Darryn Peterson waits for NBA debut as his brother chases NFL dream originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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With the NBA Combine coming to a close in Chicago, there were many small details that surfaced ahead of next month’s draft. One that came out of nowhere was former Kansas star Darryn Peterson’s brother signing with the Los Angeles Rams.
Somehow, the details about Darryl Peterson III putting in work as a linebacker for the Wisconsin Badgers were overshadowed by Darryn’s rise to being the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. He was asked about his brother’s NFL journey and what that meant for his family.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but my brother played football at Wisconsin,” Peterson told NBA.com’s Krysten Peek. “He’s a really good football player and he just got signed with the LA Rams. We grew up working and having the same dream, different sport and it’s just super cool to see him achieve his and me, hopefully next month, achieve mine. Shout out to our parents. We both worked super hard and they sacrificed so much for us to both chase our dreams. Without them it wouldn’t be possible.”
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Darryl Peterson played in all 12 games for the Badgers this past season. He led Wisconsin with 11.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. In Wisconsin’s win over No. 21 Illinois, he posted 3.0 sacks, two PBUs and a forced fumble to earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors.
On the other side, Darryn Peterson was one of the best college basketball players in the country, averaging 20.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. The Jayhawks star is expected to go in the top three of the draft, along with BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Duke’s Cameron Boozer.
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