AJ Dybantsa Was Worth the No. 1 Pick: Wizards Land BYU’s Freshman Star at the Top of the 2026 NBA Draft
The Washington Wizards took AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and it was not close. The BYU freshman was the consensus best prospect in the class from the moment the season began, and everything he did on the court in Provo backed that up.
Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 51 percent from the field in his lone college season. He led all of Division I in scoring. He also became the first player to lead the country in scoring and go first overall in the draft since Glenn Robinson came out of Purdue in 1994. That is not a small piece of trivia. That is a signal about the kind of player Washington just added.
The 6 foot 9 forward has the size, athleticism, and skill package to be a franchise cornerstone. He can score at all three levels. He rebounds. He passes. He plays actual defense on the perimeter. The pre draft tape has been circulating for years, and every scout who watched him at BYU said the same thing. This kid is different.
The Wizards selected Dybantsa over Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, who went to the Utah Jazz at No. 2 and lit up his Summer League debut Saturday. That decision now defines Washington’s franchise trajectory for the next decade. It also puts real pressure on head coach Brian Keefe to develop Dybantsa correctly.
Washington has been building the coaching staff to support exactly this kind of prospect. The Wizards just added Patrick Ewing and Steve Clifford as assistants. Ewing gives them a Hall of Fame teacher who can work with any young big or wing on footwork, positioning, and post play. Clifford is a proven NBA head coaching mind who has developed multiple stars. That is the kind of infrastructure a top pick needs to reach his ceiling.
The Trae Young and Anthony Davis trades from last season complicate the roster picture. Young gives Dybantsa a real passing point guard to play with, which will make his life easier as a scoring forward. Davis, if he stays in Washington, gives Dybantsa a defensive anchor behind him that also draws attention on offense. That kind of pairing is rare for a rookie.
There are questions about whether Davis actually stays. Trade rumors have surrounded him since the Wizards acquired him, and Golden State is one of the teams reportedly circling. If Washington moves him, Dybantsa becomes the immediate focal point of the offense from day one. That is a lot of weight for a rookie, but it is the exact scenario his skill set was built for.
Comparisons are always dangerous with lottery picks, but the profile that keeps coming up for Dybantsa is a shorter Paul George with better handles. He is a true wing scorer with real defensive versatility. If his frame fills out the way scouts expect, he could add another dimension as a small ball center in certain matchups.
Peterson is going to make people wonder about the pick. His 28 point Summer League debut Saturday was electric, and Utah is going to sell the No. 2 spot as a win. But this is a marathon, not a sprint. Dybantsa’s ceiling is higher, and his floor is likely a very good NBA starter for a decade plus.
Washington fans have been waiting for a franchise centerpiece for years. Wall era ended. John Wall got hurt. Bradley Beal got traded. Trae Young came in but has always been more scorer than superstar. Dybantsa is the first true top of the draft prospect the franchise has had in over a decade, and the front office is building around him properly. This is a real reset for the Wizards.
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.
