Jason Burgos
The potential franchise savior for the Sacramento Kings, Brooklyn Nets, or Washington Wizards is far from a lock to be available in June’s NBA Draft.
One of the biggest stories in the NBA after last month’s trade deadline was several teams doing little to hide the fact that they are all in on tanking to get one of the top three picks in the draft. While tanking is nothing new and the NBA lottery was created to try to curb the strategy, this year is different because the 2026 class of prospects is absolutely stacked.
Youngsters like Cam Boozer, Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings, Darryn Peterson, and AJ Dybantsa have NBA executives step over each other to lose their way into landing one of them early in Round 1. Most basketball pundits expect all five stars in the NCAA Tournament to enter this year’s event. However, these are different times in college sports.
In the era of name, image, and likeness deals, college stars make shocking sums compared to the days of playing for a scholarship alone. Dybantsa is one of those players. According to various reports before the season, the freshman is allegedly making anywhere from $5 to $7 million from his NIL commitments at BYU.
AJ Dybantsa’s mom will decide if he enters NBA Draft
To be a king on a major college campus for another year is a draw that wasn’t there several years ago. So, star players jumping into the NBA Draft after their freshman year is no longer a guarantee. However, following the Cougars’ Round of 64 loss to Texas on Thursday, Dybantsa offered up a surprising response when asked about his timeline for deciding on the draft.
“My mom, mostly,” he said about who would really make the decision. “She’s kind of the big boss. Just talk to her and see what she says.”
- AJ Dybantsa stats: 25.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.1 SPG
That certainly throws an unpredictable element into the equation for teams like the Nets, Kings, and Wizards, who are surely taking a hard look at using their top pick in June on the forward. Dybantsa claimed he will make his decision “in the next couple of weeks” and first wants to discuss things with his family.
If Dybantsa chose to stay at BYU, that would be an elite prospect off the board for the Nets, Kings, and Wizards, who have a great chance of getting a top-three pick in June. AJ Dybantsa led the nation in scoring (25.3 points per game), has impressive athleticism, and scoring versatility at 6-foot-9.
