Darryn Peterson diary: ‘I think we’ve got the best job in the world’

SALT LAKE CITY — Until the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft was announced by commissioner Adam Silver in June, Darryn Peterson’s confidence wouldn’t allow him to think anyone else would be picked before him. Months later, the No. 2 pick is ecstatic to be with the Utah Jazz and is welcoming a healthy rivalry with No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa.

“No one could tell me I wasn’t going to be the No. 1 pick until Adam Silver called AJ’s name,” Peterson told Andscape on Tuesday. “I just felt like I was the best player. But I’m happy where I’m at. Great fit. There is no other place I’d rather be [than] Utah. …

“A lot of people think me and AJ have a rivalry. It’s more of a social media thing [between] me and him. When we were at [basketball] camps and that [NBA] Rookie Transition [Program], we spent some time together. Me and him were super cool. But I think it’s cool that we got the little ‘me versus him’ thing going on as well. Just because, why not? The No. 1 pick versus No. 2. But me and him have a great relationship. We’re just two competitors.”

During the 2026-27 NBA season, Peterson is exclusively sharing insight into his life on and off the court as a rookie with the Jazz in a monthly diary on Andscape. Draymond Green, Paolo Banchero, Vince Carter, Trae Young, CJ McCollum, Fred VanVleet, De’Aaron Fox, Cade Cunningham, James Wiseman, Josh Jackson, Bradley Beal and, most recently, Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell have participated in previous Andscape NBA diaries. Episode 5 of Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton’s WNBA diary series was released last week.

Peterson was the No. 2 pick in the 2026 NBA draft out of the University of Kansas. The Canton, Ohio, native averaged 20.2 points per game, a program record for a freshman. The 19-year-old also led the Jayhawks in 3-pointers made and 20-point games.

Peterson amassed those accolades despite missing 11 games due to a combination of physical injuries, severe cramping and illness. He suffered from intense full-body cramps — stemming back to an early-season practice episode that required hospitalization and IVs — which caused recurring game exits and practice absences and, in one case, made him feel like he could die.

It was later revealed in reporting from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that the 6-foot-6, 205-pounder’s cramping was caused by his natural, baseline creatine levels being exceptionally high. A now-healthy Peterson is slated to make is NBA debut as a starter for the Jazz on Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The following is his first installment of his NBA season diary with Andscape, recorded from the Jazz’s practice facility on the evening of Oct. 13.

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I fell in love with basketball as far back as I can remember. I was surrounded by it at a young age. My dad was the coach. Older brother played; all of my family members played. I was always around it. It was something I always wanted to do.

The point when I felt like I could be NBA player was probably my first time going to the [2022] NBPA camp in Orlando, Florida [as a high school sophomore]. There were a lot of guys that were older than me there that were projected to go to the NBA. I felt super comfortable and cool with all those guys. So, I saw my confidence grow and I felt like I could play in the NBA. I remember guys like Stephon Castle being there, Matas Buzelis, Jared McCain, all the guys that were ahead of me.

I have a ton of pride being from Canton, Ohio. It’s a place where not a lot of people make it out. It’s a place where chasing a dream isn’t the usual. So, I carry that everywhere I go. Keeps me humble. Keeps me grateful to know where I came from.

The McCollom brothers [Errick and CJ] were inspirations to me growing up because it showed me that you can make it from Canton. That isn’t a thing that’s super normal where we’re from. So, they were role models for me, and then I was able to work out with them as I got older. That was huge for my preparation as well. Appreciated it every time.

CJ and Errick both played pro basketball. Seeing is believing. Being from Canton, Ohio, I watched CJ work super hard and make it from Lehigh [University], which isn’t normal at all either. So yeah, they were just a few [people] that I looked up to growing up, and they were a big part of my process.

Some things I learned from CJ and Errick both was make sure I’m having fun. That was a huge thing they told me. They told me just continue to have fun throughout the whole process. There are going to be ups and downs, but continue to be you. Don’t let the game change you. Don’t let the fans and the critics change you. Just work super hard.

If I would describe my game, I would say that I’m a combo guard that affects the game on both sides of the ball, someone who can create shots for himself and his teammates. And I’m the ultimate competitor and winner. I took a lot of stuff from a ton of people’s games. I watched a ton of film. Players like Damian Lillard, Kobe [Bryant], Tyrese Maxey, Donovan Mitchell, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]. Devin Booker is one of my favorites. So, a lot of guards that can score. I take stuff from all their games.

My competitive drive came from my upbringing in my household. Losing was something that was never accepted. So, just my pops and my older brother showed me that when I was young. So, it kind of just stuck with me and made me who I am today. I always want to get 1 percent better every day. I think that’s going to be huge for my career.

Games we played growing up were like Uno, Monopoly, HORSE in the backyard. Pushup games. Concentration, with the cards. There was a ton of stuff that we used to do. But the loser always had to do something extra, like pushups or situps or clean up the game or something. So, no one wanted to lose in the house.

My why? At a young age, I watched my parents work every day. They would go to work, still come home and take care of us and make sure we ate. I used to tell myself, like, I want them to not have to work. I want them to be able to just take care of us, not have to worry about bills or anything. But as I got older — once I left for prep school, I left my junior year of high school — I remember my little siblings didn’t want me to leave. I told them it was something I just had to do for them, and it’ll be a bigger outcome in the end.

So, they used to push me every day throughout my sophomore, junior, senior year of high school, which was huge for me. I just felt I couldn’t let them down. So, that pushed me. And then I think I’m just a super self-motivated person. Something I get from Kobe is being 1 percent better every day at my craft and just being a better person.

I kind of got inspired by Kobe just watching and hearing all the stories. Something someone told me before is, “If you’re hearing the same thing over and over from different people, it’s got to be true.” So, all this I hear from him was just inspiring to me. And he was also my grandmother’s favorite player, so we used to talk about him all the time and watch highlights.

I chose Kansas because it’s kind of where I felt the most at ease. I felt like I could have went probably anywhere I wanted to coming out of high school, but Kansas just gave me the best opportunity. So, at the time, I thought I was going to be the No. 1 pick. And I think Kansas gave me the best opportunity to go prove that, play against [the top] guys, have a huge fanbase behind me. All that stuff was taken in. If I could, I would choose Kansas again.

My most joyous time I had at Kansas, I would say it was probably just being in my teammates’ room, Justin Cross, Flory Bidunga and Jayden Dawson. It was the kind of a team where we all play games, watch movies. My most challenging time at Kansas was dealing with the health stuff I had going on during the season. It was rough for me, because it was first time really facing adversity on the court.

But I know everything happened for a reason. I got through it. It was important for my career, because now I know what it’s like to have critics and people saying all kinds of stuff about you. Now, I know it doesn’t really matter at all. My teammates, coaches, and everyone that was there understood what I was going through [and] had my back.

I do a good job of forgetting about that. After one of the practices at Kansas, I started experiencing like intense cramps. Started in my legs. I remember telling the trainer, “I’m cramping. Can you give me something?” We took these [electrolyte drinks] called “The Right Stuff” at the time. Took a ton of those. Drunk some Gatorade and stuff. But I was still cramping, so they got me to the training room. And once I got to the training room, I experienced a full body cramp, which my whole body was cramping everywhere. All my muscles were cramping. So that was super intense.

And then there was like 35, 40 minutes of just intense cramping. They were trying to find veins and stuff. So that was a rough day. I remember 911 [emergency services] had to come get a vein and take me out on a hospital bed, take me to the hospital. So yeah, that was a super tough day for me.

If I could describe the pain I went through that day, I would say like it felt like I was holding a plank for 45 minutes straight. I don’t think anybody in the world has ever done that. So, just imagine a 45-minute plank in which you’re using your entire body to stay up unwillingly. … So, pain, I would go 10-plus [on the 1-10 scale]. Excruciating pain.

I got past it by just controlling what I could control. … I was doing everything I could to be hydrated and eating right, changed my diet, getting IVs, getting massages. [I] was doing everything I could to kind of try to shake back from it. [It] took a while for me to get a ton of tests, MRIs, blood draws. I was really in the search to figure out what it was.

What helped me handle the critics that year when I was going through what I was going through was myself, really. I knew, deep down inside, looking in the mirror every night and every morning, that I’m doing everything I can to be out there. Like, literally everything I could. I’m working super hard. I’m doing stress tests. I’m going hard in practice. Doing my best to be in tip-top shape. So, that’s what had me at ease.

Obviously, there was a ton of rumors and stuff that came out. I think what bothered me most was just the character attacks and personal attacks that were saying I wasn’t playing because I didn’t get money or I didn’t want to be out there, I didn’t care about Kansas, I was for myself.

All those kind of things were stuff that was so far from the truth, that’s what bothered me. But all the basketball stuff, I didn’t really mind. “Not a winner,” all that kind of stuff, is opinion. But the personal attacks [are] what I didn’t really like.

Once I figured it out, it was relief, because at the time I didn’t know what it was. There were a lot of thoughts that ran through my head. “Will this bother me my whole career?” or, “Will I be able to hoop still?” Just to get the answer felt good, so know that I’m going have the opportunity to feel like myself again and beat myself on the court. So, looking forward to the season, and I’m back beaming.

At the [NBA] draft lottery, my mind was still already set on the draft. My mind was already like, “I’m ready to get drafted,” because the draft process was three months long. I was just training. Didn’t get to play 5-on-5. So, I was ready to just get to the draft, figure out where I was going, and get to work. So, [the lottery] was a super cool moment for me, my family, something I dreamed about for a super long time. And I was blessed to be there and see all the guys. We kind of grew up competing. And I saw everybody, their families. So, it was super cool to see some of our hard work pan out.

You get the call first from whoever calls you [on draft night from the Utah] Jazz. They tell you, “We’re going to take you.” So, I knew before [NBA commissioner Adam Silver] came out, but it still was super good to hear him call my name. Growing up, I used to listen to the little [NBA draft chime] noise every morning and every night. It was just something my dad told me was like a manifestation.

So, I used to always dream about hearing that [chime] and then hearing my name after. So, it was super surreal. I didn’t know what I was doing at the time. It was just like a “wow” moment. Then it kind of dulled down after I had to do like all the media and stuff. But that next morning, it was like, “Wow, NBA player. I’m officially an NBA player. I worked really hard for this.” I was really proud of myself.

You couldn’t say you’re [the] No. 1 pick, but it’s not really that big of a deal anymore. I think, personally, a lot of the best players in the league weren’t the No. 1 pick. So, I think it’s definitely a great accolade, but it’s not the best thing in the world. So, I definitely would have wanted to be the No. 1 pick, but it is what it is.

Once I got here [to Salt Lake City], it’s been great. It’s the type of lifestyle I like to live. Quiet. Chill. I see some fans around here and stuff. Take some pictures. Take my dog down on some walks. I’ve been fishing. Went on a hike. So, just super cool since I got here. And there are still some places I got to go see.

I didn’t know much about the Utah Jazz organization prior to now, but obviously I knew some of the players that came through here. Karl Malone, John Stockton, Donovan Mitchell. Yeah, it’s great to have a great history. It’s not great to say, but I always remember Michael [Jordan] doing the snatch back and hitting that shot for the championship [in the 1998 NBA Finals]. So, that was probably one of the first memories I had of Utah Jazz. We can get that back. Get that ring.

In my eyes, I think we got a great team. Obviously, I don’t know what it takes to be a great team in the NBA or be a playoff team or a championship team. But I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help be a part of all those things I mentioned.

I’ve learned from a ton of guys. I’ve got a ton of vets. A lot of people that have done everything I want to do. I think that’s going to be huge for me in my career. I think it’s great when you got five guys out there at all times that I feel like can score and defend at a high level. I think we got a chance to be really good.

Me and Coach Will [Hardy] have a great relationship that’s also still growing. I think his main message to me has been like, “You’re running your own race. Don’t compare yourself to anybody else. Continue to come here and learn every day. Continue to be humble, and don’t expect anything to be given to you,” which was music to my ears as well. That is something my dad preached at young age. To hear that from my head coach in the NBA made me have a ton of respect for him. I respect that he was willing to go out his way and create a relationship with me, which means a lot to me. I think it’s going to be great for both our careers. I think it’s going to be a huge part of my career.

I wouldn’t really say I have as many expectations for myself. But obviously, I have some goals that I want to reach. Before our second preseason game, we had chapel. Someone that really stuck with me that someone said was, “Don’t let expectations take away from the experience.” That was huge for me, because I put a little bit of pressure on myself coming into this rookie year.

But I also have to take a look from the outside and be like, “You worked for this your entire life. Be a rookie, have fun, go do all these things, play hard, just have a good time.” Obviously, be serious about it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I think we’ve got the best job in the world. We get to just hoop.

Season opener, going to Memphis, I’m looking forward to getting the season going, to get out of the preseason phase, the summer phase. And start rookie year off with a win, hopefully. Yeah, can’t wait. Obviously, there’s another lottery pick on [Memphis] in [2026 No. 3 pick] Cam Boozer. So, that’ll be a good game going against him. We had a ton of battles growing up, so I think it’d be cool to be out there and share the court with those guys and also my team.

Something I hope people can learn about me after seeing this diary after the season is I’m just still normal. I’m 19, but I’ll be 20 by the time it ends. I’m just like a normal 20-year-old kid that’s growing up, becoming a man, just learning life, trying to be the best me possible.