AJ Dybantsa was a lot of things during his freshman campaign at BYU, but a strong catch-and-shoot three-point weapon was not one of them. Though he led the nation in points per game (25.5) under Kevin Young's system, most of AJ's damage was self-created -- largely by necessity, with several key players going down with season-halting injuries throughout the year -- and most of that damage was done in the mid-to-short range.
Barring a few molten lava outbursts (the 43 point eruption against Utah in the Marriott Center comes to mind, where he knocked through four of his five three-point attempts and my iPhone caught flame as a consequence of presenting such liquid fire), a Dybantsa three-pointer was often received as a merciful result for the opposition. Sure, he's far from a non-factor beyond the arc, but as a 33.1% shooter from distance, a shot from that range was far preferable to a signature free-throw line fallaway, or an even more likely trip to the foul line, where he led the nation in attempts per game and connected on 77.4% of his attempts.
But do you know who else struggled as a three-point shooter during his freshman year in Provo? An individual by the name Egor Demin, who was picked eighth overall by the Brooklyn Nets in last year's draft.
After hitting just 27.3% of his three-pointers at BYU, Egor took full advantage of his Combine opportunity, amazing onlookers in shooting drills and proving that his pretty gooseneck jump shot was much more than eye-candy -- it was net-candy.
I said the following last season on Demin's projection as an NBA shooter. How little I knew my prediction would become immediately prophetic.
"With a high release point and soft flick of the wrist at the summit, Demin's jump shot is both comfortable and replicable. There is no reason why he can't project as a serviceable shooter at the next level -- knocking down 3-balls somewhere in the range of 35% to 37% on a good season.
"He hit 56% of his 3-pointers in the star shooting drill and looked strong shooting off the dribble, hitting just below the 50% mark."
Sure enough, Demin became one of the most prolific three-point shooters in the entire rookie class, breaking the record for consecutive games with a made three-pointer by an NBA rookie, and torching the season as a 38.5% sniper from range. Oh. Good. Gracious.
His leap forward was punctuated when he made a trip to Salt Lake City, and torched the Jazz defense for a career-high 25 on six made three-balls.
It pains me a bit to see Egor break Jimmer Fredette's career high (24 vs NYK) in his rookie season, but I've come to terms with Jimmer's professional career by now. I had to.
34 straight games with a three-pointer is nothing to scoff at (it set an NBA rookie record during that fateful night in Salt Lake City).
While AJ Dybantsa may not be the overnight success story that Demin turned out to be as a rookie, his strong performance at the Combine suggests that he's put in plenty of work, and should be expected to take a noticable step forward, even with the farther three-point distance.
More of A.J. Dybantsa shooting threes at the NBA Draft combine. pic.twitter.com/E5XJupAxIS
— Chase Hughes (@chasedcsports) May 12, 2026
Off the dribble, he was notably one of the best shooters in the class, ahead of his peers near the pinnacle, Peterson and Boozer, when he knocked through 23 of 30 such attempts.
No, Dybantsa was far from a horrific three-point chucker during his year in Provo, but he was also far from a dead-eye sniper. In one of his weaker areas of his game, he's making strides in the right direction. Much to the horror of 29 franchises in the NBA, he only projects to improve once he breaches the professional threshold.
Just another reason why Dybantsa's NBA Combine has boosted his already sky-high draft stock yet another notch higher. The best leaper and a blossoming shooter are just icing on the layered cake of AJ Dybantsa, the obvious pick with the number-one selection.
Add us as a preferred source on Google