{"id":3682,"date":"2026-07-03T16:55:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/?p=3682"},"modified":"2026-07-03T16:55:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:55:21","slug":"what-convinced-the-wizards-to-make-aj-dybantsa-the-no-1-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/03\/what-convinced-the-wizards-to-make-aj-dybantsa-the-no-1-pick\/","title":{"rendered":"What Convinced the Wizards to Make AJ Dybantsa the No. 1 Pick"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

AJ Dybantsa may have have solidified his status as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft <\/a>during his freshman season at BYU, but the Washington Wizards’ belief in him started much earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Manager Will Dawkins told Double Take Sports the organization had followed the development of AJ Dybantsa since he was 15 years old, watching him thrive in different environments, embrace different roles and consistently display the qualities they valued most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think he’s someone that we’ve seen since 15 years old be considered as the top player in his class,” Dawkins said. “No matter where he was in high school basketball, when he was a sophomore, junior or senior, he was one of the best players playing in high school basketball across all classes. So he’s someone that we’ve known for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“And it’s weird because you see him in different environments, you get a different version of him, which I think is pretty cool. Obviously, he was that prolific that he spent some time with the prep school out there in Utah and then goes to a school out there in Utah as well. And you just see him in different situations where, for Team USA, he’s got to be a defender, he’s got to be a leader, and he still wins MVP and a gold medal there. Richie Saunders gets injured<\/a>, he’s got to be more of a force offensively. He’s got to be someone who’s creating off the ball. So he’s evolved but always been impactful.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dawkins said that ability to adapt only strengthened the Wizards’ confidence that AJ Dybantsa could succeed regardless of the role he was asked to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For us, we just studied him every single part of the way,” Dawkins said. “And when you bring him in for a workout and put him in situations where we want to grill our guys and put him in those situations where we can finish answering those dots that we’ve had, it was pretty obvious at that point that he’s the person we want, and the player lived up to that as well.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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