The Washington Wizards opened the 2026 NBA draft by selecting BYU freshman forward AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 overall pick, the franchise's first top selection since it took John Wall in 2010, ESPN reported.

Dybantsa, a 6-foot-9 wing who turned 19 ahead of the draft, was chosen ahead of Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, the other prospect widely considered a contender for the top spot. The pick caps a season in which Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 51 percent from the field for the Cougars, according to ESPN.

A new face for a rebuilding franchise

Washington arrives at the draft after a stretch of sustained losing, having finished 17-65 in 2025-26, ESPN reported. The team now hopes Dybantsa can become a cornerstone alongside its young core. The selection makes him the headliner of a draft that scouts had touted for its depth at the top, alongside Peterson, Duke's Cameron Boozer and North Carolina's Caleb Wilson.

Dybantsa's blend of size, athleticism and shot-creation drew effusive comparisons during the pre-draft process. Former Wizards guard John Wall likened him to Tracy McGrady, telling ESPN the prospect has "the hesi-pull, super athletic, got all the tools." Such comparisons come with the usual caveats, and Dybantsa will be measured against them only once he reaches the NBA floor.

How the top of the board fell

With the No. 2 pick, the Utah Jazz selected Peterson, the Kansas freshman guard who had been the chief rival to Dybantsa for the top selection, according to draft coverage from Yahoo Sports. The draft order then ran through Memphis at No. 3, Chicago at No. 4 and the Los Angeles Clippers, picking via Indiana, at No. 5, per CBS Sports. Boozer, the son of two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, was the heavy favorite to come off the board at No. 3 to the Grizzlies.

The class and the setting

The first round was held in Brooklyn on Tuesday, June 23, with the second round scheduled for the following day. Pre-draft analysis had framed the group as one of the deeper recent classes, with a cluster of high-ceiling wings and guards expected to populate the lottery.

For Washington, the immediate task is integrating Dybantsa into a roster still taking shape. The franchise has cycled through rebuilds before — Wall in 2010 and Kwame Brown, the No. 1 pick in 2001, are its only other top selections, ESPN noted — and the latest reset now rests substantially on a teenager who, until this week, was a college freshman in Provo, Utah. Whether he follows the trajectory his boosters envision will not be clear for years; what is settled is that, for the first time in a generation, the Wizards held the first pick and used it on the player most evaluators had projected to go first.