[2026 NBA Draft] #1 Pick: AJ Dybantsa (BYU)
Said his full name and thought it was the curveball of the century for 3 seconds
Me too, thought they’d done an Anthony Bennett and taken Ament #1
“WOAH”
NBA 2K13 core memory
2K14*
Correct, wow thank you
The best one.
This and Nerlins Noel voice crack
Bro I was like whooo??? And then they showed him lmao
Literally about shit my pants
Clean up, because we got 29 picks to go
Going to be a long time with all these water breaks
lol same, I had just learned it a few minutes before and forgot about it in the moment.
That was me with Airious Bailey last year.
Was like did this dude just say Darius Bazley?
“Anicet”… ?????….“Dybantsa Jr.”…ah ok
I thought I was having a stroke lol
If I had a Apple Watch it would have showed my heart rate spike for a split second
cue Bill Simmons scream
Made my heart race for a second lol.
someone’s not listening to the analysts
I thought they picked some unknown foreign prospect
I think they drafted his dad.
i almost screamed son
Woah
Woah!!!!
Cleveland Cavaliers select…Anthony Bennett!
Duuuude same
My exact reaction lol
Didn’t know his full name and thought they drafted some random for a second
They announced it like 5 times they’ll say his full name because he wanted to represent his dad
Yeah, I feel fucking insane to see everyone say they had no clue lol
The insane part is watching pre draft coverage. The rest of us turned that shit on as the pick was being announced.
pre draft coverage definitely played at all the asylums earlier
NBA pre draft is so much worse because there’s no Mel Kiper. Mel is such a G because it’s literally like they pulled your crazy uncle who thinks he knows everything on national TV.
Boomer moment: I hate how people care more (across all sports it seems) about the analysts being entertaining than actually knowledgable.
Analysts should know BALL, not COMEDY.
Unlike Inside the NBA where its legitimately just a basketball related comedy show, Mel does know his stuff. Even to this day you can tell he is not just repeating what an earpiece comes in. He puts the leg work in it just feels like he just can’t actually perform high level analysis.
When Stephen A or whoever ESPN trots out to make some hot take says something you feel like they don’t even belive it, they are just saying it just to say something and they are almost never even pressed on it and if they give an incredibly flimsy generic defense.
Mel will give the most insane take then tell you why he thinks that with actual stats or can reference actual moments in a game where a guy does what he says he does. That was his whole thing with Sanders, he could give actual film examples of why he’s NFL level and not just say “Cause he’s a winner cause he’s hard worker”
He’s not for everyone but as someone who barely even follows the NFL I enjoy listening to Mel because he is a breath of fresh air in modern sports media.
I turned on the audio on ESPN in just the last 5 minutes and they’d said it at least twice in that small timeframe
i got that shit on mute till i see that bald head on stage
I thought the same thing, I was like woah they took some random and then they said Dybansta and I realized it was his full name
Same lmao
Trae got 50ms a year, he’s keeping that #3
AJ is gonna have to pick a new number
Tragedy
Traegedy
TrAJedy
Traegethree
Hmm locker room turmoil?!
He’s worn 3 for a total of 15 nba games I don’t think he’s too attached to it lmao
33
3³
Na he’s gonna give it to him
Is Shams not allowed to spoil picks anymore? Is no Journalist doing it?
NBA told them to shut the fuck up after they spoiled it last year
*Every year since at least 2017
Long before that, blogs have been spoiling it since forever. Honestly /r/nba replacing the broadcast around 13 fixed that for me. But still annoying.
Good
Seriously. Wish NFL reporters/insiders would knock that shit off too.
[deleted]
Well, that’s not a very normal reaction to have to this, just FYI.
He adds literally nothing lol. He just tweets stuff out a few mins/hours before it’s released officially. I can’t stand him
Were you cool with Woj when he was doing it?
It’s low stakes sports journalism. Who really cares lol
In Europe people actually talk about the game and not these Espn storyline, speculative, BS talking points
Wait till you find out the soap opera that is football over there, especially the Spanish
Because it makes no sense, all he is doing is reading the card before Adam Silver, he made himself the commissioner last year lmaooo
I’m surprised he listened.
Good.
this is funny because Cameron Boozer revealed he wasn’t gonna be the No. 1 pick to Perkins on the red carpet show anyway…
Scotto, Fischer, Siegel, Murrows etc are spoiling the picks.
Seems like Shams is the only one not doing it
Shams cease-fire
Shams now works for espn
Thank God
If the draft was on Prime or Peacock he would have lol
It’s being aired in ESPN. One of the reasons for hiring SHams was so he wouldn’t spoil the picks.
Why no one else is spoiling it? They don’t have the access / inside sources
Like LBJ not firing J Edgar Hoover: Better have him inside the tent, pissing out - and not the other way around
He’s only allowed to ruin stuff for other companies like when Amazon had the MVP reveal
subs gonna hate him in few months talking about he should be humble lol
Already started when he said he didn’t work out for any teams lol
redditors who are too anxious to order food over a phone call mald over an ultra competitive athlete having confidence in himself is always a treat
People think team interviews/workouts are the same as their job interviews at McDonald’s.
If you’re a GM and you miss on an superstar you’re the one that’s going to be unemployed.
And unless you’re a projected mid to late round pick who really needs to prove himself, what’s the purpose of workouts? These teams have watched every second of recorded basketball you’ve ever played. Shooting 3 pointers in an empty gym isn’t going to tell them much.
Facts wemby and lebron should have worked out with the others team 😂
Facts everyone knew he was going number 1 why tf would he workout with other teams
Sidenote, film twt hated Chalamet for saying he wants to be one of the best.
Chronically online people should never have opinions on people tbh lol
I thought they just loved the opera
Hey dude I call in the laundry room because it quieter…
I feel targeted
I already hated him when he was demanding his number and said trae was gonna have to give it up. That’s not how it works, young fella’s gonna have a long rookie season.
I think we all knew it was a joke except you
Oh shut up lol
wizards will be very fun to watch next season.
A sentence that hasn’t been said about us this decade.
Westbrook breaking the triple double record was pretty fun
Was it this decade?
Yes, 2021
r/BrandNewSentence
You didn’t have fun watching Tyus Jones as a PoA defender or Kuzma bricking every shot he took? If you don’t like that then you don’t like Wizards basketball
It’s been a while since I liked Wizards basketball
I did enjoy the young core lineups the past 2 years but other than it was some brutal basketball to watch
2021 and the 1 playoff win🥹
I hope them and the Jazz have finally picked up enough steam to stop the tanking and we get see flashes of what their projects could be
Not sure he hits his ceiling, but his floor is insane. Not complaining with the pick.
Just needs to.improve his 3 point shot
They say that a lot about guys.. most recently the Thompson twins. It’s not as common as the Spurs and Kawhi made it seem with taking a guy with a bad jumper and turning him into a solid one. Granted, Kawhi became a great shooter
Plenty of players have improved their jumper in the league. The Thompson twins need to go from awful to at least possibly league average.
You and I have a higher chance of making the NBA than the Thompson twins do at becoming below average shooters let alone average tbh. Their shots are fundamentally broken and hopeless
Hey jkidd did , so keep hope alive
Yeah they do but AJ has more hope than most. He shot 46% from midrange and he’s a good FT shooter. I’m confident he’ll at least develop to be an average 3 point shooter but it’ll take time.
he shot 77% from free throws in college and has a nice middy. that sounds like the makings of a decent shooter to me. the thompson twins came into the league with much less promising shots
AJ is a much better shooter than the Thompson twins
The Thompsons are especially awful shooters and their mechanics look completely broken. AJ was a willing shooter at least with decent form and FT shooting, he’s unlikely to be an elite shooter but I think it’s pretty much guaranteed that someone with his work ethic will be an average floor spacer.
Thompson twins’ shot is broken from midrange as well.
And defense, and catch and shoot
his style of movement seems really interesting, it looks different from the usual straight line drives. he can bend and twist around defenders in an unusual way.. not sure how good his passing will be out of those drives but that ability sets him apart from most players coming downhill imo
Hear me out, sometimes he reminds of a 6’9” rookie Kobe, idk. That’s what I thought the last time I watched his highlights
Tracy McGrady
Yeah man!
Giving me Andrew Wiggins flashbacks
Honestly felt like it was Wiggins mentality and personalit. Aj is too cocky to end up being a role player imo
With Darryn Peterson’s health issues at Kansas, this was a no brainer for the Wizards.
According to Zach Lowe, teams don’t think there are any real health concerns. Maybe more character concerns than anything.
I think his floor is Brandon Ingram, and his ceiling might be KD.
T Mac should be his ceiling
I don’t think he’s the same kind of ball handler or playmaker T-Mac was tho.
AJ is a pretty good ball handler and playmaker though
I would be absolutely shocked if he turns into KD
Wasn’t KD a good shooter out of college though?
Elite shooter
Right, so I dont see Aj ceiling being KD at all lol
Lmao comparing to kd is absurd. Kd was an absolute silky shooting freak
Paul George is the comp I’d use for the ceiling
No way near KD LOOOL, this is a ayton typa pick where Peterson will be Shai and boozer will be Luka
I’m so scared you’re right
You shouldn’t be AJ will be a worthy 1 imo
Brockton’s own
ESPN saying “from Brockton, specifically Brockton he made sure not to say the Boston area”, really cool man 508
Never imagined a kid from my home city going #1 in the NBA Draft. We’ve all heard stories of Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler. AJ is them for this generation, I know he’ll do Brockton proud!
Everyone was on the edge of their seats for that pick!
DC stand up !
That felt like a congratulations. I’ll take it.
Real question, when was the last time we didn’t know who was going #1 until the pick was announced?
Risacher?
Or ‘22
2024 with Sarr refusing to workout for the Hawks
I think this guy can be good
Emphasis on which word?
Guy
Be?
Think
Could this guy be any more good???
Bold
I was like who anisa
She’s on love island
so young tre sarr davis aj starting 5 or does george get the starting nod
George is a much more logical starter than Johnson imo
George for sure. He’s a 2 way player and had flashes last year as a ball handler. Tre is a 6th man until he learns to play some d
George probably
AD george sarr and coulibaly are all elite defenders, not every player on the roster is going to be the next gary payton
AD and Sarr will be a phenomenal defensive pairing for at least 11 games next season, perhaps as many as 15.
Coulibaly for the D but doesn’t stretch the floor well
Might as well play kyshawn who does both well
Tre Johnson is not starting. Bilal is more likely than Tre, though it’s probably Kyshawn.
Wizards legend Anicet Dybantsa Junior
Teams drafting should be in the title, not everyone memorized the draft order.
You should avoid the no spoilers thread then
God please be good lmao
He will be
I thought they drafted some random dude 😭😭
I’m from the same city AJ is. Brockton Massachusetts. So cool to have someone from our city in the spotlight again. This on top of all the attention Cape Verde is getting because the World Cup (Brockton has a higher population of Cape Verdeans than any other town or City in the US). It’s weird to have Brockton in the spotlight for something good for once in my life.
As a kid everyone heard stories of Rocky Marciano, Marvin Hagler, and how we were “The Shoe City”. We were the spotlight of the boxing world for many years and the number one manufacturer of shoes in the entire world for a long time. Since then though we’ve been viewed as just a shit hole and one of the worst places in all of Massachusetts to live. Hopefully someone like AJ can help change that.
He’s already done a lot in the city, put money into building a park, talks about Brockton all the time, and even made sure he announced himself declaring for the draft at Davis Elementary School in Brockton which he attended. I wish him the best even if he’s on a team I’m not particularly a fan of lol.
He makes mass proud for sure.
Damn, thought he could drop to 20, maybe 35. Good pick Wizards
Future MVP
That’s really sweet that he wanted his full name announced at the podium to honor his dad wtf. Best of luck to Dybantsa in the league
Why’d I think they went completely off the board when they Said Anicet instead of AJ LOL
AJ is a Washington Wizard! Congrats on the first pick! It was kinda obvious.
The Utah Jazz are now top 5 in league pass rankings with Keyonte George and Darryn Peterson sharing the backcourt together
Key/DP/Lauri/JJJ/Kessler with Ace as a sixth man will be an insanely fun young team. Hopefully the Wizards meet them in the finals in a couple years.
This dude looked like a raw LeBron against Texas this year. So pumped
Siakam 2.0
When Silver said Anisay, I was like who da fuck is that, a flash of Anthony Bennett flew across my mind
Damn. I’m a lifelong BYU fan. I’ve been wanting another team to root for because, well, ya know. I’m from Utah. I would’ve bought an AJ Jazz jersey day one. Super happy for him though. Utes can’t hold that only number one pick over us any more
So we aren’t going to put team names in the titles? You expect us to memorize the draft order?
For real, what a low effort post.
Well, The Wizards bypassing Peterson means he’s gonna be a star.
Replaces Shawn Bradley (#2) as the highest BYU player drafted ever. I predict no one from BYU goes higher than him in the future.
Wow the wizards didn’t do something dumb!
First real city kid from the Boston area to make the league, I’m copping that jersey ASAP. He’s gonna be special foreal
THAT’s MY WIZARD!!
smh why didn’t they pick me
Learn how to dougie before game 1 and you’re a legend
Bro I thought they drafted some random I was like who tf is anisa
Man I remember when the draft hats were a big deal. These look cheap ass hell
Seems like a good kid from that interview with his sisters
With his propensity for foul baiting would’ve thought the thunder would’ve traded up for him.
No one watched the preshow where they explained the bit about his name
AJ, Trae, AD
interesting to see how it pans out
Get ready to learn…*checks notes*…you’re a Wizard, ‘Arry?