AJ Dybantsa is going to be the first name called on Tuesday night. The Washington Wizards are not bluffing anymore.
Multiple league sources told the Dallas Hoops Journal that Washington plans to draft the BYU forward with the No. 1 overall pick. The decision is going to come down to the wire publicly, but the front office has settled on Dybantsa over Darryn Peterson.
Dybantsa was the top wing in this class for most of the season. He averaged 25.5 points and shot 51 percent in his one year at BYU. He has the size, the athleticism, and the scoring instincts the Wizards want for the cornerstone of their rebuild.
Why the Decision Was Always Close
Peterson is a real prospect. He is one of the best three-point shooters to come out of college in years. He creates his own offense at all three levels. The case for him at No. 1 was that he was the safer pick on a roster that needs offensive structure.
The Wizards decided they want the higher ceiling. Dybantsa’s downhill scoring and physical profile fit the modern NBA wing better than almost any prospect since the top of the 2023 class. He can guard multiple positions. He can finish through contact. He can shoot enough off the catch to fit any lineup.
That is the bet Washington needs. The Wizards are years removed from contention. They have draft capital. They have cap space. They do not have a star. Dybantsa gives them a star.
Dybantsa has said publicly that he did not work out for any teams before the draft. That is a privilege only available to prospects who already know they are going at the top. He held the line on his own market and made the Wizards come to him.
The bigger story is what the Wizards do with everything else. They have multiple first-rounders in this class. They have a roster that needs reshaping. Whatever they do at No. 6 and beyond is going to determine whether Dybantsa is the start of a real rebuild or just the latest top pick to fall into a losing situation.
The new front office has the trust of ownership. They have been quietly trading for picks and clearing money for two years. The plan was always to land a top prospect, build around him with rookie-scale contracts, and pick the right veterans to surround him.
Step one is Dybantsa. The rest of the plan starts immediately. The Wizards have to figure out the Kyle Kuzma situation. They have to make decisions on their veteran guards. They have to find a head coach who can survive a slow rebuild without losing the locker room.
The Knicks just won a championship with a small-market mindset and big-market money. The Spurs are right behind them with Wembanyama. The path to relevance in the NBA is to land a generational wing and let him grow up with a smart team around him. Washington is trying the same play.
Dybantsa is the first move. The pressure is on the front office to make every move after.
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.
