As AJ Dybantsa enters his freshman season at BYU with high expectations, he revealed that Kevin Durant is one of the NBA stars that he looks to emulate on the floor.
“I be spamming hesi pull, I ain’t gonna lie,” Dybantsa told Boardroom’s Rich Kleiman (15:50 mark). “I watch too much Kevin Durant not to do it.”
“KD was my favorite player since I started watching him play,” he said (6:14 mark).
The 18-year-old also recounted his experience watching the Dallas Mavericks select Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft after playing against him prior to their respective college careers.
“You know what’s crazy? I’m a month younger than Coop, he was in our class,” Dybantsa said (13:58 mark). “I’ve been playing against Coop since eighth grade. So watching him just go number one, it was like, ‘We were just playing with/against each other.’ It was crazy. Crazy.”
He committed to the Cougars in Dec. 2024, explaining that their coaching staff filled with NBA experience aligned with his long-term goal of making it to the association.
“I mean obviously my ultimate goal is the NBA and after they hired Kevin Young, he hired a strength coach from the Milwaukee Bucks,” Dybantsa said (8:38 mark). “A dietician from the Suns, analytics from the Suns. He just started stacking NBA prototypes around us. And it was just a family atmosphere on my visit. They were changing my name at the football game…There was less distraction there.”
It isn’t difficult to imagine him playing in the NBA in the near future, as he was listed as the No. 1 overall prospect in the country as part of the 2025 recruiting class (via 247Sports’ composite rankings).
He averaged 21.5 points and 12.7 rebounds to go along with 3.2 assists per game during his 2024-25 high school season, according to MaxPreps.
Dybantsa also stood out during the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup, recording 14.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game while shooting 50 percent from the field.
He was projected to be off the board with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft during the latest mock draft from Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman.
For now, Dybantsa will focus on his inaugural year at BYU and look to help the school build upon a 26-10 finish during its 2024-25 campaign.
The Cougars will open their regular season against Villanova on Nov. 3.
Read the full article here
