AJ Dybantsa gets upper hand over Darryn Peterson in Las Vegas Summer League debuts

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AJ Dybantsa gets upper hand over Darryn Peterson in Las Vegas Summer League debuts originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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LAS VEGAS — Fans began lining up outside of Thomas and Mack arena for first-come, first-serve seating starting at around 7 in the morning, braving temperatures of up to 110 degrees before the doors opened at 11:30 am.

And they weren't there for the Hunter Dickinson vs. Rocco Zikarsky matchup that started off the day's games. 

The buzz all day was around No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa facing off against No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson at 6pm local time. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Keyonte George were on the sidelines, jumping onto the floor during big plays. Deandre Ayton and Anthony Davis were among the Wizards who came to cheer on Dybantsa. Paul Pierce roamed along the baseline, schmoozing his way into baseline seats. Jalen Williams took them over as Pierce wandered off after the first quarter. Kings coach Doug Christie couldn't find a seat, so he watched the whole game standing to the side of press row. 

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The environment wasn't quite as crazy as last year's Cooper Flagg debut, who also came to watch the action. Most of the upper bowl remained empty. But this game had some serious hype, which intensified every time Dybantsa or Peterson had the ball. 

The nerves showed up early for both players. On their first three plays, Peterson opened the game with a turnover. Dybantsa followed with a wild airball. Peterson barely clipped the front of the rim on his 3. 

Both players settled down from that point on. Dybantsa showed off his impressive driving skills, getting to the rim for an impressive falling-down reverse layup. That was the first of many powerful forays to the rim, where he had by far his most success on the night.

On Dybantsa's best play of the game, he seemed to continue rising after everyone else stopped, dunking the ball emphatically between two Jazz defenders. 

Peterson's best moments came from his silky-smooth floaters, which he released from the left block. He also showed some nice passing chops, setting up teammates for easy buckets. 

The bad outweighed the good for Peterson on Thusrday. He did finish with a team-high 24 points, but it came on 6-of-18 shooting. He had an ugly eight turnovers, displaying an uncharacteristically loose handle. Wizards defenders pressured him up the floor, ripped the ball away from him, and made life difficult. Other errors were unforced, such as throwing it at a teammate's feet during a 2-on-1 fast break. 

Along with those eight turnovers came nine fouls. It's never a good sign when press row is asking how many are allowed in a Summer League game (the answer is 10). Had it been the regular season, Peterson would have fouled out early in the third quarter. 

Dybantsa showed some warts too. He led all scorers with 27 points but shot just 7-of-18 from the field.

At one point, Peterson took on the one-on-one assignment against Dybantsa, leading the crowd to roar. Dybantsa took it to the rim, pump faked, completely lost Peterson, and bricked an open midrange jumper. 

That was a theme throughout the night. Dybantsa was a dynamite midrange shooter at BYU, but those tough fallaway 2's weren't connecting during his debut. He also exited in the fourth quarter with some calf soreness, which he downplayed after the game. It was his first game in four months, and the rust showed at times. 

Dybantsa did enough though on his powerful drives to get his team the win along with the upper hand on Peterson. It may just be Summer League, but that had to be a sweet moment after Peterson consistently outplayed Dybantsa during their high school and college days. 

"It was great," Dybantsa said of the rivalry postgame. "Every time I play against him, it's a battle. He always comes out to compete. He beat me three times previous, so this was my first win. I was glad to come out on top."

Despite some rough moments, these two showed why they were the top picks in the draft. From Peterson's ankle-breaking drives and tough shot-making to Dybantsa's bull rushes to the rim, the talent was there. So were the seeds of a rivalry.

Both players smiled for the cameras at halfcourt before the game started, yet they seemed to relish the moments where they could go at one another. Dybantsa vs. Peterson wasn't quite the spectacle that those fans lining up early in the morning had hoped for, but there will be plenty of sequels to watch.

Their intensity - and their lore - is already beginning to form.

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