NullText property should not be ignored when DropDownStyle property is DropDownList. One shouldn't have to utilize the Text property or create a dummy object to simulate this behavior as discussed here: https://www.telerik.com/forums/nulltext-property-doesn-t-work-in-raddropdown?actionMode=replyPost&postId=0a021bbb-f40a-4263-a1af-c87b33c17467 Please add!!! I struggle with this whenever I'm using data bound drop downs.