AJ Dybantsa Declares for 2026 NBA Draft, Scouting Report and Projected Landing Spot for BYU Star

As expected, AJ Dybantsa is moving on from BYU after one season.

The highly touted freshman declared for the 2026 NBA draft, where he's widely expected to be a top-five pick. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman has him going first to the Washington Wizards in his most recent mock.

Dybantsa was the No. 1 overall player in 247Sports' composite rankings for the 2025 class. It took him four games with the Cougars to prove the hype was warranted.

The 6'9" forward had 25 points, six rebounds and two steals in an 86-84 loss to UConn.

Dybantsa Drops 25 on UConn

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Dybantsa didn't slow down much from there. Across 35 games for BYU, he led Division I in scoring (25.5 points) while averaging 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

There's a reason more teams than usual in the NBA have seemingly thrown in the towel. Particularly at the top end, the 2026 draft class could be really, really good.

Besides Dybantsa, Kansas' Darryn Peterson and Duke's Cameron Boozer turned heads, and the hand injury to North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson shouldn't hurt his stock too much.

At a time when Peterson's position was much stronger, Wasserman wrote in December how Dybantsa was actually atop draft boards for "a chunk of scouts across the league."

"There is a comfort level with his incredible physical profile (positionally)," the draft expert said. "The shots Dybantsa has been able to earn so far have also appeared easier or higher quality than the ones Darryn Peterson has gotten."

Wasserman added that Dybantsa has looked like a true game-changer at times: "There is always a draw to a prospect that can take over a game, and Dybantsa has done that on multiple occasions early (including against Connecticut) mimicking NBA star wings' explosive finishes, three-level shotmaking and advanced counters."

A higher percentage of athletes than ever are spurning the pros and staying in college. They're earning more in NIL money than they'd initially get at the next level, or they're making enough to justify refining their game to strengthen their position in the next draft.

When it comes to prospects as good as Dybantsa, the choice remains a no-brainer. He had little to gain and a lot to lose by sticking around in Provo, and BYU fans knew from the moment he committed he was likely to be a one-and-done.