Darryn Peterson Is Injured. Does This Change His NBA Draft Outlook?
The hamstring isn’t the scary part
I was working for the Phoenix Suns during the 2013 draft. It was a strange one.
Nerlens Noel, the top prospect, tore his left ACL in a February game. Without a consensus choice, Anthony Bennett became the surprise No. 1 pick, and Noel fell all the way to No. 6 in a weak draft class. That’s how concerned teams were about his health, unpolished game, and truncated college career — he was limited to 24 games and was still 18 years old when he played his last game for Kentucky.
Fast forward to the 2026 draft — the No. 1 prospect is Darryn Peterson. But now Peterson has suffered a pair of muscle injuries limiting him to four games for Kansas, and some analysts are suggesting he should “shut it down” and end his college career.
What would that do to his draft stock? How much harder would that make the decision to draft Peterson for NBA general managers?
Let’s examine this from several perspectives, by doing the following:
Identifying four problems that injuries present to NBA front offices
Taking a closer look at 17 recent cases that resemble Peterson’s
Briefly discussing what it will mean for Peterson and his draft stock
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