Former BYU star AJ Dybantsa is the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and he was in attendance at the McCormick Place convention center on Sunday for the draft lottery. Dybantsa had a bit of a tense expression as he saw the Washington Wizards win the lottery, and his reaction went viral.
That led to talk of Dybantsa not being too pleased about potentially becoming a Wizard, and he finally explained his reaction in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday.
“My parents flew with me to Chicago for the NBA lottery drawing. That sentence would’ve sounded crazy a few years ago. Now it’s just the road we’re on.
“McCormick Place. Some of the other draft prospects in the room. All of us watching the same envelopes get opened.
“Washington came up first. Utah second. The order caught some people off guard, others tried reading my body language, but in that moment I was just present. Just sitting there felt like something.
“The lottery is a checkpoint. The dream has always been the draft, and everything between now and June 23 is the road to it. Sunday was a mile marker.
“What made it real wasn’t the result. It was who I was sitting next to. My parents have been at every stop of this, giving up more than I’ll ever be able to repay. Being in that room with them, as my future unfolded, meant a lot.
“Draft is June 23 in Brooklyn.
“We’re close.”
Dybantsa owes a lot to his parents, Ace and Chelsea. His mother actually wanted him to stay at BYU and graduate, so that he’d have a backup plan. Dybantsa considered the option, but eventually chose to head to the NBA. The 19-year-old will be getting his degree online.
Getting back to the reaction, this was Dybantsa after the Wizards won the lottery.
AJ Dybantsa reacting to the Wizards getting the 1st pick: pic.twitter.com/JGKdPTtn6N
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) May 10, 2026
This was definitely a bit overblown. If you cast your mind back to May 2025, Cooper Flagg’s reaction to the Dallas Mavericks winning the lottery was also a big talking point. Flagg then revealed during an appearance on The Young Man and The Three podcast in April 2026 that his agents had told him not to react to anything.
Dybantsa could well have been told the same. He gave absolutely no indication that he didn’t want to go to Washington when he spoke after the Wizards won the lottery as well.
Then, at the draft combine on Tuesday, Dybantsa explained why he should go No. 1.
“I’m super versatile,” Dybantsa said, via ESPN. “I think I can bring a lot to the team on and off the court. I think I play the game the right way, but I’m exciting and I fill seats.”
That Dybantsa definitely did in college. As a freshman, he averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game for the Cougars in 2025-26. Dybantsa led the nation in scoring and was a consensus All-American first team selection. He has all the tools to be a superstar.
The Wizards would have an intriguing starting lineup with Dybantsa next season. It isn’t set in stone, though, that he will be headed to Washington.
The Wizards will reportedly consider trading down. They don’t view this as a savior moment, as they traded for two All-Stars in Anthony Davis and Trae Young this season. So, it will be interesting to see what the Wizards do with this pick.
