Dybantsa debuts in Washington’s Day 1 summer league win over Peterson, Utah

Washington's AJ Dybantsa (#4) and Utah's Darryn Peterson (#22) line up ahead of their first professional matchup. Photo Credit: Terrel Emerson/Talk that Talk

It took no time to get to the annual No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas this year.

Top pick AJ Dybantsa’s Washington Wizards got the better of No. 2 overall pick Darryn Peterson and the Utah Jazz, 92-88, from the Thomas & Mack Center on Day 1 of the NBA Summer League. While Peterson played in the Salt Lake City Summer League, it was the first professional minutes for Dybantsa.

“[My favorite part was] just getting back on the court,” Dybantsa said. “Haven’t played since March 10 so to get back on the court playing with some guys, getting chemistry, it was fun.”

Dybantsa muscled his way to the rim for a reverse layup for his first summer league points, only to steal the show early on with a two-hand posterizing dunk moments later. In the game’s opening quarter, he racked up 11 points, four rebounds and an assist as his team went up by as many as 15 points.

In total, the Wizards led by as many as 20 points in the first half.

“[My performance was] solid,” Dybantsa said. “I missed too many easy ones, my fadeaway was a little short.”

Teammate Tre Johnson added to things with makes on each of his first three field goals of the eventual win for nine first quarter points. By halftime, the tandem had combined for 37 points on 23 field goal attempts while the rest of the team combined to take 11 shots.

Johnson closed the night with 26 points on 11-of-20 from the field while Dybantsa added a game-high 27 points on 7-of-18 shooting.

Wizards top pick AJ Dybantsa dribbles up court during his 2026 NBA Summer League debut. Photo Credit: Terrel Emerson/Talk that Talk

Halfway through the contest, Peterson was the lone Jazz player in double-figures for his club. To go along with his 11 points, he accumulated five fouls in the first half.

By the final horn, Peterson tallied nine fouls in the loss.

“The whistle is different,” he said. “I talked to the players and the whistle is different for summer league and the regular season. They told me I had 10 [fouls] so I was going out with nine.”

Peterson was in the middle of a third quarter run that saw Utah cut the deficit to single-digits behind a 10-2 run. Before the end of the third quarter, Washington’s lead would dwindle to six points as the listed visitors won the third frame, 25-16.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Jazz found themselves down four before four consecutive field goals and a made free throw by the Wizards to go back up by 13 points.

Utah wasn’t done yet as it put forth a 12-0 response to cut it to three.

Utah's top pick Darryn Peterson hangs in the air for a floater during his 2026 NBA Summer League debut inside the Thomas & Mack Center. Photo Credit: Terrel Emerson/Talk that Talk

“I look forward to every game we play,” Peterson said. “Obviously, this one was a bigger one so I was looking for it.”

Moreover, Peterson knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game before connecting on another floater to close the gap to a point yet again.

The Jazz would never get any closer than that single point away.

“I say that all the time,” he said. “Every draft, every year people are saying, ‘That guy got drafted ahead of me.’ But like I said before, the draft is over now. It is what it is, I am Utah Jazz and I’m super happy for that.”

Peterson closed the night with 24 points, three rebounds, three assists coupled with eight turnovers.