Darryn Peterson red flags, explained: How missed time, character issues at Kansas may impact NBA stock

Kansas guard Darryn Peterson is one of the top prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft, but teams have to decide whether his perceived red flags are worth the risk.

Peterson comes into the draft after an up-and-down season with the Jayhawks, as he showed both tantalizing talents but maddened fans by missing games throughout the season. The guard is in the discussion to go first overall, battling A.J. Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer for that right, so every little detail could come into play.

With so much at stake in this year's draft, Peterson has a chance to be one team's savior as long as his red flags don't come into play. Here's a breakdown of the questions facing Peterson ahead of the draft.

MORE: Where Darryn Peterson ranks among the top 60 players in the NBA Draft

Darryn Peterson red flags

Health

The main concern regarding Peterson entering the NBA Draft is that he dealt with health issues over the course of the college season. Peterson would occasionally sti out select games or even sub himself out of games due to cramping issues, which led to some questioning his competitiveness and willingness to fight through any issues.

After the season, Peterson explained that the cramping issue was due to him using creatine for the first time last season. The guard explained that he had a bad experience with creatine before the season began but didn't realize creatine was the cause until he saw a doctor once the season ended.

"I'd never taken it before [college]," Peterson said, via ESPN. "But after the season, I took two weeks off and they did tests which showed my baseline level was already high. So, they said when I dosed, it must've made the levels unsafe."

Competitiveness

As a result of his health issue last year, teams will have to assess whether Peterson has a strong level of competitiveness towards the game. Not many college players voluntarily sat out games like Peterson did throughout the 2025-26 season.

If Peterson's issues during the season were related to the creatine he took, then teams shouldn't have anything to worry about as Peterson has a better idea of his body moving forward. Still, the those organizations needed to use the pre-draft process to understand Peterson's mindset.

"What bothers me is, it's just some diva-ness there, to me," a scout told The Athletic's David Aldridge. "I think you’re getting kind of a glimpse of who he's going to be. More like Paul George or Kawhi, where if it's not healed, he's not playing. That's just the way I look at it."

Even though he missed 11 games during the season, Peterson denies that his competitiveness is an issue. 

A college coach told Aldridge that Peterson's actions last year do not represent him as an individual.

"That thing this year was weird. It shocked me," the coach said. "Because it had never been that. Like, in high school, he didn't duck any smoke. From afar, it was shocking to see that stuff."

MORE: Complete NBA draft order for all 60 picks in 2026

Skipping interviews

Peterson felt quite confident that he should go No. 1 so he decided to skip any pre-draft interviews with teams that aren't the Washington Wizards, who hold the top pick. For comparison, AJ Dybantsa visited just two teams: the Wizards and the Utah Jazz.

Developments ahead of the June 23-24 NBA draft: BYU's AJ Dybantsa has conducted formal visits with both the Washington Wizards (No. 1) and Utah Jazz (No. 2) while Kansas' Darryn Peterson only visited the Wizards and does not plan to grant anyone else a meeting, sources tell me…

For the Jazz to take Peterson at No. 2, they will have to feel confident with their evaluation of the player despite not getting to bring him into the facility. Utah is no stranger to that, though, as the team drafted Ace Bailey. last year despite Bailey's own pre-draft restrictions.