For years, NBA scouts have gushed about AJ Dybantsa. He’s been either No. 1 or No. 2 in most rankings, and he enters the college basketball season as the prospect to watch.
Nevertheless, just like all freshmen and young players, he’s not a flawless prospect. He has to work on some aspects of his game, while some analysts have doubts about his character.
Notably, that seems to be the case with Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, who, unlike most experts, has Dybantsa falling all the way to the third-overall pick in next year’s NBA Draft.
The Athletic has AJ Dybantsa going No. 3 in the 2026 NBA Draft
“Dybantsa probably has the highest ceiling in the class if everything goes right. He’s a big-time shot maker who can get to his midrange jumper seemingly at will,” Vecenie wrote. “I have seen Dybantsa disappear too often, and I’d like to see him fully engage this year at BYU consistently. But when he’s at his best, his upside is better than anyone else as the kind of apex wing that every team wants.”
AJ Dybantsa
Even so, Dybantsa definitely has the upside and potential to be one of the best players in the world in no time. He has to prove that he has the motor, drive, and mental strength.
The BYU Cougars and Dybantsa’s camp will certainly try to use this type of evaluation to push his buttons and motivate him, and it’ll be interesting to see how he responds on the court.
