The 2026 NBA Draft is expected to have several potential franchise-altering players at the top, and the race for the No. 1 overall pick has been quite a roller-coaster ride over the past few months.
Kansas' Darryn Peterson opened as a hefty -325 favorite to be taken first in the 2026 NBA Draft, but his odds shrank throughout the season compared with BYU star forward AJ Dybantsa. Dybantsa opened with +360 odds.
Dybantsa finally passed Peterson in early March and became the favorite to go No. 1 overall at sportsbooks. After Dybantsa officially declared for the 2026 NBA Draft, he moved to the -200 favorite to go No. 1 overall, and currently sits at -450. Peterson is all the way out to +320.
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The Washington Wizards won the 2026 NBA Draft lottery on Sunday and now own the No. 1 overall pick, followed by the Utah Jazz at No. 2, Memphis Grizzles at No. 3 and Chicago Bulls at No. 4.
Duke's Cameron Boozer (11-1) the player with the next-best odds at sportsbooks after Dybantsa and Peterson, and no other player has odds better than 35-1 to go No. 1.
Dybantsa has the most wagers (38.8%) and by far the most handle (74.1%) of any player at BetMGM sportsbooks to go No. 1 overall.
Peterson’s Kansas team lost 67-65 to No. 5 St. John’s in the second round of the 2026 NCAA tournament, while Dybantsa’s BYU team lost 79-71 in the first round.
Unlike a few years ago when Bronny James was garnering a ton of action as a huge long shot to go No. 1 overall, bettors seem pretty convinced that it's a two-player race between Dybantsa, Boozer and Peterson.
One potential long shot is UNC’s Caleb Wilson, who has the third-most wagers (13.5%) and whose odds have been cut sig from 100-1 to 35-1.
Dybantsa is led the nation in scoring at 25.5 points per game and started all 35 of BYU's games. Peterson averaged 20.2 PPG and played in 24 of Kansas' 35 games.
