We’re handing out grades for every first-round pick of the 2026 NBA Draft:
1. Washington Wizards
AJ Dybantsa, 6-9, BYU freshman forward
Grade: A+
The Wizards finally land their star. Dybantsa could become one of the NBA’s most unstoppable shot-creators. At 6-foot-9, he has a special blend of athletic tools the way he bends, shifts, and explodes with the ball in his hands. Dybantsa led the nation with 25.5 points per game while breaking Danny Ainge’s 48-year-old BYU freshman scoring record with a 43-point eruption. He gets to the rim at will, cooks in the midrange, draws fouls at a high rate, and displays point forward potential. After weeks of deliberating between Dybantsa and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Dybantsa likely got the nod because he’s significantly taller and comes with less baggage.
In Washington, the pressure will be alleviated off AJ early in his career, now that he’s teammates with two veterans in an All-Star-caliber big man in Anthony Davis and point guard Trae Young. The Wizards could even be quite competitive early on in Dybantsa’s career, especially if their existing young players get even better: Alex Sarr already looks like an effective two-way big, while guards and wings like Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Will Riley, and Bilal Coulibaly have all shown flashes at one time or another. But none of them project to be a superstar like Dybantsa, whose upside will be determined by whether he can become a knockdown 3-point shooter, as well as a more impactful defender to take full advantage of his physical tools. But the native of Brockton, Mass., has a tremendously high floor with his scoring skill alone that gives the Wizards a face of the franchise to build around and the ceiling to be a future MVP.
