AJ Dybantsa has made his case for the number-one pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Assuming he was all jokes as he teased the BYU faithful with another year in Provo, he is the obvious prize in a draft class stuffed with potential life-altering talent like Duke's Cameron Boozer, Kansas' Darryn Peterson, and UNC's Caleb Wilson.
Per most NBA executives, the move is simple if they land the top pick when the lottery's ping pong balls fall: don't overthink it and pick the superstar.
Dybantsa, a 6'9" offensive engine that carried the tattered remains of BYU's injury-riddled roster through three rounds of the Big 12 Tournament and to a six-seed in the NCAA Tournament, led the NCAA in scoring and did so with beautiful efficiency for his position at 51% in a sample size of every single game in the season. He posted seven 30+ point performances at BYU, including a 43-point eruption against Utah.
Given his size, refined scoring appetite, and clear talent, Dybantsa is simultaneously owner of ridiculous upside and minimal downside. At best, he's an annual MVP candidate, first option on an NBA Finals-level team, and Hall of Fame level superstar. At worst, he's an above-average scoring option and strong defender willing and capable of learning and adjusting as necessary.
He's coachable. He's versatile. And he feeds off elevating his teammates both on the court and in the locker room.
Dybantsa is everything you'd want in a number-one pick, and the scouts at the next level haven't missed that fact.
"You'd rather fail with [AJ Dybantsa] and his upside than not," says one Western Conference GM on the BYU standout. "I know [Darryn] Peterson has upside. Maybe Boozer's upside is a bit less. [...] I just think that [Dybantsa], because he's 6'9" and he could be like 6-10, 230 [lbs] by the time he's 25 years old, he could just be a monster. I think you've just got to go down swinging with him.”
A Western Conference GM on why AJ Dybantsa is the favorite for No. 1:
— NBA Base (@TheNBABase) April 2, 2026
“I guess you'd rather fail with [AJ] and his upside, than not. And I know Peterson has upside, maybe Boozer's upside is a little bit less. ... I just think that [AJ], because he's 6-9 and he could be like… pic.twitter.com/rxb1Mbi0aC
Every NBA Draft prospect has the potential to bust -- it's just the nature of professional sports that some perform better at the college level -- but with a player as likely to ignite as Dybantsa, he's the clear-cut first player off the board this summer.
That would be a major boon for Kevin Young's development program at BYU, as the head coach promised to establish an NBA pipeline at the program in his introductory press conference. Pushing Egor Demin to 8th overall a year ago, and now seeing Dybantsa establish himself as the likely top prospect, more 5-star athletes like Bruce Branch III will want to give BYU a look if their priority is excelling at the next level.