The NBA Draft lottery is an emotional event for everyone involved, from the teams involved to the fanbases emotionally involved, but for BYU's freshman star AJ Dybantsa, he may as well have been watching the government hit the shuffle button on his legal address, while a national audience shrieked in anticipation.
Not exactly fertile soil for a relaxing evening.
After a consensus All-American season at Kevin Young's NBA boot camp in Provo, Dybantsa finally separated himself from the rest of his draft class as the clear-cut top selection in the impending NBA lottery. This is the type of surefire star that gets professional GMs fired for passing up on, and even though it means missing out on players like Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson, or (for the true psychos in the audience) Darius Acuff, you don't pass up on a 6'9" offensive locomotive like Dybantsa. You. Don't. Do. That.
So the natural assumption leading into the draft lottery order selection reveal party (TM) was that the winner of the number-one selection would pick up AJ Dybantsa as the prize of the draft, a shining beacon of the franchise's brilliant future, and the face of the organization for the next decade or so. Win the top selection, and you may as well walk up to the podium with a custom-made number-three Dybantsa jersey.
Washington won the number-one pick. A quick-cut to Dybantsa told the whole story; it didn't take a police interrogator or some other master of body language to read his face. That is a look of stifled disappointment.
AJ Dybantsa reacting to the Wizards getting the 1st pick: pic.twitter.com/JGKdPTtn6N
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) May 10, 2026
He's trying to keep it together -- appear to be at peace with his fate -- but let's not kid ourselves. After going to high school and college in the Beehive State, AJ was all-in on the Utah Jazz. It's been the worst-kept secret in the NBA for the past year. Utah wants Dybantsa. Dybantsa wants Utah. It was a love connection, and now that tie has been viciously and heartlessly severed by the tie-tightening executives of the National Basketball Association.
And the sting arrives twice as strong, considering the Jazz were tragically close to coming away with the number-one pick themselves, winning the second and third pick during the lottery drawing (the latter being discarded, rules are rules).
Barring a pre-draft trade or the Wizards making the baffling decision of drafting anyone else with the number one overall pick, Dybantsa is bound for the nation's capital to team up with Trae Young, the withered husk that used to be Anthony Davis, and a pool of fascinating young teammates. Utah missed out and will certainly miss having AJ around (though maybe not the Ute fans. Has anyone checked in on the Runnin' Utes recently?).
Best of luck in the pros, AJ. We know you'll make us proud.
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