The NBA world is obsessed with comparison. Message boards are flooded with ridiculous and borderline irrelevant conversation topics meant to relate and compare players with other players. For legacy, for skill level, and for bragging rights. Is Anthony Edwards (or Jimmy Butler, or...) the next Michael Jordan? Is Darryn Peterson the reincarnation of Kobe Bryant? Stuff like that.
But the one comparison everyone is dying to tie down is the projected number-one overall pick, AJ Dybantsa out of Brigham Young University. Comparisons ground us. They help us understand more abstract, nebulous topics like player attributes and tether them to known quantities. To previous players that we have witnessed at the highest level, observed and analyzed for years, and can now fully understand.
Making the jump from college hoops to the greatest basketball league in the world is no small feat, even for the best and brightest from the NCAA. But if the most desperate teams in the league are making a heavy investment into such budding stars, it helps to be able to organize, understand, and investigate from a stable position.
We've heard names like Tracy McGrady, Penny Hardaway, Kevin Garnett, and more, but perhaps one of the most favorable comparisons is a player still active and competing in today's NBA.
And with recent results arriving from the NBA Draft Combine, it's getting harder and harder to ignore the obvious. AJ Dybantsa matches many of the qualities of former Fresno State star, Paul George, who's carved out several All-Star seasons and was once one of the most valuable players in all of basketball.
Not a bad measuring stick for a 19-year-old hoping to one day become an All-NBA type of talent.
Their physical tools are nearly identical, as explored by Jonathan Givony over at Draft Express.
AJ Dybantsa's closest physical comp in the DX database: a 20-year old Paul George. Same height in shoes (~6'10), similar weight (~215), nearly identical wingspan and standing reach. pic.twitter.com/8dKY0sdzH3
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 12, 2026
Here's where things get crazy, though. When it comes to pure athleticism, as measured by the players' NBA Combine-recorded max vertical leaps, Dybantsa hops three inches higher than George. 42 inches to 39. Considering what George has proved capable of through the air as a pro, it's even more frightening to consider the type of horror Dybantsa could reign down upon the league given the opportunity and the airspace.
And, for the record, 42 inches is the best vertical leap of any prospect at the 2026 NBA Combine, including Darryn Peterson, Caleb Wilson, and other known super-athletes.
The Paul George comparison is a flattering one, as both players showed they were capable of dominating on the ball as college athletes. But where George eventually fell short of MVP consideration and a Finals victory (at least to this late stage in his career), AJ Dybantsa will, in all likelihood, begin his career with one of two teams ready to compete for the playoffs as early as this season.
The sky is the limit for AJ Dybantsa, not some box we'll arbitrarily place him in.
Add us as a preferred source on Google