{"id":201944,"date":"2026-06-23T21:13:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T01:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=201944"},"modified":"2026-06-23T21:13:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T01:13:17","slug":"washington-wizards-pick-aj-dybantsa-in-2026-nba-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/06\/23\/washington-wizards-pick-aj-dybantsa-in-2026-nba-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"The Washington Wizards Use First Overall Pick To Draft BYU Superstar In 2026 NBA Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Wizards held all the cards going into the 2026 NBA Draft. With three major names circulating for the number one pick, the franchise went with the consensus answer: AJ Dybantsa<\/a>. The BYU product will be joining forces with Trae Young<\/a>, Anthony Davis<\/a>, and the evolving young core ahead of the franchise’s newest era. Heading into his rookie season, what can the league expect from the 19-year-old superstar?<\/p>\n

The Washington Wizards Use First Overall Pick To Draft BYU Superstar In 2026 NBA Draft<\/h2>\n

Between Dybantsa and second overall pick Darryn Peterson<\/a>, the Wizards’ front office did not give anyone a clear answer heading into Tuesday night’s draft. Peterson didn’t work out or meet with any other team<\/a>, but Dybantsa’s talent made him nearly the perfect pick for Washington.<\/p>\n

With Dybantsa coming to D.C ahead of the Wizards’ first postseason push, the question shifts from where is he going to what could he do during his rookie campaign? With one of the most intriguing rosters in the league, Dybantsa stands to benefit from a mix of quality offensive players and lockdown defenders while adjusting to the speed of the NBA.<\/p>\n

However, if the Wizards want to compete this season, the All-American will have to contribute at an NBA level straight out of the gates. This team is young and extremely inexperienced. Washington will look to utilize Dybantsa as a natural scorer while surrounding him with offensive weapons to maximize his skill set as he gets ready to lead the team into the future.<\/p>\n

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Dybantsa’s Instant Fit<\/h3>\n

With a player like Dybantsa<\/a>, every team in the league wanted him. He fits well on every roster, with his combination of size and athleticism, but also his impressive offensive scoring ability. The All-Big 12 selection averaged an NCAA Division I-leading 25.5 points per game, while shooting over 50% from the field and 30% from three. Along with the impressive scoring, he put up 3.7 assists, 6.8 rebounds, and averaged over a steal per outing.<\/p>\n

Washington’s offense is in true need of a pure scorer. Dybantsa doesn’t just fit that mold perfectly; he excels at it. Pairing him with Young is already absurd to think about, but then combining his offensive dominance with shooters like Young, Tre Johnson<\/a>, and Bub Carrington<\/a>, it’s easy to see why he’s truly an elite pick for Washington. One major question mark is how the starting lineup will be with Dybantsa joining the roster. If the Wizards choose to go tall, slotting the one-and-done at the two would be a great choice.<\/p>\n

Playing alongside both Young and sophomore riser Kyshawn George<\/a> would provide the starting lineup with all the outside scoring it needs. While on the other side of the floor, Young could rely on George and Dybantsa for outside defense, while Alex Sarr<\/a> and Davis lock down the paint, making Washington one of the most dangerous teams in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if the Wizards prefer putting George on the bench, Dybantsa could move to the three and allow Johnson and his shooting ability to be put on full display. With the offensive weapons the starting lineup holds, Johnson would excel on catch-and-shoot opportunities. Playing with Young last season proved that, and now adding a three-level scoring threat like Dybantsa may prove to be too much for defenses to handle.<\/p>\n

New Chance In D.C<\/h3>\n

Washington has a real chance to prove something this season. Young seems ready to use the hate he’s received as fuel<\/a>, and adding Dybantsa to this young core could be setting up a future dynasty in D.C. While it may not pay off immediately, the young talent will no doubt get postseason exposure this season.<\/p>\n

With that, the Wizards could become a true contender year in and year out as Dybantsa, Sarr, George, and Johnson all progress through their careers. As the Wizards move into free agency, look for the front office to make a move on veterans with playoff experience to help guide this core into the future quickly.<\/p>\n

Featured Image:\u00a0Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Washington Wizards held all the cards going into the 2026 NBA Draft. With three major names circulating for the number one pick, the franchise went with the consensus answer: AJ Dybantsa. The BYU product will be joining forces with Trae Young, Anthony Davis, and the evolving young core ahead of the franchise’s newest era. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5480,"featured_media":201980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,556,3,18],"tags":[49942,49353,49244,240,49322,1349,49827],"class_list":["post-201944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-nba-draft","category-news","category-wizards","tag-2026-nba-draft","tag-aj-dybantsa","tag-alex-sarr","tag-anthony-davis","tag-kyshawn-george","tag-trae-young","tag-tre-johnson"],"modified_by":"Benjamin Yu, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5480"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201944"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201981,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201944\/revisions\/201981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}