What made AJ Dybantsa the No. 1 pick? He’s the exact type of player NBA teams are looking for.
Before the Washington Wizards selected AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick in Tuesday’s NBA Draft, they planted a seed.
Read more Passion, power, pride, and anger: Willson Contreras was on full display in Monday’s Red Sox win
They knew he was gifted offensively, — that he was as prepared as perhaps any 19-year-old could be, not only for the NBA lifestyle but for the NBA style of play, and that he was driven to fulfill his potential.
But they also saw a high ceiling as a defender.
“They challenged me when they talked to me,” Dybantsa said. “They said, we want you to play defense 94 feet and pick up [the other team’s best player]. I think I can bring that, too.”
While he was in New York preparing for the draft, Dybantsa got a glimpse of the difference one player can make at both ends of the floor.
He was on hand at Madison Square Garden for Game 4 of the NBA Finals when Knicks forward OG Anunoby shifted the series with two iconic plays — a chase-down block of Spurs point guard De’Aaron Fox at one end, and a game-winning tip-in at the other.
Anunoby is another prototype for the modern lockdown wing. He averaged 21.2 points in the Finals while making life miserable for Fox.
“If someone looks at OG, he’s probably not as skilled as like a Kevin Durant, so he’s not going to impact a game by breaking you down like KD would,” Dybantsa said. “But he’s a corner shooter, probably shoots it at like 40 percent — and he’s guarding the other team’s best player.”
The only job more difficult than scoring 30 points a night in the NBA is trying to stop a player from scoring 30 points a night. At 6 feet 9 inches, 210 pounds, with a wingspan of slightly more than 7 feet, the Wizards drafted Dybantsa with the belief that he could eventually do both.
“For us, it was about making sure we picked the right player that would fit with our group and have the opportunity to push us forward,” Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said on draft night. “And at the end of the day it became pretty clear that he was that guy just because of his versatility. We’re looking for guys that can make decisions with the ball, without the ball, but also be dual-impact players on both ends.”
With Trae Young and Anthony Davis on the roster, the Wizards have offensive firepower. Dybantsa gives them more, but he also gives them another dimension.
“Obviously, he led college basketball in scoring as a freshman — the last person to do that was Trae Young — so obviously we’ve got some offensive engines,” Dawkins said. “But he’s got a lot of upside on the defensive end.”
For the vast majority of the NBA, that job is assigned to a player with a specific build, typically at least 6-6 with a wingspan approaching 7 feet.
Hawks wing Dyson Daniels spent more minutes than any player guarding the opposing team’s leading scorer this past season. He is 6-7 with a 6-10 wingspan.
Knicks wing Mikal Bridges, who is 6-6 with a 7-1 wingspan, guarded 28 of the league’s top 30 scorers.
The Rockets’ Amen Thompson, who is 6-7 with a 7-foot wingspan, held opposing top scorers to 42.3 percent shooting.
Dybantsa fits the mold of the modern lockdown wing but also has the skill set to be an offensive engine.
“He’s a superior athlete,” Dawkins said. “By our measures, he’s the best athlete that we’ve tested since [Wizards president] Michael [Winger] and my regime has been here.”
Lockdown defenders who can handle those assignments without sacrificing offense are becoming increasingly valuable. But players who can guard an opponent’s top scorer while carrying an offense remain rare.
Part of what made Jaylen Brown’s 2025-26 season All-NBA-worthy was that he averaged a career-high 28.7 points while routinely taking one of Boston’s toughest defensive assignments. The only Celtic who spent more time guarding opposing stars this past season was Derrick White.
Dybantsa is eager to accept the challenge.
“I can bring a little bit of everything,” he said. “I can bring my offensive impact — scoring, playmaking — but also defensive impact just guarding the other team’s best player or just roaming around being a pesky defender.
“I think I can bring whatever they need me to do. So if they want me to be strictly a defender, I think I can do that. If they want me to be strictly offense, I think I can do that. But I think I can bring two-way abilities.
“Being able to score off the catch, pass, dribble, been working on my catch-and-shoot three a lot, try to guard the best player, and obviously me being able to fit in with other long wings like they have over there defensively, I think we can really mess things up.”
At BYU, Dybantsa didn’t shy away from the top assignments.
When the Cougars faced Kansas in January, Dybantsa opened the game guarding Darryn Peterson. Peterson, meanwhile, did not draw the Dybantsa assignment. Peterson scored 18 points, before leaving the game in the second half. Dybantsa still scored 17 points while chasing him around defensively.
In February, Dybantsa guarded Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic, who was in the middle of one of the greatest shooting runs in NCAA history, becoming the first player to lead the nation in made 3-pointers and 3-point percentage in a season. Dybantsa set the tone by blocking Momcilovic’s first shot and holding him to 1-for-5 shooting.
“I think he has the ability to guard the best player at times,” BYU assistant coach Chris Burgess said.
But Burgess also said it’s taxing.
“There became a time,” he said, “where we had to play him 40 minutes a game and I was like, is this the smartest thing to have him be a two-way guy when we basically needed him on the offensive end to really carry a ton of responsibility in scoring the basketball and playmaking for us?”
But Burgess said, along with Dybantsa’s physical gifts, he has the basketball IQ and adaptability to be one of the rare players who can do both.
“What’s special about him is he’s always really smart, he can follow a game plan, and he understands tendencies,” Burgess said. “So he game plans and he really locks in.”
Dawkins saw the same traits.
“He is a worker,” Dawkins said. “He is a passionate person who loves basketball, will continue to work and get better. He’s just a competitor. He sees a challenge and he attacks it. And I’ve seen that from a very young age to where he is now. And he has a humility about him that he knows how good he is but he wants to get working so he can reach the highest levels.”
Read more Boston mayors have long fought with Beacon Hill. Wu is taking her battle to the ballot.
Post Comment