AJ Dybantsa arrived in the NBA the same way everyone expected. The Wizards No. 1 overall pick tied the record for most points scored by a No. 1 pick in his Summer League debut, dropping 27 points and giving Washington fans an early look at why he went first.
Summer League is not a real evaluation environment. Everyone knows this. Half the players on the floor will not be in the league by December. But you can still tell who belongs and who is going to have a real career. Dybantsa belongs.
The 27 points came against real professional defenders and included the kind of shot making that translates. He hit from mid range, he finished at the rim through contact, and he found his rhythm from three. This is the same skill set that made him the consensus best prospect in the 2026 class.
The Wizards have been quietly rebuilding for the last three seasons. They stripped down the veteran roster, stacked draft picks, and positioned themselves for exactly this moment. Dybantsa is the piece the franchise wanted from the day they started tanking, and he did not disappoint on his first NBA look.
Here is the honest read. Rookie of the Year is going to be a battle. Cameron Boozer is the franchise centerpiece in Memphis with initial projections of a 20 and 10 rookie season. Darius Acuff Jr. is another top of the ballot candidate. Caleb Wilson dropped 35 in his Summer League debut. This is a stacked class.
But Dybantsa has a real edge. The Wizards are going to give him minutes and touches from Day 1 that most rookies do not get. Washington has no incentive to compete for a playoff spot. They are going to hand the ball to their No. 1 pick and let him figure out the league in real time. That kind of runway usually translates to Rookie of the Year numbers.
The Wizards fan base has not had much to cheer for in years. The John Wall era ended a long time ago and the franchise has been drafting talent without a plan for a while. This feels different. Dybantsa is a star prospect on a team that finally has a coherent rebuild plan.
Do not expect the Wizards to win a lot of games this season. They will not. But do expect Dybantsa to be one of the five most watched rookies in the league. He earned that in one summer league night.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.