AJ Dybantsa 2026 Media Day Press Conference
AJ Dybantsa speaks to the media at 2026 Washington Wizards Media Day.
WASHINGTON – The excitement surrounding the Washington Wizards is real.
How that translates to wins and losses for a team that has not won more than 18 games in the past three seasons is not yet apparent. But there is optimism throughout the organization that the 2026-27 NBA season begins a productive era of Wizards basketball.
That optimism is buoyed by AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, veterans Trae Young, Anthony Davis, Khris Middleton and Deandre Ayton, and a core of young players led by Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Will Riley, Bub Carrington, Tre Johnson and Kyshawn George.
This is going to be fun🔥#ForTheDistrict | @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/9R6Mo3NUzU
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) September 28, 2026
It is a combination of depth, size, versatility and experience that the Wizards have not had since embarking on this rebuild three seasons ago.
“BK (Wizards coach Brian Keefe) has got a tough job figuring out how to rotate guys in and out with just so many guys in different positions that can play different types of ways too,” Young said Monday at Wizards Media Day.
Here are five takeaways from Wizards Media Day:
1. All eyes on No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa
Dybantsa was the third player to address reporters after Young and Davis, but he might be the most closely watched Wizards player this season. His production and development are important for the Wizards and their push for progress.
It’s not all on Dybantsa, and he understands that.
Asked if he felt pressure, he said, “Nope,” adding, “I feel like there’s not a lot of pressure on me because I have such a great team around me. A lot of No. 1 picks come to the situation where they are the guy, (and) everything’s kind of centered around them. But I have All-Stars on my team that I can really get some knowledge from. I can just bond with these guys and learn it slowly and learn how to play the right way.”
Rook's first media day 🤳#ForTheDistrict | @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/evR74TGvzK
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) September 28, 2026
Even before the first official practice of 2026-27, Dybantsa has made a positive impression on the coaching staff and players.
“The character, number one,” Keefe said. “This is a tremendous young man, great family. And then he loves to work and loves the game. I already talked about the basketball skill set. Those are the most important things I’ve noticed. Two is how he’s into improving. He fits with the type of guys we’d like here, guys who want to get better. His versatility that he’s going to bring to our team and eventually he’s going to be a two-way force for us. We’ve seen that impact a little bit in our gym already.”
“He’s ready for it. He’s got all the tools to be successful in this league. He’s a very special talent – can defend, can make any shot,” said Davis. “You’ve seen a little bit in Summer League and throughout his tenure in college, but AJ has a special talent and he wants it. He works very hard. He listens, he’s dedicated and motivated. I try to not give him too much and kind of stay out of the way but try to give him enough where he can go in a game and do what he has to do.”
2. Young ready to produce for the Wizards
Young played in just 15 games last season and just five with the Wizards after the Atlanta Hawks traded him. “I’m looking forward to definitely going out and playing again. I miss it,” Young said.
Can't wait to be back at @CapitalOneArena 🙌 #ForTheDistrict | @Ticketmaster pic.twitter.com/EvdjYxV5Ac
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) September 28, 2026
Young is a four-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA selection who led the league in assists at 11.6 per game in 2024-25.
“Obviously I missed (almost) the whole season, and if anybody missed the whole season, it’s easy to forget about what they can do,” Young said. “For me, it’s not at the top of my mind or what I’m thinking about every day going into a game. I’m focused on how to let my team win and get us back to the level that this city has seen before.”
Young signed a four-year deal with the Wizards in the summer and will play a key role in the team’s push to be more competitive and win more games.
Also, given the depth at guard and on the wing, Young could spend more time off ball offensively than he did with Atlanta.
“My man doesn’t necessarily just want to leave me all the time,” he said. “For me, just finding out ways to be as successful off the ball as I am on the ball is very important to me. And I’ve done it before the NBA. So being able to experience that with NBA players and high-level players around me will be fun.”
3. A focus on defensive improvement
If the Wizards are going to make meaningful strides this season, an improved defense will be part of that equation after they finished last in 2025-26, allowing 121.5 points per 100 possessions. Davis raised eyebrows when he said, “We should be a top 10 defensive team for sure with the guys that we have and the ability that we have on the defensive end.”
Davis is a five-time All-Defensive team selection, Ayton has anchored defenses and Sarr averaged 2.0 blocks last season. The Wizards will need to find their perimeter defenders and improve their defensive rebounding – they ranked 27th in that category last season.
“Defense is going to be the No. 1 thing,” Keefe said. “With the additions to our roster with the size, the length, the versatility, the internal growth from our own players returning from this summer, the work they put in there, it’s going to be a major focus for us.
“You got to take pride in that end. I’ve coached a lot of good defensive teams over the years and those teams that are good were teams that took pride in that area. Mentality is always going to be the first thing and then building the habits is the next part.”
4. Davis as mentor and contributor
Like Young, Davis was limited last season due to an injury (hand) and played in just 20 games and none for the Wizards after the Dallas Mavericks traded him.
“I’m very excited for the season. Get to play basketball again. Haven’t played since January,” Davis said. “To be able to get back on the floor, it’s going to be very fun. Not even the game, just starting training camp tomorrow, starting this process with these guys and obviously it’s a different look for the team than what it’s been in the past couple of years. The mentality and the discipline, the consistency, the urgency that we’re going to have coming into camp, I’m excited about that.”
He has been part of rebuilds in New Orleans, the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2012, and then last season with the Dallas Mavericks as they focused on a future with Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in 2025.
Davis, who is in the second year of a three-year deal but has a player option for 2027-28, is an NBA champion, a 10-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection and part of his responsibilities include being a mentor for younger players.
“A lot of them lean on me, ask me questions about how this upcoming season specifically is going to be because it’s a little different than what some of these guys have been accustomed to,” Davis said. “Coming in from day one, bringing the energy, bringing intensity, letting the guys know that there’s a standard that we have to play to if we want to do something special. These guys have in mind that it’s going to be a tougher season. It’s going to be a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication, a lot of focus.”
5. Wizards GM Will Dawkins focused on growth
Wizards general manager Will Dawkins listed the objectives, centered on a season of growth in 2026-27.
- Develop the roster.
- Have more moments of competitive basketball.
- Take the steps necessary for sustained success.
What does that look like?
“It definitely won’t be linear,” Dawkins said. “That’s not our expectation. We know it won’t happen overnight, but we’ll chip away as we’ve done in previous seasons. We’ll break the season up into four quarters – every 20 games – with the hope of just keep putting deposits in and being better in the second quarter, being better in the third quarter, being better by the fourth quarter of the season.”
After winning just 15, 18 and 17 games in the past three seasons, Dawkins declined to specify an amount of victories growth equates to this season. But with this roster, the Wizards don’t want another season of victories in the teens.
“The depth of our roster will be a strength of ours. Our youth will be a strength of ours. And I would say just our basketball size and athleticism,” Dawkins said. “That’s kind of how we built this roster. You look at the height. I think we’re top two in height and up there in length as well, but the height and length and the versatility that we have will allow us to play different ways, different styles.
“The depth of our team provides optionality on a given night for Coach Keefe and his staff to figure out how they want to play big, small, a lot of guards, a lot of bigs. We can keep a lot of people on the floor at different times and match up.”
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Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
