On Tuesday evening, Darryn Peterson officially became the number two overall draft pick by the Utah Jazz, going just one spot after AJ Dybantsa of the Washington Wizards. Peterson burst onto the national scene as a star freshman for Kansas last year, and ultimately, concerns about his availability issues were not enough to drop him any lower than number two.
Since then, Adidas has announced its lineup of players signed to the brand from the NBA draft class this year, and Peterson led the bunch.
“OFFICIAL: adidas introduces its 2026 NBA Draft Class /// -Darryn Peterson, Karim Lopez, Mikel Brown Jr.,” announced Sole Retriever on X, formerly Twitter.
Brown Jr. was drafted at number six overall by the Brooklyn Nets, while Lopez was taken at number 21 by the Detroit Pistons, before getting traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Previously, Nick DePaula had reported that Peterson had signed one of the richest shoe deals for a rookie in NBA history with Adidas, joining a long list of athletes to have partnered with the brand, including former Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose.
Meanwhile, on the court, Peterson will look to help usher in a new era of Jazz basketball alongside an intriguing core of players assembled in Utah, including electrifying combo guard Keyonte George, veteran wing Lauri Markkanen, and last year’s trade acquisition Jaren Jackson Jr. While the timelines don’t exactly all line, these are still some interesting pieces for a Utah team that has been stuck in NBA purgatory for the last few years and is hoping to avoid going the tanking route once again in 2026-27.
The second round of the draft is slated for Wednesday.
The post Darryn Peterson headlines 3 stars from Adidas’ 2026 NBA Draft class appeared first on ClutchPoints.
