The Utah Jazz selected Kansas guard Darryn Peterson with the second overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Despite a somewhat tumultuous season with the Jayhawks, many feel that Peterson has the highest ceiling of any player in this draft class with him even drawing comparisons to a young Kobe Bryant.
There are very few players who have been compared to the Los Angeles Lakers’ icon, but Peterson has that level of skill in his game. He also has the work ethic as he spoke about his desire to get straight to work after being drafted, just as his idol would have done.
“The celebration stops tonight,” Peterson said at his post-draft press conference. “I got drafted today, but tomorrow, I’m now an NBA player. I’m going to get home and work out until I’ve got to report to Utah.
“Like I said, ball is first. So I’m a grinder. Like I said, Kobe is my guy, and I’m inspired by him. So I just try to think, what would Kobe do right now? He’d get drafted and move on and try to go be the best possible. So that’s what I’m going to go do. I see a guy that went No. 1 on the screen there right now [AJ Dybantsa]. So I’m extra motivated.”
There are many extremely skilled players around the world, but what separates the all-time greats is that work ethic and Peterson is embracing that Mamba Mentality. The guard is wasting no time in getting right to work and the fact that he is even more motivated by not being taken first overall and just seeing the face of top pick AJ Dybantsa is more proof that he has that mental makeup of Bryant. In fact, he even got a tattoo of the Lakers legend on his left arm:
From the moment he joined the Lakers, Bryant proclaimed that he wanted to be the best basketball player ever, and all of his teammates can attest to the fact that he was putting in the work to do just that. Peterson seems to have that same drive and that, along with his elite scoring tools, bodes very well for him becoming a huge star in the league.
Cameron Carr calls it a ‘childhood dream’ to play for same Lakers franchise as Kobe Bryant
The Lakers own first-round draft pick, Baylor wing Cameron Carr, also has some ties to Bryant as his father, Chris Carr, was the runner-up to the Lakers legend in the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest. And Carr is now fulfilling a childhood dream to play for that same franchise.
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