The Washington Wizards selected 19-year-old forward AJ Dybantsa with the first overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night at the Barclays Center in New York City, making the Boston-born teenager the most coveted young talent to enter the league in years. Dybantsa, who stands 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 metres) tall, was chosen after just one season of college basketball with the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars in Utah, where he led the entire NCAA — the top tier of American college basketball — in scoring, averaging 25.5 points per game across 35 starts, along with 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
"It means a lot," Dybantsa told ESPN moments after his selection. "It's a stepping stone. Obviously, I have a lot more work to do. But it's a testament to all my hard work and discipline and the sacrifices that I've made." The pick marks just the third time Washington has held the No. 1 overall selection — previously used on Kwame Brown in 2001 and John Wall in 2010 — and the first time a BYU player has ever gone first overall. Dybantsa is of Congolese and Jamaican heritage, and has spoken of his connection to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country he has visited several times and hopes to return to. He also led the United States to the 2025 FIBA Under-19 World Cup title, earning the tournament's Most Valuable Player award.
Dybantsa arrives at a franchise in need of a turnaround. Washington has won just 17, 18, and 15 games respectively over its past three seasons and has missed the playoffs for five straight campaigns. "They are getting a super versatile player," Dybantsa said of himself. "I'm willing to play multiple positions and guard multiple positions and do whatever it takes to win." The Wizards' existing roster already includes established names, giving the young forward experienced teammates around whom to develop. Dybantsa has spoken candidly about his ambitions, citing NBA all-time scoring records as long-term targets and naming Kevin Durant as a key influence and mentor.
The draft's second overall pick went to the Utah Jazz, who selected Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, a 6-foot-6 scorer who averaged 20.2 points in his sole college season. The Memphis Grizzlies then chose Duke forward Cameron Boozer — the consensus national college player of the year and son of two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer — third overall. The 18-year-old averaged 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds for Duke before suffering multiple facial fractures in the Elite Eight round of the college tournament. Dybantsa and Peterson headlined a run of eight consecutive freshmen — first-year college players — selected to open the draft, reflecting a broader trend of younger and younger talent entering the league after minimal college experience.
The draft matters beyond individual careers. For Washington, securing a generational talent at the top of the class represents a pivotal moment in what has been a prolonged rebuilding period. For Dybantsa personally, it marks the realisation of a goal he says he has carried for years. "I've known for five or six years that I would be the No. 1 pick," he said ahead of the draft. "I've been dreaming of this moment." How quickly he can translate that confidence into wins for a struggling franchise will be the defining question of his early NBA career.