While at Utah Prep, AJ Dybantsa turned heads as a five-star prospect and as the Rivals industry ranking’s No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class. If he wasn’t already, he became a household name at BYU this past season.
But the 6-foot-9 forward was on the rise long before he moved west. He emerged as an up-and-coming talent on the East Coast.
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Hailing from Brockton, Massachusetts, Dybantsa shared this week at the NBA Combine in Chicago that he was a Celtics fan growing up.
“So this is my last year being a Celtics fan,” he said. “I’m getting drafted this year, so — I mean, it might still be in me, but I won’t definitely be a fan as much.”
Dybantsa could very well be selected by the Washington Wizards with the No. 1 overall pick. The Wizards, of course, are in the same conference as the Celtics. The last time Washington reached the Eastern Conference semifinals, it fell just short of the conference finals, dropping a Game 7 to — who else? — Boston during the 2016-17 season.
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In Yahoo Sports’ latest NBA mock draft, Dybantsa is projected to land with the Wizards, who traded for veteran All-Stars Trae Young and Anthony Davis this season to complement their young core.
Dybantsa was asked this week what it would mean to him to be the No. 1 pick.
“It would mean a lot,” he said, via The Athletic’s Josh Robbins. “It would just mean that all of my hard work is paying off, and that all the countless hours and all the sacrifices that I made have paid off. And that’s what I’m striving toward.”
As for his fit with the Wizards, he didn’t hesitate to glowingly describe the situation he might be entering.
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“Obviously they have an All-Star point guard [Young],” Dybantsa said, “and an All-Star five man in Anthony Davis. They have Tre Johnson, Will Riley, who are gems. They have Bub Carrington. I met Kyshawn George one time. But I think it would just be a good young core. I can fit in and really just play fast.”
Dybantsa has competition for the top pick. He’s in a stacked draft class that also features former Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, former Duke forward Cameron Boozer and former North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson.
Regardless of where Dybantsa goes in the lottery, he’ll be leaving his Celtics fandom behind.
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