AJ Dybantsa is getting pulled out of the NBA Summer League, but he proved his point

We saw this coming: AJ Dybantsa, former BYU star and number one overall pick in the most recent NBA Draft, has been shut down from Summer League competition by the Washington Wizards.

It's not an unexpected, nor an unprecedented move from the franchise, who are pulling Dybansta from the lineup, along with established rotation players Tre Johnson and Will Riley, both of whom were fantastic training wheels to attach to Dybantsa's hip to take the pressure and defensive attention off of the focal point of Washington's offseason.

You have to protect your assets, and in Dybantsa's case, there hasn't been a prospect half as valuable walking through the doors of DC's NBA team since... John Wall? It's been a while.

The risk of injury is too great to move forward with Dybantsa. And besides, he's clearly proved his point to the NBA world in his two Summer League appearances: he's deserving of the number-one pick.

Outshining Darryn Peterson, the second overall pick and Dybantsa's rival classmate since high school, was the optimal way to hit the NBA stage. Pushing a game-high 27 points (which tied the record for most points in a Summer League debut at the time, for context), and lifting his team to a 92-88 win over Utah, Dybantsa finally got the pressure of besting Peterson off his conscience.

And he looked incredible while doing it, punctuating his arrival with this age-restricted slam overtop helpless Utah defenders.

It was much more of the same from the former Coug in his second game, posting a stat line of 23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.

That's right, Dybantsa is plenty capable of delivering a strong defensive outing if he's feeling up to it. With his plus wingspan and obvious athleticism, it seems the only ingredient absent from his resume is the will to impact the defensive side of the floor for 82 regular-season games a year. Often taking plays off or being relatively inattentive off-ball in Provo, Dybantsa needs to prove that he's dissatisfied with cruising on the defensive end and off-ball on offense.

Clearly, that's in his wheelhouse.

What clearly isn't in his wheelhouse at the moment is the three-point shot, as he hit just one attempt to push his percentage to just single-digits beyond the arc. This was a big point of friction in his pre-draft evaluation, as the flat-lining jumper doesn't give Dybantsa a very wide look at the basket from long range -- especially with the extended NBA arc. Even with this deficiency, the Wizards' draft idol has been sensational in the Summer League, and looks more than prepared to take the leap to the NBA.

So yes, AJ Dybantsa has made his point abundantly clear to the viewing public and has looked the part during his Summer League stint. The focus now has to shift to the regular season and the toughest defenders in the NBA.

From what we've seen to this point, though, it's hard to imagine Dybantsa disappointing as a pro.

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