NBA Draft's Big 3 Might Not be Peterson, Boozer And Dybantsa Anymore

AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cameron Boozer have been liked as a trio for the entirety of the college basketball season.

Dybantsa was the top prospect going into the year, but Peterson wowed in his final year of high school and showed off a ceiling that matched or even surpassed that of the BYU Cougar. Then, Boozer, the son of former NBA mainstay Carlos Boozer, broke out in his first few games with the Duke Blue Devils and forced himself into the conversation with his play.

And though none of the trio went on to lead their respective teams to the championship, each has been considered a possible team-defining player, depending on who selects them in the upcoming draft.

That might not be the case anymore, though, as one of the “Big 3” might be getting replaced before the big night.

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Darryn Peterson started off the college basketball season strong but regressed throughout the campaign due to missed games and a lack of spearheading the Kansas Jayhawks offense.

The Athletic’s John Hollinger still believes Peterson can be a star in the NBA, but he no longer has him in his top three heading into the draft.

Instead, he has North Carolina‘s freshman ace, Caleb Wilson, as the current third-best prospect of the crop, with Dybantsa in second and Boozer as the top dog.

“[Wilson] constantly gets to the rim, whether as the initiator or rolling to the cup as a screener,” Hollinger wrote. “Wilson took 19.3 2-point baskets per 100 possessions in ACC play and made 64.5 percent of them. In other words, he was shooting inside the arc nearly as often as Dybantsa or Kingston Flemings, but he was converting at an awesome rate. Included in those were mouth-watering transition sequences where he dunked on people's heads.”

In terms of polish, Peterson appears to be the better bet as of today, but Hollinger is doubling down on Wilson’s explosiveness and potential to develop into something greater than he showed in college.

Hollinger believes that if Wilson can develop a jump shot of any kind, his overall athletic arsenal could put him in rarified air alongside some of the NBA’s best.

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This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 2:29 PM.