WASHINGTON — Before basketball became such a big part of AJ Dybantsa’s life, he was like many other kids who grew as fans of a fictional superhero.
And when he was 5 years old, his father bought him a Spider-Man basketball hoop that went on the back of his door.
“I loved Spider-Man growing up. So I just started shooting from my bed, started shooting from my bed with this miniature ball. Then I started playing in the YMCA leagues … ended up falling in love with the game,” Dybantsa said. “So Spider-Man is the reason why I love basketball.”
The Washington Wizards are certainly glad Dybantsa took up the sport and committed himself to it. Two days after taking the 6-foot-9, 217-pound star out of BYU with the top pick in the 2026 NBA draft, the team introduced their prized addition Thursday at a hotel overlooking the Potomac River, some 1 1/2 miles south from Capital One Arena, where the Wizards play their home games.
“Nothing comes easy, but I want to be a piece of the puzzle that is part of the rebuild,” he said. “Obviously, Wizards fans have been waiting for a long time.”
This was the first time the Wizards have picked first in the draft since 2010, when they took point guard John Wall — like Dybantsa, the Kentucky Wildcats star was a one-and-done college player — who became a five-time NBA All-Star and helped the franchise to four postseason appearances, including three runs to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Wall spent a decade in Washington before the injuries piled up and he was traded, closing out his time in the league with the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers and playing his final game in January 2023.
Dybantsa joins a franchise that hasn’t won 50 regular-season games since 1979 and, more recently, managed just 50 victories over the past three seasons combined.
One issue of uncertainty was resolved at the news conference. Dybantsa wore No. 3 in college, but in Washington that belongs to 27-year-old point guard Trae Young, the four-time NBA All-Star who joined the Wizards in January after being traded by the Atlanta Hawks, the team he had played for since being drafted fifth overall in 2018. Dybantsa will change to No. 4.
“Previously wore No. 3, but I was the No. 1 pick,” he said. “Wanted to add those up, and we got four.”
Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points per game in college, becoming the first freshman to lead the nation in scoring since his new teammate, Young, did it at Oklahoma in 2017-18.
Washington fans will have a chance soon enough to see what Dybantsa brings on the court — the Wizards are expected to showcase him when they play the Utah Jazz and No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson on July 9 during the opening day of the Las Vegas Summer League — but Thursday’s event was an opportunity to see the type of person they’ll be investing so much hoops hope in.
Dybantsa was personable and confident, and he seemed eager to get down to business. That much was already clear at last month’s scouting combine in Chicago during the leadup to this week’s draft in New York.
“It was like a job. My dad was like, ‘This is your first job interview,'” he said. “So we decided to dress up. I went to a suit and tie in every single interview. Media availability, that was in a suit and tie. So I just wanted to treat it like a real job.”
That made quite an impression on Wizards general manager Will Dawkins.
“It was a pretty fun first introduction, just to learn the maturity that he brings,” Dawkins said. “We allow opportunities to ask questions. Sometimes you get the standard questions from guys. We didn’t get that from AJ. He’s just curious and mature and asked some really deep questions.”
Dybantsa said he intends to graduate from college by finishing his studies online, and he has big plans for how he can make a difference away from basketball. The 19-year-old has already started a foundation aimed at empowering young people.
“My mom’s from Jamaica, my dad’s from Congo. We’re going to start off just sending 20 kids from there to different universities,” he said. “If that’s universities in the continent of Africa, if that’s different universities in Jamaica, if that’s universities in the (United) States, we’re going to try that. But after those two, we’re just going to expand all around the world. We just want to help kids all around the world.”