The wait is finally over: the Washington Wizards have selected BYU’s AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Dybantsa, 19, was a consensus first-team All-American in his lone season with the Cougars, and was named First Team All-Big 12, Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and the Julius Erving Award winner for the best small forward in the country.
The 2025 McDonald’s All-American started all 35 games he played for BYU and led the nation with 25.5 points per game, also chipping in 6.8 boards, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in 34.8 minutes a contest.
In addition to that season leading BYU to the Sweet 16, he also has a ton of international experience, winning gold three years in a row with Team USA in the 2023 FIBA U16 Americas Championship, 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup, and 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup – earning tournament MVP honors in the latter.
And now, he joins John Wall and Kwame Brown as the only No. 1 overall picks in Bullets/Wizards history – they picked No. 1 overall in both 1961 and 1962 as the Chicago Packers and Zephyrs, respectively – and joins the re-signed Trae Young, hopefully Anthony Davis, and the rest of the Wizards’ young core as the rebuild becomes a rebirth for the franchise.
