Kansas guard Peterson feared death from severe creatine cramping

Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson, projected as a top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, suffered body-wide cramping in September that led him to fear for his life. The incident occurred during practice when he reached the training room and begged trainers to call 911, but cramping prevented them from inserting an IV. Peterson told ESPN the episode left him thinking he would die on the training table.

Peterson traced the cramping to high doses of creatine, a muscle-building supplement. Tests after his previous season revealed his baseline creatine levels were already elevated, and college dosing pushed them to unsafe heights. He had never used the supplement before arriving at Kansas.

The cramping sidelined Peterson for 11 games and shortened his minutes in others during the 2025-26 season. He averaged 20.2 points per game despite the issues, playing at least 30 minutes in eight of Kansas' final nine games after stopping creatine. Coach Bill Self adjusted his role to off-ball play to reduce exertion risks, while Peterson pursued daily rehab, massages, carb loading, electrolyte supplements and dietary changes.

Peterson has experienced no further cramping since discontinuing creatine and enters the NBA Draft process fully healthy.