AJ Dybantsa was the No 1 decide within the 2026 NBA draft on Tuesday night time.
The Washington Wizards chosen Dybantsa over Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and Duke ahead Cameron Boozer, who adopted at No 2 and No 3 respectively for Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies.
Dybantsa is a ahead who led the nation in scoring in his one season at Brigham Younger College. He averaged 25.5 factors, highlighted by a 43-point effort that broke BYU’s freshman scoring report, and was the primary of a record-tying eight straight school freshman taken to start the draft.
At 6ft 9in and 217lbs Dybantsa, who grew up within the Washington space, has drawn comparisons to Kevin Durant, who occurs to be his favorite participant.
“I was just super confident. I’ve been betting on myself for a while now,” Dybantsa stated. “Since about ninth grade I’ve been No 1, so I didn’t really plan on dropping in the draft.”
Dybantsa’s full identify is Anicet Francois Dybantsa Jr. He wore flag pins Tuesday for Jamaica and the Republic of Congo, the place his mom and father are from. Dybantsa was introduced on the draft as Anicet in honour of his father.
“Making the NBA has been a dream of mine since I was a young kid so I can’t wait to get to work and start the journey,” Dybantsa advised NBA.com.
“He is a special person,” Wizards normal supervisor Will Dawkins stated. “I can’t wait for the city to really embrace him. He’s already started his own foundation giving back to people back in Massachusetts, Jamaica, Africa. He really is about where he wants to be.
“He is only a competitor,” Dawkins added. “He sees a problem and he assaults it. I’ve seen that from a really younger age to the place he’s now. He has a humility about him that he is aware of how good he’s, however he desires to maintain working so he can attain the very best degree.”
