{"id":5237,"date":"2026-06-26T13:37:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T13:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5237"},"modified":"2026-06-26T13:37:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T13:37:30","slug":"aj-dybantsa-a-no-1-pick-years-in-the-making-arrives-in-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5237","title":{"rendered":"AJ Dybantsa, a No. 1 pick years in the making, arrives in Washington"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
AJ Dybantsa has made a number of public appearances since the NBA draft on Tuesday. (Amber Searls\/Imagn Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

These days, AJ Dybantsa doesn\u2019t really notice the festivities.<\/p>\n

Back in eighth grade, when he was first blossoming into a basketball phenomenon<\/a>, St. Sebastian School had to buy yellow tape. The Needham, Massachusetts, all-boys Catholic institution with about 380 students had a gym comparable to those at most small high schools. Rarely did the fourth row of bleachers even need to get extended.<\/p>

Read more Christian Pulisic\u2019s short, messy return was just what the U.S. needed<\/a><\/p>\n

Then Dybantsa showed up. Thirty-four points in his fourth game, amid rumors he could be one of the best basketball prospects in state history, were enough to draw crowds that required the gym\u2019s baselines to get taped off to make space for more standing-room-only sections.<\/p>\n

Back then, when hordes of kids his age asked for his autograph, endorsement deals rained and Alicia Keys started following him on Instagram, he couldn\u2019t put on blinders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt [was] definitely hard,\u201d Dybantsa said during his introductory news conference with the Washington Wizards on Thursday, two days after his selection with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But he has learned to find comfort in being a spectacle.<\/p>\n

Dybantsa arrives in D.C. as the Wizards\u2019 most anticipated addition since at least John Wall, possibly Chris Webber. With that comes a type of attention that might dissolve a 19-year-old who, in the span of 48 hours, became the face of an NBA franchise. Yet Dybantsa seems fit for the task, smiling through TV interview after handshake after jersey promo \u2014 he\u2019s going to wear No. 4, he declared \u2014 atop a penthouse in the Wharf.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing comes easy, but I want to be a piece of the puzzle that is part of the rebuild,\u201d he said. \u201cProbably need a couple more pieces, a couple more practices, maybe a few more years, but [I] trust the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

His past few days have been an unending sprint of public appearances. Once he made it through three hours of draft-night interviews Tuesday in New York, he was on a flight to D.C. Wednesday morning. Between a jersey signing and his first team meeting, he stopped by the Wizards\u2019 war room to thank each member for selecting him. Then he made his way to the team\u2019s business offices and introduced himself in every cubicle. Next, it was back to taking pictures with young fans around town.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe walks in the door with that level of maturity,\u201d Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins said. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of how he\u2019s going to lead and put his input on the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dybantsa\u2019s physical abilities \u2014 the scoring prowess and guard-like fluidity in a frame that now measures 6-foot-9 \u2014 are what made him a top NBA prospect. Dawkins didn\u2019t shy away from those attributes <\/b>while sitting beside Dybantsa for the first time Thursday. The Wizards hope to rapidly get Dybantsa comfortable with his new teammates, and he immediately slots as their starting small forward \u2014 or even a jumbo two-guard, depending on whether Washington wants Tre Johnson or Kyshawn George beside him.<\/p>\n

But Dawkins\u2019s front office homed in on Dybantsa when they began scouting him four years ago because of the \u201chuman first.\u201d Since then, they said, he has only continued to grow, making clear he was the best fit for a franchise seeking redefinition.<\/p>\n

After traveling to Paris to buy the navy suit he wanted to wear to the draft, Dybantsa ended up wearing it to all his meetings with teams, including the Wizards.<\/p>

Read more England captain Stokes achieves test milestone as New Zealand reaches 418-7 at lunch on Day 2<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c\u200b\u200bMy dad was like, \u2018This is your first job interview.\u2019 So we decided to dress up,\u201d he said. He wore it again for his first day of work on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis work ethic, his passion, his character,\u201d Dawkins said, moments after Dybantsa mentioned that he is still going to earn his degree at BYU online. \u201cHe gets it. He\u2019s been building toward this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dybantsa spoke of a note he wrote in first grade saying he would become a professional basketball player. Since then, each step has been an opportunity for growth, he continued. He was asked whether, given how dreamlike his last few years have been, he thought he had accomplished what he set out to.<\/p>\n

With little hesitation, he ranted about losing his most recent game \u2014 a first-round NCAA tournament matchup with Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t just take everything for granted,\u201d Dybantsa said. \u201cI needed to do better. [I looked at] what leadership skills I should have added in my game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dawkins smiled through it all.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Dybantsa is Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins’s fifth first-round pick in Washington \u2014 and his most important one yet. (Amber Searls\/Imagn Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Following the news conference, Dybantsa made his way to another fan event, this time further down the Wharf. Wednesday, it was an appearance at a Mystics game, where he met Wall. Friday, it will be another public outing.<\/p>\n

What he means to the Wizards fan base \u2014 and, if he can get its attention, the Washington community \u2014 is hard to overstate. If everything were to follow Dawkins\u2019s vision, Dybantsa would be the reason the Wizards transform into a winner. With that comes pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just keeping the main thing the main thing,\u201d he said, repeating that mantra regularly throughout the morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it hasn\u2019t been the easiest the last three years,\u201d Dawkins added. \u201cThis is a basketball city, and they\u2019ve been waiting for a day like this.\u201d<\/p>

Read more When it comes to soccer, there is no such thing as a United Kingdom<\/a><\/p>\n

Dybantsa smiled as his boss gushed. This time, he\u2019s taking it all in.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A sensation since middle school, Dybantsa has learned to find comfort in being a spectacle. 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