There aren’t many rookies who receive superstar treatment in their third NBA Summer League game.
Darryn Peterson just did.
After watching the No. 2 overall pick carve through opponents during Utah’s stay in Salt Lake City, the Washington Wizards entered Thursday night’s showdown with a very specific game plan:
Get the ball out of Peterson’s hands.
They trapped him, they doubled him and when those tactics weren’t enough, they turned second-year wing Jamir Watkins loose on the 19-year-old guard and allowed him to play an extremely physical brand of basketball.
Watkins committed nine fouls in just 20 minutes of action.
… and for one night, it worked.
Peterson still finished with a team-high 24 points, but he did so on 6-of-18 shooting while committing eight turnovers in Utah’s loss to Washington and fellow rookie sensation AJ Dybantsa.
While the box score says Peterson struggled, his response afterward suggested he expected nothing less.
“That was their game plan,” Peterson said via ESPN’s Ben Golliver regarding the extra defensive attention. “We lost, so it probably worked a little bit. But I’m expecting it. It’s good to get used to it now.”
That’s a fascinating answer from a teenager, and further proof of the “maturity” president of basketball operations Austin Ainge has raved about.
There were no complaints about the physicality, no frustration over officiating and no excuses regarding the turnovers.
Instead, Peterson acknowledged an unavoidable truth that every franchise cornerstone eventually learns:
The better you become, the more uncomfortable defenses will try to make you.
Make no mistake — Washington’s approach was a compliment.
Teams don’t trap ordinary Summer League guards.
They don’t commit nine fouls trying to prevent average — or even good — prospects from finding a rhythm.
They do that to players they believe are capable of beating them purely on their own.
Despite the inefficiency, Peterson still showed exactly why the Jazz selected him second overall.
The wrong-foot floater in the first half.
The left-handed runner off the glass in the fourth quarter.
The effortless ability to create offense even while facing multiple defenders throughout the evening.
Those traits don’t disappear because of one rough shooting night.
If anything, Thursday may have provided the clearest glimpse yet of Peterson’s NBA future and what he must prepare for.
… there will be blitzes.
… there will be traps.
… there will be entire defensive game plans built around slowing him down.
But soon enough, opponents will also have to worry about Keyonte George, Lauri Markkanen, Ace Bailey and Jaren Jackson Jr.
The spacing will improve and the passing windows will widen.
If Thursday night proved anything, it’s this:
The rest of the league already knows who the Jazz’s guy is.
Now comes the fun part … watching Peterson learn how to handle all the defensive attention that comes with being himself.
