"I think this is crazy," said the Ringer's Bill Simmons while debating the best player in the 2026 NBA Draft class. "I think [AJ Dybantsa] has to be the number one pick!"
“I think if Brad Stevens had the No. 1 pick he would take AJ.”
— Church Ball: A BYU Hoops Pod (@churchballpod) February 26, 2026
“Utah is in the bag for this kid. They want him desperately. If they have the No. 1 pick, there’s no doubt in my mind that they would take AJ No. 1.”@tatefrazier on AJ Dybantsa on the Bill Simmons Podcast pic.twitter.com/dWUMrcdl94
The top layer of the 2026 NBA Draft has franchises from across the league salivating, and going as far as to tear down their own organizations just for the chance of securing one of Dybantsa, Kansas' Darryn Peterson, and Duke's Cam Boozer. Three players each projected as a potential franchise-altering talent, these three spearhead current NBA debates and are forcing professional teams to tank at record rates just for the mere chance of securing the services of one of these budding stars.
Simmons has no reservations, no hesitations in planting his flag in Provo, Utah, boldly announcing that AJ Dybantsa is the clear-cut top selection.
Yet Dybantsa still sits at two or three on most NBA mock drafts, sitting behind Peterson (the most popular top pick) and even Boozer. Some will even drop Dybantsa outside the top three entirely in favor of UNC's Caleb Wilson or Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr. These outliers are maniacs and should not be given a platform.
"Utah [Jazz] are in the bag for this kid," added Tate Frazier in the same conversation with Simmons. "They want him desperately, and if they have the number one pick, there's no doubt in my mind that they would take AJ number one."
Dybantsa's ability to distribute and defend is nothing compared to his natural competitive motor and god-given scoring talent. He's the full package: long, athletic, versatile, and has the "it" factor of basketball's greatest players. The look in his eyes and the ability to take control of the narrative is incredibly rare for a player his age, yet he proves that he can reliably lift BYU basketball out of its ruts to compete with the best in the Big 12, even if those haven't all panned out into wins (especially since the loss of Richie Saunders).
March is when the best players in the nation are put on full display, and Kevin Young's BYU basketball program has plenty to prove in the postseason.