Inside the NBA Summer League With New Stars Darryn Peterson

For the incoming 2026 NBA rookie class, the transition from draft night to pro life is a whirlwind of fame, fortune, and immense pressure. Surviving the 82-game grind requires a playbook that can’t be drawn up on a clipboard. Enter the 40th annual NBA Rookie Transition Program, a landmark initiative for the gold standard of professional sports onboarding.

​Over several days during Summer League Las Vegas, the league and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) will bring together current stars, revered veterans, and industry experts to give the next generation a crash course in professionalism, wealth preservation, media navigation, and mental wellness. and ensuring that the brightest young stars in the world are built to last both during their careers and long after they hang up their sneakers.

​Darryn Peterson, who was drafted No. 2 by the Utah Jazz, and Darius Acuff, Jr., the seventh selection by the Sacramento Kings, spoke about making the transition from college stars to representing one of the most heralded draft classes in recent years.

Expressing his excitement about joining the Jazz, Peterson told The Root: “I think it’s a great place to be. I’m with a great organization, and I’m happy to be with them.”

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​Peterson then shared how he was to learn how to represent the league as a professional from some of the veterans who were in attendance.

​“Being here this week, it was eye-opening that some of the vets were so close to my age,” said Petterson. “That was something that was crazy to me. Like, my vet’s like 24-25 years old.”

​Acuff shared how the program placed a major emphasis on the dangers of sports gambling, which has impacted the NBA in a variety of ways.

​“We talked about gambling and how not to get caught up in that lifestyle,” Acuff explained. “It was beneficial. I enjoyed it, and I learned some new stuff.

​Drew Franklin, the NBA’s Vice President of Player Engagement, is one of the core leaders behind the league’s Rookie Transition Program. He spoke about how it is a prerequisite for the NBA to equip first-year players with leadership and life skills to manage immense personal, financial, and media pressures.

​“We wanted to create something where we took our topics and have the rookies are learning from other player in the space,” Franklin said. “We have guys like Chris Bosh, Danilo Gallinari, and Michael Carter-Williams, a former Rookie of the Year, share their perspectives.”

​“The perspective of professionalism is super important. We’ve worked with them at Combine and at the draft, and now, they’re learning how we’ll move together in their careers,” Franklin continued. “We talked a little bit about the history of RTP. This is 40th rookie transition program, and they’re sitting in the same seat that legends like Kobe and LeBron have sat in.”

​Chris Bosh, a two-time NBA champion and a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, said it’s his duty to share his experiences with the next generation of NBA stars. He wants them to succeed, to thrive, and to take the league to another level.

​“I’m at the point in my life where if I can affect change, in some kind of small way, for these youngsters getting drafted, I’m on it. It’s crazy because when I watch the draft, and I watch everything that’s happening in the league, every year I’m seeing these young guys getting the opportunity to play basketball at the highest level,” Bosh explained. “You laugh, you celebrate, and you cry at the same time, because you know they’re in a different position in their lives and what’s going to be demanded from them. The new responsibilities that they’re going to have are going to be life-changing.”

​At its core, the NBA Rookie Transition Program serves as a vital blueprint for professional longevity rather than a mere introduction to the league. Marking 40 years of impact, the RTP achieves something greater than just protecting the league’s latest financial investments—it preserves the very foundation of the sport, empowering the Class of 2026 to establish enduring legacies on and off the court.

​For Bosh, the simplest of life lessons as an NBA player can be the difference between a thriving professional career and losing everything at the blink of an eye.

​“If you give the players advice, tools, and easy things they can remember and follow. Hopefully, it will help them, and they’ll reciprocate it later on in their careers, when they give advice and tell someone their story,” Bosh added. “I’m just trying to leave this space that helped shape me for the better when I left it, better than how I found it. I want these guys to understand that.”