2026 NBA draft: Round 1 winners, surprise picks, questions - ESPN

Round 1 of the 2026 NBA draft wrapped Tuesday night, and the race for the No. 1 pick was decided with the Washington Wizards selecting AJ Dybantsa first, and then the Utah Jazz taking Darryn Peterson with the No. 2 pick.

As always, draft night is full of surprises, as there were seven trades involving NBA teams.

The night wrapped with the Phoenix Suns acquiring Koa Peat at No. 30 after the New York Knicks traded their No. 25 pick, Sergio De Larrea, to the Dallas Mavericks at No. 30 and then traded that pick to the Suns.

ESPN's Jeremy Woo, Bobby Marks and Ben Golliver break down the biggest winners, questions and their favorite picks from Round 1.

Round 2 is Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC) — follow along on our live Draftcast.

More NBA draft coverage:
Wizards take Dybantsa | Utah picks Peterson
Round 2 mock draft | Best available prospects
Trade tracker | Top 100 rankings | Draft

The pick: Darryn Peterson, PG/SG (No. 2)

Peterson was my No. 1 player in the draft, and he was available one pick later than that slot. To me, that's simple logic. I could certainly be proved wrong by history — AJ Dybantsa is very good — but I think much of the perceived risk around Peterson simply won't matter in the long run. The Jazz will walk away with a franchise-changing player and didn't have to win the lottery to do it.

Peterson was arguably the best fit for Utah out of the top four prospects: the Jazz needed another shooter and more size in the backcourt, and in Peterson, they get both. They will have to figure out how he balances alongside another scoring guard in Keyonte George, but Peterson, being a taller guard and frankly, an underrated defender, also helps. The way this worked out will age very well for Utah.

The picks: Cameron