Story By: Sol Tucker
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
Today was the day that the Wizards have been waiting for since the NBA announced that they had been granted the #1 pick in the 2026 Draft… the next and maybe final piece of the rebuild, AJ Dybantsa was introduced to the media and fans for the first time and this guy is ready to go.
There have been very few 19-year-old draft picks that are NBA ready day one, but believe it or not, Dybantsa has been preparing for this day since he was a youngster and during his introductory press conference, he acknowledged what he can bring to this young team.
“Being the No. 1 pick meant a lot to me,” said Dybantsa, who in a tribute to his father was called by his full name, Anicet Dybantsa Jr. “Obviously me being No. 1 throughout all my high school career, I definitely wanted to be a staple to be No. 1 in the NBA draft and be in the same conversation with LeBron James and Cooper Flagg, Allen Iverson and guys like that.”
The 6-foot-9 BYU standout averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 51% from the field in his lone college season. He is the first player to lead Division I in scoring and go first in the draft since Glenn Robinson came out of Purdue in 1994.
During today’s press conference Dybantsa was also compared to the #1 draft pick no one got to see play in Len Bias. He said that he had seen some video on Bias and appreciated the comparison. Can he be that guy once more the Wizards have been looking for almost 14 years since they took John Wall at #1.
One thing that is different than the Wall or even Kwame Brown era in top draft picks for the Wizards is that they have the complete package of a team and have one unknown in Anthony Davis left to sign. Should this happen, it could be the best Wizards team since the championship era.
