Wizards Take AJ Dybantsa No. 1 as BYU Makes Draft History
The Washington Wizards made BYU wing AJ Dybantsa the first overall pick of the 2026 NBA Draft, topping a class scouts called the deepest in years.
AJ Dybantsa is a Washington Wizard. The 6-foot-9 wing from Brigham Young went first overall in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night at Barclays Center, the prize of a class scouts had spent a year calling the deepest in recent memory.
Washington took Dybantsa over Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, who went second to the Utah Jazz, and Duke forward Cameron Boozer, who landed third in Memphis. North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson rounded out the top four with the Chicago Bulls. In several other drafts, any of the four might have gone first, which is the part that makes this group unusual.
Dybantsa led the country in scoring as a freshman, averaging 25.5 points and posting 40 or more twice. He was the top-ranked recruit out of high school and picked BYU over North Carolina, Kansas, USC and Auburn, and he made plain on Tuesday that the choice was about infrastructure, not novelty.
After they hired coach Kevin Young, they hired a strength coach from the Milwaukee Bucks, a dietitian from the Suns, analytics from the Suns
, Dybantsa told NBA.com. I wanted to learn in the best environment to prepare for the league and I think I got that from BYU.
Young, who spent a decade as an NBA assistant before taking the BYU job in 2024, was the draw. Dybantsa is the first BYU player ever taken No. 1.
For a Wizards team that has spent recent seasons near the bottom of the standings, the pick is less a luxury than a foundation. Trae Young, no stranger to carrying a rebuild, welcomed him to the capital on X within minutes of the selection.
Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung): "Welcome to DC @AJ_Dybantsa!!"
The night had a quieter milestone too. Karim Lopez became the first Mexican-born player ever chosen in the first round, heading to Memphis in a reported trade with Detroit, per Yahoo Sports. It is the kind of pick that does little for a single franchise's win total and a great deal for where the league finds its next generation, a thread that runs alongside the sport's fights over the college pipeline that now feeds it.
The trades told their own story about where contenders are placing bets. Milwaukee took Arizona wing Brayden Burries at No. 10, then spent Miami's No. 13 pick, acquired in the Giannis Antetokounmpo deal, on Nate Ament; Dallas grabbed Michigan big man Morez Johnson at No. 9 and reunited him with new head coach Dusty May, per Yahoo Sports. Rebuilding teams stockpiled youth; the ones chasing now spent picks on fit.
Round 2 runs Wednesday. The grades that pour out overnight will argue about fit and ceiling, as they always do. What Washington bought on Tuesday was time: a 19-year-old to build around, and a reason for a long-suffering arena to believe the rebuild finally has a centerpiece.
