AJ Dybantsa has lived up to his billing this season as the potential No. 1 overall selection in the 2026 NBA draft. The BYU 18-year-old freshman — originally from Brockton — is dominating college basketball defenders at the moment.
Earlier in the season, Dybantsa dropped 25 points at Madison Square Garden in front of Jaylen Brown and Derrick White in attendance, and AJ has stockpiled those kinds of scoring performances as the season has gone on.
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey recently predicted that Dybantsa will indeed be the first pick in the draft, despite competition from two other guys.
“Right now, there are three very real contenders to be the top pick in the 2026 draft: Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa,” Bailey wrote on January 1.
“All three have been incredibly productive as freshmen. And the talent gaps between them (assuming there are any) are small enough that it might come down to which team wins the lottery.”
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“If someone needs a bigger forward, Boozer would be the pick,” Bailey continued. “A team in need of a dynamic lead guard could go with Peterson. But Dybantsa checks boxes that both of the others do, and wing is the easiest player archetype to build around. And if Dybantsa keeps playing through conference games the way he has in his last six appearances (when he’s averaged 27.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals), he’ll enter the summer with a ton of momentum.”
Dybantsa has electrified BYU basketball in his first 14 games played. The 6-foot-8 wing, a preseason AP All-American, joined the Cougars after reclassifying and committing in late 2024.
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Early on in the season, Dybantsa faced challenges, including a narrow 86-84 loss to UConn where he contributed despite team struggles. But he ignited in December. His standout effort came against Clemson on December 9, engineering a 22-point comeback by scoring or assisting on 34 of BYU’s 45 second-half points in a 67-64 victory. He followed with a career-high 35 points versus Abilene Christian and made NCAA history on December 23 against Eastern Washington, posting the youngest-ever 30-point triple-double: 33 points on 11-of-13 shooting, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Entering Big 12 play, Dybantsa earned Lute Olson National Player of the Week on December 15 and Big 12 Player of the Week on December 30. In the conference opener on January 3, he scored 24 points despite seven turnovers, leading No. 10 BYU to an 83-73 road win over Kansas State, extending their streak to 10 victories. Through early January, he’s averaging 23.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists on 59.1 percent shooting, positioning BYU as a Final Four contender while solidifying his NBA Draft stock.
Featured image via Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
