expect the rebuilding squad to take yet another swing, especially if they catch wind of this practice story.
Peterson's lights out performance at practice will outweigh any doubt
According to FanSided's very own Noah Weber from the Smoking Cuban, a recent showing during practice for Peterson was more than enough to silence the noise from critics.
Based on intel received about a recent showing from Peterson in practice, Weber's report is enough to have nearly every team excited about the chance of adding a player of the Kansas guard's caliber.
“One NBA scout told The Smoking Cuban that they attended a Kansas practice in Lawrence this season, and it seemed like Peterson went through the entire practice without missing a shot," Weber reported. "This practice included a live five-on-five period, and shooting perfectly from the field through a whole practice is rare unless you're playing NBA 2K."
And if you don't believe that Peterson's practice performance is enough to change team's opinions, maybe the fact that scouts couldn't believe what they were seeing will:
"Veteran scouts with years of NBA experience said they'd never seen anything like it.”
But why should the Wizards take a swing on a player with character concerns?
Peterson's talent is worth the risk
To start, there hasn't been any real signs of concern in regards to Peterson's character.
In fact, most of the noice stemmed from the fact the playmaker missed a stretch of time for the Jayhawks this season while dealing with injuries.
Some questioned whether or not he was truly injured or just looking to stay healthy for the draft, but based on comments from both Peterson and head coach Bill Self, that wasn't the case.
Beyond that, there's way too much talent for a team like Washington to pass up on, especially if they feel good about the character of Peterson in personal meetings during the NBA Draft process.