The Washington Wizards select AJ Dybantsa (BYU) as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft at Barclays Center.
NEW YORK — The Washington Wizards selected AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. This was one of the most anticipated draft classes in recent memory as the Wizards went with Dybantsa over Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and Duke forward Cameron Boozer, who followed at No. 2 (Utah) and No. 3 (Memphis), respectively.
“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 told NBA.com.
Dybantsa was the No. 1-ranked player coming out of high school and chose to play his one year of college ball at Brigham Young. He picked the Cougars over North Carolina, Kansas, USC and Auburn. Dybantsa made history Tuesday night when he became the first player out of BYU to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
BYU coach Kevin Young has ties to the NBA, which was the deciding factor for Dybantsa and his family. Young spent 10 years coaching in the NBA and was the associate head coach for the Suns from 2021-24 before becoming BYU’s coach in April 2024.
“After they hired [coach] Kevin Young, they hired a strength coach from the Milwaukee Bucks, a dietitian from the Suns, analytics from the Suns,” Dybantsa said. “(Young) just started stacking prototypes around us and I wanted to learn in the best environment to prepare for the league and I think I got that from BYU.”
The 6-foot-9 wing led the county in scoring during the college basketball season, averaging 25.5 points per game. He posted 40-plus points twice during the season, the first time in a rivalry home game against Utah. He finished with 43 points and then, in the Big 12 Tournament, scored 40 in a win against Kansas State.
Dybantsa entered the postseason with something to prove. During the Big 12 Tournament, his competitive edge came through. Over the course of three days and three games, he scored 93 points, breaking Kevin Durant’s conference scoring record, and performed at a high level in front of several NBA executives.
AJ Dybantsa sits down with Lauren Green after being selected No. 10 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft.
BYU ultimately lost to Houston in the Big 12 quarterfinals, but that three-game stretch solidified Dybantsa as one of the top players in the class.
“I thought his game really matured over the season,” Young said. “The game slowed down for him. He figured out how to attack all different kinds of defensive coverages. He would survey how teams were guarding him, make the right read and just carve teams up and pick teams apart and that’s what he did in the Big 12 tournament.”
Dybantsa only met with two teams during the pre-Draft process: the Wizards and the Utah Jazz (who held the No. 2 pick). The last time the Wizards had the No. 1 pick in the draft was 2010 when they selected John Wall. Wall was the franchise representative during the Draft Lottery in May and brought the team some luck in landing the No. 1 pick in this monster draft.
Welcome to DC @AJ_Dybantsa !!
The story has been written🙏🏽 The City is Ready!
We’ll talk about that # soon 😉— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) June 24, 2026
Dybantsa will be joining Trae Young, now established as a presence in the Wizards’ backcourt. Young, the No. 5 overall pick in 2018, reportedly plans to sign a four-year, $212 million contract to return to Washington and will be the cornerstone to the franchise alongside Dybantsa.
“I feel like I could play with Trae (Young) in the backcourt really well,” Dybantsa said. “He’s a great facilitator and great point guard and we could play off each other for sure.”
The Wizards finished last season with a 17-65 record and believe this is their chance to really make a mark in the Eastern Conference. They selected Tre Johnson and Will Riley in last year’s Draft and have a handful of young talent on the roster.
Washington hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2020-21 season and hasn’t had a winning record since the 2017-18 season (when it finished 43-39). Adding Dybantsa to their roster gives the Wizards the spark they need to rebuild and compete in the East.
Dybantsa’s real first test of NBA action will be during the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas July 9-19, where he’ll face off against other top players such as Peterson, Boozer, Caleb Wilson and Darius Acuff Jr.
