NEW YORK — AJ Dybantsa will soon be on his way to Washington and is ready to start working as soon as he gets there.
That’s not until Wednesday. Tuesday was a night for the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NBA draft to party.
“Obviously this night is just a celebration of all the hard work I’ve done in the past, and so now I’m going to celebrate,” Dybantsa said.
So were a record number of one-and-done college stars who followed him, a trio of national champions from the University of Michigan and fans of both New York teams at what sounded like an even more festive NBA draft than usual.
The Wizards started the festivities at the Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets, by selecting Dybantsa, a forward who led the nation in scoring in his one season at BYU as he averaged 25.5 points, highlighted by a 43-point performance that broke BYU’s freshman scoring record. He was the first of eight straight college freshman taken to begin the draft, matching the record set last year.
The run ended when the Dallas Mavericks selected Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr., a sophomore this past season.
“I think down the road we can continue to do this,” Dybantsa said. “They are comparing us to a certain amount of draft classes. Obviously we have to see how that plays out and how we do in the league, but if we talk it into existence, I think that would be pretty special.”
At 6-foot-9 and 217 pounds, Dybantsa has drawn comparisons to Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant, who happens to be his favorite player. The 16-time NBA All-Star grew up in the D.C. area, and Wizards fans can only hope Dybantsa lives up to the comparisons.
They certainly hope he will be better than 6-11, 290-pound center Kwame Brown, the pick Washington made in 2001, the first time it had the No. 1 selection after the NBA changed draft formats to eliminate territorial picks in 1966. The Wizards took point guard John Wall in 2010 the other time, and he did turn into an NBA All-Star.
Dybantsa — who was called by his full name, Anicet Dybantsa Jr., in tribute to his father — appeared to say a quick prayer after his name was announced, then went on stage to greet league commissioner Adam Silver and slipped on a black Wizards hat that matched nicely with his black suit.
Dybantsa beat out fellow freshman Darryn Peterson of Kansas, who was taken by the Utah Jazz with the No. 2 pick. While some thought Peterson had the most talent in the class, the guard missed 11 games during the season because of injuries and illness, potentially creating some questions that Dybantsa didn’t have.
“I can’t go back and change anything now,” Peterson said. “Obviously I wanted to be the No. 1 pick, but I went No. 2. So now I’m prepared to go to Utah and get to work.”
Cameron Boozer, the college player of the year in his one season at Duke, was taken at No. 3 by the Memphis Grizzlies. Caleb Wilson, another freshman forward from rival North Carolina, went to the Chicago Bulls with the next pick.
Those players were the expected top four throughout the leadup to the draft, though there was certainly a case for Peterson to go first with his promise. Or for Boozer, with his body of work after he put up averages of 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game for Duke, where his father, Carlos, also played before becoming a two-time NBA All-Star.
The uncertainty was expected to begin at No. 5. The Los Angeles Clippers acquired the rights to it after a trade with the Indiana Pacers and used it on Illinois guard Keaton Wagler. The host Nets then went with Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr.
Darius Acuff Jr. to the Sacramento Kings at No. 7 and Kingston Flemings to the Atlanta Hawks at No. 8 continued the run of scoring guards before Dallas went back to the bigs — and created a reunion in the process — by taking Johnson. The former Wolverines standout was congratulated by national champion teammates Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara of Michigan, who were also in the green room, and then hugged his old and new coach. Dusty May left the Wolverines to take over as coach of the Mavericks on the eve of the draft.
Lendeborg and Mara didn’t have to wait long for their turn. The Golden State Warriors took Lendenborg with the No. 11 pick and the Oklahoma City Thunder followed by going for the 7-3 Mara.
“We got our ultimate goal of winning the national championship, and we just got drafted together, all lottery picks,” Johnson said. “I’m proud of my brothers, and I’m very excited to see what our future has for us.”
The Hawks added size by taking St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor with their second pick at No. 23. Ejiofor (6-8, 245) is a strong rebounder.
The draft is always a celebration, when all teams have hope, but the cheers seemed even more frequent than usual. They began when Silver opened his remarks by hailing the NBA champion New York Knicks and NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, with a number of fans in Barclays Center wearing Knicks jerseys.
Brooklyn fans, who endured a miserable season watching the home team in the arena, applauded the selection of Brown, who had a 45-point performance to highlight his season that was cut short by a back injury.
The Nets also acquired the rights to Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson, the No. 28 pick, from Minnesota through a three-team trade agreed to Monday in which the Nets will get Julius Randle from the Timberwolves.
Beyond some brief jeers for Silver that pro sports commissioners often get at the start of their drafts, there weren’t any until it was announced that the San Antonio Spurs, who lost to the Knicks in five games in the NBA Finals, were on the clock. Loud boos broke out that continued when it was announced that the Spurs had selected forward Jayden Quaintance, who played in just four games for Kentucky last season because of a knee injury.
The Milwaukee Bucks, who are losing two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, picked up two rookies. They took Arizona guard Brayden Burries with the No. 10 pick and are acquiring the rights to Tennessee forward Nate Ament, who was taken at No. 13 by the Miami Heat but is part of the package that team is sending to Milwaukee in the trade for Antetokounmpo that was agreed to Monday.
Karim López became the first Mexican-born player drafted in the first round. The 6-8 forward, who spent the past two seasons playing with the New Zealand Breakers, was taken by the Detroit Pistons and his rights were acquired by Memphis.
The second and final round of the draft will be held Wednesday night.