has declared himself for the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft. After his tremendous season for BYU he is definitely a potential no. 1 pick for any team from the draft. He averaged 25.5 per game as the nation's leading scorer. In his past season he secured 894 points for BYU, which is the second most points in a single season scored by a freshman since 2000, previously Kevin Durant scored 903 points for Texas in 2007. His season was decorated with a lot of accolades namely a consensus first-team All-American, first-team All-Big 12, the Julius Irving Award (top small forward) and Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

As predicted he can very well be the season’s potential no.1 pick or at least top three. This year there will be a lot of freshman talent in the draft likely with Darynn Peterson from Kansas and Cameron Boozer from Duke who along with AJ can be the top three. Many first round players have opted to go back to college instead of drafting them so there was no clarity on AJ’s decision till last minute of pre draft day as he said earlier in a podcast session “Because my mom wants me to graduate, so I might not leave,” and then sheepishly adding “ But I might leave”

“I made the right decision” said AJ Dybantsa

With his height, high level skills and athleticism, not many were matched to his potential in his college. His long strides and ball handling always gave him an upperhand and gave him a perfect finish. Although his coach in BYU Kevin Young says he needs to improve his defensive side in the NBA and definitely the exposure in the big league will help him improve his playmaking and give him more competition.

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AJ Dybantsa said that he was happy he made a decision to play for BYU. He said “I love this place. I’m happy I chose here. I definitely made the right decision. I knew coming in, I made the right decision. Ever since my visit with the coaching staff, it’s just a family atmosphere, talking to the academic adviser, everything about this place, I’m just happy.”

This is not the first time a BYU freshman has made it to the NBA- last year Egor Dermin was selected no.8 overall by Brooklyn Nets. The 2026 NBA Draft will take place in Brooklyn, New York, at Barclays Center from Tuesday, June 23 to Wednesday, June 24.