The Washington Wizards selected AJ Dybantsa from BYU with the first overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, taking the most anticipated prospect to enter the league in years and beginning what the franchise hopes will be a genuine rebuild.
The draft was held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Darryn Peterson from Kansas went second to the Utah Jazz, and Cameron Boozer from Duke went third to the Memphis Grizzlies — completing a top three that had been heavily telegraphed for months.
Why Dybantsa Was the Consensus Pick
Dybantsa is a 6-foot-9 wing with the size and athleticism to score from every level. ESPN’s draft analysis gave the Wizards an A+ for the selection, calling him “a prototypical big wing” who will be a Day 1 scorer in the NBA. He can create his own offense, shoot from outside, and defend at a size that most wings don’t possess.
Peterson and Boozer drew equally strong assessments. ESPN’s Jay Bilas called Peterson the most talented prospect in the class, while Boozer was described as the best pure basketball player of the three. All three were considered franchise-altering selections going into the draft.
Analytics Drove the Middle of the Draft
Outside the top three, analytics had a noticeable influence on the first round. Ebuka Okorie went 17th to the Detroit Pistons, Christian Anderson went 18th to the Charlotte Hornets, and Allen Graves went 19th to the Toronto Raptors — all rising significantly during the pre-draft process as a direct result of data-driven evaluations.
Front offices have increasingly trusted statistical models over traditional scouting consensus, and this draft class showed that trend accelerating into the lottery and beyond.
Dybantsa Arrives in Washington
Dybantsa flew to Washington in the days after the draft and met with coaching staff and team executives. The Wizards have not had a franchise cornerstone since John Wall’s best years, and Dybantsa represents their clearest shot at one in over a decade.
How he develops over his first two seasons will define whether this class is remembered the way analysts currently expect it to be.
The full 60-pick draft order is available on NBA.com. Rookie camps and summer league schedules are expected to be announced in early July.
References
ESPN. (2026). Wizards opt for BYU’s AJ Dybantsa with top pick of NBA draft. Published June 2026.
CBS Sports. (2026). 2026 NBA Draft grades: Analysis on every pick from AJ Dybantsa through No. 60. Published June 2026.
NBA.com. (2026). Wizards tab AJ Dybantsa with No. 1 overall pick in 2026 NBA Draft. Published June 2026.
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