This upcoming NBA Draft is looking like one of the all-time great drafts at the top. AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cam Boozer are looking like an elite top-3 to choose from. What’s different about the optimism with this draft is that it seems warranted for these players. Let’s look at the best and worst case scenarios for each player.
Darryn Peterson
Worst Case Scenarios
DeMar DeRozan 6’6”
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Zach LaVine 6’5”
Arron Afflalo 6’5”
Kevin Martin 6’7”
Jordan Clarkson 6’4”
Michael Redd 6’6”
Eric Gordon 6’4”
Tyreke Evans 6’6”
Jamal Murray 6’4”
Gilbert Arenas 6’4”
Best Case Scenarios
Anthony Edwards 6’4”
Dwyane Wade 6’4”
Kobe Bryant 6’6”
Devin Booker 6’5”
SGA 6’6”
Vince Carter 6’6”
Brandon Roy 6’6”
Michael Jordan 6’6”
This is a list of notable players between 6’4 and 6’6” that averaged 20 or more points per game from 1990 and on. It seems reasonable that Peterson would average that amount once he gets into the league with his elite shooting
The first thing you notice is that averaging 20+ points per game is not an easy thing to do in the league. To do it efficiently makes you an incredible player in the league. There’s an obvious variation of style and athleticism with each player, but the correlating factor is their ability to score. What makes me excited about Peterson is that he’s been shown to have an incredible ability to score efficiently both on and off the ball. If that scoring carries over, he could be a potent cornerstone of a great offense.
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AJ Dybantsa
Worst Case Scenarios
Brandon Ingram 6’8”
Ricky Davis 6’7”
Antawn Jamison 6’9”
David West 6’9”
Luol Deng 6’9”
Rashard Lewis 6’10”
Michael Beasley 6’10”
Rudy Gay 6’8”
Shareef Abdur-Rahim 6’9”
Best Case Scenarios
LeBron James 6’9”
Kevin Durant 6’11”
Dominique Wilkins 6’8”
Jayson Tatum 6’8”
Paul George 6’8”
Tracy McGrady 6’10”
Kawhi Leonard 6’7”-6’8”
Carmelo Anthony 6’8”
PROVO, UT – FEBRUARY 21: AJ Dybantsa #3 of the Brigham Young Cougars watches a shot during warm-up before the game against the Iowa State Cyclones at the Marriott Center on February 21, 2026 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Once again, this is a pretty amazing list of players who are comparable in height to Dybantsa and have scored 20+ points per game. There have been a lot of players in the league whom teams have invested in with characteristics similar to Dybantsa’s. But a lot of them have not panned out. Just like with the players in Peterson’s range, if Dybantsa can meet his potential, he’s a championship-caliber player that could be the cornerstone of a dominant offense.
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What’s also interesting to consider is whether a certain archetype is better to have lead your team than another. Is a big wing like Dybantsa more effective than a big shooting guard like Peterson? Looking at this rudimentary study, it isn’t clear which is more important. What does appear important is that the player you want leading you to a championship is the one that has the ball in their hands, a characteristic that Dybantsa and Peterson share. It’s probably as simple as this: are you better than the team you’re playing against? Both Dybantsa and Peterson have a chance to be among the best players in the league with the ball in their hands a lot, leading an offense.
Cam Boozer
Worst Case Scenarios
Shareef Abdur-Rahim 6’9”
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Carlos Boozer 6’9”
Kevin Love 6’10”
Derrick Coleman 6’10”
Jermaine O’Neal 6’11”
Zach Randolph 6’9”
Best Case Scenarios
Karl Malone 6’9”
Tim Duncan 6’11”
Nikola Jokic 6’11”
Chris Webber 6’9”
Karl Anthony-Towns 7’0”
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 27: Cameron Boozer #12 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrates in the second half against the St. John’s Red Storm during the Sweet Sixteen round game of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Capital One Arena on March 27, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) | NCAA Photos via Getty Images
What’s interesting about Cam Boozer is what seems like a much wider range of possibilities. I looked for players in this group who were comparable in height to Boozer (some of these players are taller but have comparable skill sets) and averaged 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game. With so many bigs in the history of the league, you can imagine him fitting into a lot of these molds.
What appears to be the thing that Boozer will need to overcome is the height. Boozer will likely be somewhere between 6’9” and 6’10” in shoes. He’s not a rim protector, so he’ll need to be elite offensively, which a lot of draft experts predict. If he can be good defensively, he can put himself into the mold of a player like Karl Malone. Malone wasn’t a rim protector, but he was a tough, physical defender, an all-defense-level defender. Boozer also has to show that he can handle the ball and be the focal point of everything a team does, not just a player dependent on guards and wings to get him the ball in his spots.
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On FanDuel, the odds are continuing to adjust every day. Right now, Dybantsa is the top possibility at -450 to be the first pick, Peterson is at +380, and Boozer is at +1700.
What do you think? Who do you think are the comps for each of these players?
