Did the Utah Jazz Miss Out On the Actual Best Guard of the 2026 NBA Draft Class?

· Yahoo Sports

Okay, the title of this article might be a little hyperbolic -- never accept Summer League stardom as gospel -- but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Milwaukee's Brayden Burries was the best guard in the NBA Summer League this season.

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He was certainly the best in this class of rookies. The stat sheet does not lie when it tells you that he led all lottery guards in points per game with 23.5, in rebounds per game with 4.5, in steals per game with an illegal 2.0, and shooting efficiency that Jazz fans could only dream of with Darryn Peterson, whose field goal rate hovered around the 30% mark for his three appearances in Vegas.

In no way are the Utah Jazz to blame for passing on Brayden Burries -- they made the right call going with Peterson second overall, and they would have still made the right call had Peterson's foot fallen off in the middle of a game. The Jazz passed on Burries, as did Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and Sacramento, each opting to take different guard prospects who appeared much more uneven in their summer stints.

Peterson's appeal is not only in what he brings to the Jazz today -- exceptional scoring touch the likes of which we haven't seen from a guard in decades and great perimeter defense -- but what he means for the franchise moving forward. 

He projects to develop into an All-Star, an All-NBA candidate, and even a recipient of MVP votes down the line, assuming all goes according to plan. The Jazz have been waiting for their whole rebuild for the chance of securing a prospect as talented as Peterson, a player who many still believe to be the best in his entire class, despite coming off the board behind AJ Dybantsa, the new centerpiece for the future of the Washington Wizards.

And as great as Burries has been through the Summer League circuit, he isn't expected to breach that firmament reserved for players like Dybantsa, Peterson, or even Boozer and Wilson.

But he's looking like a major draft steal for Milwaukee with the 10th overall pick.

Out of Arizona, Burries flashed fantastic NBA skills as an on-ball defender, catch-and-shoot scorer, and natural leader in his freshman season. As the Bucks move past the Giannis Antetokounmpo era and lean into a fresh, bright future, they found a player who may be the best player selected outside of the top four.

But keep all this in mind with one universal truth: Summer League excellence is not a promise of a superstar. The Utah Jazz should sit comfortably knowing they made the right pick at number 2.

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