BYU could produce back-to-back No. 1 overall picks in the NBA Draft with AJ Dybantsa and Bruce Branch

There's no shortage of NBA mock draft websites, but three of the most credible year-round sources are Tankathon, NBA Draft Net, and NBA Draft Room.

The projections from one of these sites should have BYU fans downright giddy. NBA Draft Net's most recent mocks have BYU producing the next two No. 1 overall picks in the NBA Draft with AJ Dybantsa in 2026 and five-star incoming freshman Bruce Branch in 2027.

AJ Dybantsa's momentum as the No. 1 pick

Throughout the 2025-26 college basketball season, most mock drafts had a top three of AJ, Duke's Cameron Boozer, and Kansas's Darryn Peterson in some sort of rotating order. Toward the beginning of the season Boozer was the "safe" No. 1 overall pick and will no doubt be a good player in the NBA, but he started to slip out of the top spot as a solid player with a very high floor, but a somewhat limited ceiling.

Later in the season, Darryn Peterson started making his claim as the No. 1 pick in this year's draft by stringing together games where he was simply a dominant, unguardable shot-making machine. His offensive game drew comparisons to Kobe Bryant. But as the schedule turned to the second half of the season, valid concerns about Peterson's health, conditioning, and desire to play started to emerge. While NBA front offices love his scoring ability, some are wary of potential load management issues to come at the next level.

Enter AJ Dybantsa.

As the season progressed and Boozer's upside was questioned along with Peterson's availability, AJ Dybantsa continued to shine. He led the nation in scoring. He showed his ability to score at all three levels. AJ flashed his ability to rebound, distribute, and defend.

While BYU's injury-riddled season ended with a deflating loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, AJ Dybantsa went on to solidify his spot as the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft.

Bruce Branch's surprising ascension to No. 1

While it's no surprise to see AJ Dybantsa projected to be the top pick in 2026, it is surprising to see Bruce Branch's name atop NBA Draft Net's 2027 mock.

Branch, a silky smooth 6-foot-7 small forward, is the No. 7 high school prospect in the class of 2026, and he actually reclassified to graduate a year early. The top two players in the high school rankings, Tyran Stokes and Jordan Smith Jr., are usually projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft by most mock draft sites.

NBA Draft Room currently has Jordan Smith Jr. as the top pick next year with Stokes second and Bruce Branch at No. 4.

There's nothing wrong with Bruce Branch coming in at No. 4, and that's very well where he could be drafted next year. Both Smith and Stokes are curiously omitted from the Top 3 in the NBA Draft Net that has Bruce Branch ranked No. 1, so we'll see if the future BYU star falls a bit in their next 2027 mock draft if either of them rises up the ranks. Even then, Branch is still among the small handful of elite draft prospects who could end up the first overall pick with one solid year in Provo.

But for now at least one major NBA draft site has the next two No. 1 overall picks coming from Provo, Utah. Coach Kevin Young vowed to turn BYU into an NBA pipeline, and he's producing results like we never imagined possible before.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow