--- title: "Wizards take BYU's AJ Dybantsa No. 1 in the 2026 NBA draft" description: "The Washington Wizards selected BYU forward AJ Dybantsa with the first overall pick of the 2026 NBA draft on Tuesday, choosing the 19-year-old over Kansas guard Darryn Peterson to anchor a rebuild after three seasons near the bottom of the standings." category: "Sports" category_url: https://newsparlor.com/category/sports author: "Jasmine Howard" published: 2026-06-24T00:38:00.000Z updated: 2026-06-24T00:38:00.000Z canonical: https://newsparlor.com/article/wizards-take-byu-s-aj-dybantsa-no-1-in-the-2026-nba-draft tags: ["NBA", "NBA Draft", "Washington Wizards", "AJ Dybantsa", "BYU", "basketball"] --- # Wizards take BYU's AJ Dybantsa No. 1 in the 2026 NBA draft The Washington Wizards selected BYU forward AJ Dybantsa with the first overall pick of the 2026 NBA draft on Tuesday, choosing the 19-year-old over Kansas guard Darryn Peterson to anchor a rebuild after three seasons near the bottom of the standings. 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](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49158973/wizards-opt-byu-aj-dybantsa-top-pick-nba-draft). 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](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/2026-nba-draft-complete-list-223000255.html). 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](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2026-nba-draft-order-complete-list-picks/). 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. ## Sources - [Wizards opt for BYU's AJ Dybantsa with top pick of NBA draft](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49158973/wizards-opt-byu-aj-dybantsa-top-pick-nba-draft) - [2026 NBA Draft: Complete list of every pick](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/2026-nba-draft-complete-list-223000255.html) - [2026 NBA Draft order: Complete list of picks with Wizards at No. 1](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2026-nba-draft-order-complete-list-picks/)