A.J. Dybantsa Is No-Brainer NBA Draft Target For Wizards

If it feels like there is not much real drama surrounding the Washington Wizards and this year’s No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, that is because much of the drama feels manufactured.

Yes, AJ Dybantsa appeared to let his inside face slip out on lottery night, looking less than thrilled when the Wizards landed the top pick instead of the Utah Jazz. Yes, Dybantsa played his lone college season at BYU, a program whose recent rise has been closely connected to Jazz governor Ryan Smith’s investment and influence. And yes, if you choose to connect those dots, the Utah storyline is easy to understand. It is possible that the Jazz could make a Godfather offer to Washington for the rights to the consensus top player in the draft.

But hypothetical drama is not the same thing as reality.

There will also be plenty of chatter between now and draft night about Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer as viable, alternative choices at first overall. Peterson is a gifted shot creator and entered the draft cycle with a strong case as the top prospect in the class, but availability concerns during his season at Kansas complicated that conversation. Boozer, meanwhile, put together a dominant college season at Duke and swept major national awards, but questions remain about whether he has the ideal size to be a true NBA big or the ideal athleticism to function as a full-time wing. More likely than not, much of that debate will become white noise used to fill the space between the lottery and draft night.

The fact of the matter is that there is not much drama because the Wizards cannot afford much drama. Washington knows they cannot afford to overthink this pick. More specifically, the franchise may not be able to afford passing on AJ Dybantsa.

The last time the Washington Wizards won an NBA championship was 1978, when they were still the Washington Bullets. Michael Jackson was still performing with The Jacksons, and Michael Jordan was being cut from his high school basketball team. Washington returned to the NBA Finals the following season and lost to the Seattle SuperSonics in five games. That was also the last time the franchise advanced beyond the conference semifinals.

Since then, success has been sporadic at best. Washington’s last playoff series win came in 2017, when John Wall and Bradley Beal led the Wizards past the Atlanta Hawks before pushing the Boston Celtics to a thrilling seven-game series in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Since 1980, the franchise has made the playoffs 16 times and won 5 series. 

In that same span, Washington has landed the No. 1 overall pick only twice. In 2010, the Wizards used that pick on John Wall, who became the cornerstone of the franchise’s last true playoff-caliber roster before injuries altered the course of his career. The other time was in 2001, when Michael Jordan selected Kwame Brown, one of the most infamous draft misses in modern NBA history. That history matters because this franchise and fan base are not just looking for another good prospect. They are starved for direction, relevance, and a reason to believe the rebuild is finally moving toward something real.

A.J. Dybantsa undoubtedly provides them with this.