{"id":4933,"date":"2026-06-24T08:05:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T08:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4933"},"modified":"2026-06-24T08:05:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T08:05:32","slug":"wizards-select-byu-star-aj-dybantsa-with-top-pick-in-nba-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4933","title":{"rendered":"Wizards select BYU star AJ Dybantsa with top pick in NBA draft"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver with AJ Dybantsa after he is drafted first overall by the Washington Wizards. (Arturo Holmes\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

After years of turbulence, playoff droughts and lottery ball cruelty, the Washington Wizards selected 19-year-old BYU star AJ Dybantsa, widely considered a potential franchise cornerstone, with the first pick of the 2026 NBA draft Tuesday.<\/p>

Read more Bullpen implosion saddles Nats with a crushing loss to Phillies<\/a><\/p>\n

The 6-foot-9 wing, whose 25.5 points per game led the nation in his sole college season, immediately transforms Washington\u2019s outlook from a lottery contender to a team closer to contention \u2014 and potentially reinvigorates NBA basketball in the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just means a lot,\u201d Dybantsa said after the selection, sitting beside his sisters as his father looked on. \u201cIt\u2019s a testament to my hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n

When NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement, Dybantsa opted to be recognized by his given name, Anicet, which he shares with his father. The pair immediately embraced, and his dad proudly filmed as Dybantsa spoke after the pick.<\/p>\n

Kansas guard Darryn Peterson went No. 2 to the Utah Jazz, and the Memphis Grizzlies selected Duke forward Cameron Boozer at No. 3. The Wizards reportedly weighed both as well, but Dybantsa\u2019s size and skill were ultimately too hard to turn down.<\/p>\n

He <\/b>brings what the Wizards have dearly missed during their current five-season playoff rut: a three-level offensive touchpoint. He can attack the rim as well as any prospect, attempting 35.6 percent of his shots within five feet of the basket in his lone college season. He averaged 8.5 free throws, which led the country. His physicality, at 217 pounds, was probably also a selling point for the Wizards, who attempted the fifth-fewest free throws in the league last season.<\/p>\n

After the selection, he pointed toward his improving defense when asked where he can make a difference immediately. \u201cMy best quality: I think my ability to be versatile, just to play multiple positions, guard multiple positions and be super adaptable,\u201d Dybantsa continued. Above all, he said, is doing whatever he can to change Washington\u2019s current rap.<\/p>\n

In the quest to be the top pick, Dybantsa edged out Peterson, the lights-out shooter who faced scrutiny for cramping issues that forced him to miss portions of the Jayhawks\u2019 season this year. The pair had been linked for nearly four years, consistently regarded as the top options in their class, and Peterson\u2019s perimeter scoring abilities even seemed to push him above his counterpart on most boards entering the fall. But after Dybantsa\u2019s consensus all-American campaign as a freshman, all while Peterson\u2019s situation became a sort of spectacle, the BYU star seemed the safer choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just super confident,\u201d Dybantsa said. \u201cSince about ninth grade I\u2019d been No. 1, so I didn\u2019t really plan on dropping in the draft.\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t hurt his cause by testing well at the NBA combine in May, simultaneously maintaining a mature presence during interviews. He remained much the same throughout draft festivities this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got a good young core,\u201d Dybantsa said of the Wizards during predraft interviews Monday. \u201cSo if I went there, I could fit in, be a real dynamic player, a dynamic wing there, make an offensive impact and a defensive impact.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Mets slugger Juan Soto leaves game against Cubs with back tightness<\/a><\/p>\n

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Dybantsa, 19, led the nation in scoring as a freshman. (Tony Gutierrez\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

All of that will be necessary.<\/p>\n

Washington hasn\u2019t advanced to the conference finals since 1979 \u2014 28 years before Dybantsa was born \u2014 and the franchise won its lone NBA title a season earlier. The Wizards have missed the playoffs each of the past five years and haven\u2019t had a winning record since 2018.<\/p>\n

Amid those struggles, Monumental Basketball hired Michael Winger as its president in 2023. Will Dawkins joined him<\/a> as general manager a couple of weeks later, and the pair set out for a full rebuild<\/a>, with an emphasis on acquiring talent through the draft. With 15- and 17-win seasons in 2024 and 2025 that didn\u2019t yield the No. 1 pick, the Wizards added center Alex Sarr and guard Tre Johnson, the former having shown considerable promise<\/a> in his first two seasons. But Dybantsa could provide the slingshot toward contention.<\/p>\n

Managed by his father<\/a> and playing far from the limelight in Provo, Utah, Dybantsa has consistently been a captivating yet sensible figure in the youth basketball landscape. His poise and demeanor suggest he may continue to grow and be equipped to handle the attention he will encounter as the face of an evolving franchise.<\/p>\n

That could prove crucial on a young team without a distinct central figure. The Wizards reportedly re-signed Trae Young, 27, to a four-year, $212 million deal Monday, and Anthony Davis, 33, should play his first game for them this year. Yet the rest of Washington\u2019s expected rotation is younger than 26 and unproven.<\/p>\n

After an injury to BYU wing Richie Saunders, the Cougars\u2019 elder statesman, Dybantsa was forced to step into a similar leadership role last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing one of the younger guys in the team and still using my voice and still directing traffic put me in an uncomfortable position,\u201d Dybantsa said. The catch? \u201cI got used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dybantsa joins a crowded group of shooting guards and wings, as Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly, Will Riley and Justin Champagnie each averaged at least 20 minutes per game last year and play along the wing. He also will take some ballhandling pressure off Young and Bub Carrington, and he should help free space for Davis and Sarr to fit together inside the arc by spreading opposing defenses out.<\/p>\n

With Dybantsa, the Wizards appear to have enough talent to shed their playoff disappearing act, possibly behind a blossoming offense. This is why he went No. 1 on Tuesday night. There was no trade and limited fuss, to the bliss of a D.C. fan base yearning for a star to raise their basketball team back to life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to focus on winning,\u201d Dybantsa said. \u201cI just know they\u2019re super hungry, obviously they have a young core, and the potential is there.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Cubs manager Craig Counsell perplexed by rainout an irked by \u2018terrible rule\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

His final verdict: \u201cI think I can help them a little bit.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington hopes the pick ignites their rebuild, having missed the playoffs each of the past five years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nWizards select BYU star AJ Dybantsa with top pick in NBA draft - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4933\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wizards select BYU star AJ Dybantsa with top pick in NBA draft - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Washington hopes the pick ignites their rebuild, having missed the playoffs each of the past five years.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4933\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-24T08:05:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/654e02c20ccb6f206eaf9028a9cceadd-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1819\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4933#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4933\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Wizards select BYU star AJ Dybantsa with top pick in NBA draft\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T08:05:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4933\"},\"wordCount\":1057,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4933#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/84bc52b49255545f092975f47edc30c2-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4933#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4933\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4933\",\"name\":\"Wizards select BYU star AJ Dybantsa with top pick in NBA draft - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4933#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4933#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/84bc52b49255545f092975f47edc30c2-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T08:05:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4933#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4933\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4933#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/84bc52b49255545f092975f47edc30c2-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/84bc52b49255545f092975f47edc30c2-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1819,\"caption\":\"NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 23: NBA commissioner Adam Silver shakes hands with AJ Dybantsa after he is drafted first overall by the Washington Wizards during Round One of the 2026 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 23, 2026 in New York City. 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