AJ Dybantsa was drafted #1 overall to the Washington Wizards, BYU’s first ever player to go #1 overall in the NBA Draft.
All the breakdown about his game is widely available from draft pundits and scouts who are smarter than me on that stuff. As a BYU fan who watched every single play of AJ’s BYU career, it was unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Jimmer was incredible, but in a different way. Jimmer captivated the nation with his long range bombs. Both were incredibly productive college players, but AJ is the most
talented player that has ever played for BYU. His mix of traits, IQ, how to use his scoring gravity to get others open, and just overall shot making were unmatched in college basketball.
More than the other film breakdowns you’ll see, I had a unique perspective to cover AJ for over two years. Back in May 2024, I was the first to report that AJ was taking an unofficial visit to BYU. That really kicked off the national conversation that BYU might actually be a school to watch.
AJ’s recruitment was fascinating, and paints a picture into the kind of person he is. BYU had to pay a lot of money to get him (duh). AJ and his camp have iterated on numerous occasions that BYU didn’t have the highest offer. BYU’s money got them a seat at the table to be considered with other finalists Alabama, North Carolina, and Kansas State. BYU would not have gotten AJ without the financial backing, but they also would not have gotten AJ if Kevin Young wasn’t head coach at BYU. Kevin Young put AJ in touch with his NBA former players such as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Chris Paul. During that unofficial visit, Kevin Young called Chris Paul and had him FaceTime Dybantsa.
Ultimately, AJ committed to BYU due largely to his trust in Kevin Young to best develop him for the NBA and develop him as a person. AJ keeps a tight circle — he doesn’t have an agent, and relies on his parents and a handler for his biggest decisions. I detailed AJ’s decision to commit to BYU in this piece in December 2024.
A story to illustrate the importance AJ places on trust. AJ Dybantsa committed to BYU on ESPN’s First Take with Stephen A smith on December 10. That was the first word anyone got of his commitment. No Shams, no college insiders, no one else scooped his commitment. The remarkable part is the AJ committed to BYU and Kevin Young on the last day of the Early Signing Period November 20. So three full weeks passed between AJ’s BYU signing and public commitment. In an era of scoops and reports, the fact that no one was able to scoop AJ’s BYU commitment was remarkable.
And that underscores why AJ chose BYU and what he will value in the NBA — trust. Kevin Young didn’t leak AJ’s commitment to anyone. Frankly, I don’t think BYU’s entire staff knew until the day of AJ’s announcement on First Take. Once AJ and his parents had that trust for Kevin Young, they were all in on BYU. They participated in the community, AJ played every single game for BYU, and he’s only said great things about his time for Provo.
If the Wizards front office is able to build that same trust for AJ, then Wizards fans will love him as much as BYU fans always do.
