photo by: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura

Darryn Peterson is interviewed after being chosen by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the NBA basketball draft, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York.

Darryn Peterson might have a bit of trouble finding a jersey to wear in Utah.

The newly minted No. 2 overall pick, selected by the Jazz out of Kansas in Tuesday night’s draft, has long sported No. 22 as a tribute to his father Darryl, who wore it in high school.

“It shows how much he believes and respects me as a dad, and he just embraced it,” Darryl said on ESPN shortly after his son’s selection.

But in Utah, No. 22 is already taken by third-year center Kyle Filipowski, the former Duke standout who started 41 of 77 games last season. Informed of this fact in his introductory press conference as a member of the Jazz, Peterson told reporters he might pivot to No. 8, for his inspiration, Kobe Bryant.

Then he got told that too was taken by third-year guard Isaiah Collier.

“So I’m out of luck,” he told reporters with a smile. “I’m going to have to figure out who. I’m going to have to go to the drawing board, figure something out. But hopefully I can get 22. I’m probably going to text (Filipowski) right now, like, ‘What I got to do?'”

The uniform quandary might be the only way in which Peterson struggles to find his place in Utah, because on Tuesday night Jazz officials articulated plenty of confidence in the numerous ways his skills would align with the rest of their organization.

“I think he fits so well with guys like Keyonte (George) and Lauri (Markkanen) and Jaren (Jackson Jr.) and Walker (Kessler), and all the guys that we’ve all been watching grow for the last couple of years,” head coach Will Hardy said in an interview posted by the Jazz on YouTube. “I think Darryn will fit in very seamlessly because of his ability to play on and off the ball.”

Jazz president Austin Ainge said Peterson is “a culture fit, talent fit, game fit with our organization” and “doesn’t have a glaring weakness.”

“The thing that we like most about him is for a 19-year-old he feels very complete,” Ainge told reporters. “He can drive left, he can drive right, he can shoot off the catch, he can shoot off the dribble. He can guard, he can play pick and roll, he can play off the ball. It feels like he can help all of our other talented players in a lot of different ways.”

For all the predraft discussion of how Peterson had chosen to work out only with the Washington Wizards — “Me being me, my main goal is No. 1, so me and my team decided that was the best place for me to go work out” — he said he had a positive view of the Jazz dating back to his interactions with the team at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. And the two sides got to know each other better last week when Ainge, Danny Ainge (the CEO), Avery Bradley (vice president of player development) and Justin Zanik (the general manager) made a trip to Peterson’s hometown of Canton, Ohio, for a key in-person meeting to be “a little extra sure,” as Ainge put it.

“We talked about our roster, we talked about our system, we asked him how much he knew about our players and Utah and our history, and we showed him about how amazing the Jazz fans are, how many sellouts in a row we’ve had, how they support us through thick and thin,” Ainge said.

“We talked about the way we play basketball, our ball-movement, body-movement offense, and he loved the sound of that, and he liked to hear that we’re going to go all in trying to win next year, as many games as we can, and that we think we really have the talent to both help him and that he can help.”

The internet was abuzz with scenes of Jazz fans rejoicing at the team’s draft party in Utah.

“We just FaceTimed Darryn and we’re like, ‘People are going nuts here. You are going to love it,'” Jazz owner Ryan Smith said in an interview posted on YouTube. “It just goes a long way. We’re fortunate to have what we think is the best market in sports to be able to do this with. I just believe we can have nice things in Utah, and Darryn’s pretty nice.”

But Peterson’s own jubilation may already be at an end: “The celebration stops tonight,” he said. “I got drafted today, but tomorrow I’m now an NBA player.”

He said he tries to view it the way he believes Bryant would.

“I think he’d get drafted and move on and try to go be his best (version of) him possible, so that’s what I’m going to do,” Peterson said. “And I see a guy went No. 1 on the screen up there right now, so I’m extra motivated.”

Indeed, AJ Dybantsa of BYU, with whom Peterson’s career will always be inextricably linked, went first overall to the Wizards, preventing Peterson from accomplishing his objective.

“There’s always been a chip on my shoulder, so I wouldn’t say it added anything else, but now it’ll always be on my mind for my whole career,” Peterson said.

Asked about his new goals for the year ahead, Peterson said he wants to play all 82 games, in the wake of his inconsistent availability at KU. He also mentioned his desire to make the playoffs and even win a championship.

First up, though, is the NBA Summer League, a preseason exhibition competition that runs in July. The Jazz get off to an especially early start by hosting their own Salt Lake City Summer League that begins on July 4. Ainge said Peterson is ready to hit the ground running. Peterson, for his part, said he wants to show “that I’m back to being me.”

“I wasn’t completely myself at Kansas,” he added. “But this predraft, I worked super hard and now I’m feeling better than ever.”

The final question of his press conference concerned that tenure at KU — one that head coach Bill Self said on Tuesday night left him feeling very happy for Peterson, but also “a what-if a little bit as well.”

“It’s been a great year at Kansas,” Peterson told reporters. “Would do it a million more times. Rock Chalk, appreciate all those guys, and hopefully they continue to be fans and hope they’re now Utah fans.”