AJ Dybantsa is already drawing major respect before he’s even played a regular-season game.
ESPN slotted the Washington Wizards rookie and BYU product at No. 78 in the first half of its top 100 NBA players list, which came out Tuesday morning. That makes Dybantsa the highest-ranked rookie on the board so far.
“Dybantsa, the Wizards’ first No. 1 pick since John Wall in 2010, led the nation in scoring, averaging 25.5 points as a BYU freshman,” wrote ESPN’s Ben Golliver.
ESPN also highlighted how Dybantsa fits into a Washington roster that already includes recent first-round picks and veteran stars Anthony Davis and Trae Young. “A dynamic forward who excels at drawing contact, Dybantsa joins a Washington roster that includes a mix of recent first-round picks plus established veteran stars, Anthony Davis and Trae Young.
Where Dybantsa falls in the Wizards’ pecking order will shape his Rookie of the Year candidacy and the franchise’s hopes of snapping a five-year streak of finishing in the lottery. ”
The projection that followed was strong for a first-year player: ESPN expects Dybantsa to put up 20.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this season. At BYU, he averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per night.
Among rookies, Dybantsa came out on top. ESPN ranked Darryn Peterson at No.
83, Cameron Boozer at No. 85 and Caleb Wilson at No. 97.
No other Wizards appeared in the Nos. 51-100 range, though Young and Davis are expected to show up in ESPN’s still-unreleased top 50.
Dybantsa is set to make his NBA regular-season debut on Oct. 21, when Washington opens at home against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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Martin needed barely more than two quarters to leave his mark, carrying 15 times for 176 yards and three touchdowns. For a BYU team looking for a dependable backfield difference-maker, that kind of burst matters, and it also hints at how much more dangerous the Cougars can be when he gets rolling early. [Read more 🡒]