New Man on Campus: AJ Dybantsa

AJ Dybantsa has long been a top name for the 2026 NBA Draft, but the BYU freshman's game could be different than what we expected.

Regardless of how in the weeds with recruiting you are, there are always some high school prospects that you’ve at least heard of before they make the next leap. Their combination of production, accolades, talent, and physical tools makes them celebrities before they have a high school diploma. One of the top names who fits that billing is BYU’s new man on campus: AJ Dybantsa. Dybantsa has been one of the most lauded amateur prospects for a few years, but his game is still far from perfect. Despite any shortages or plateaus in his game, Dybantsa still has some of the most upside and intriguing skillsets in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Dybantsa’s high school career has been a rather decorated one. He spent his junior year at Prolific Prep and his senior year at Utah Prep. He has participated in myriad showcase events like FIBA for Team USA, Nike Hoop Summit, McDonald’s All-American game, and others. The 6’9”, 200-210 pound forward has a fascinating game that any college (and potential NBA) fandom should be drooling over.

So much of Dybantsa’s game reeks of intoxicating NBA upside. He’s clearly one of the top prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft, so I fully acknowledge that there is a lot of nitpicking going on here, but I can’t help being underwhelmed by where he was as a player just a year ago. When Dybantsa was at Nike Hoop Summit as a junior (same year as Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, etc.), he was one of the most impressive players there. He didn’t look out of place, was charismatic, tough, dynamic, and at times dominant. This year, he looked like a different player.

Dybantsa still put up monster numbers at times and continued to prove his dominance, but it felt like something was missing. It felt like his game stagnated, like he didn’t really care about being out there, like he was content with where his game was at. That spark and infectious competitiveness weren’t always there. Hopefully, that’s just a symptom of his context. Dybantsa committed to BYU in early December. It’d be understandable if a bit of senioritis infected Dybantsa’s game after establishing his next destination, especially given some of the rumored NIL money he’s getting, but that doesn’t mean the complacency wasn’t disappointing.

While guys like Darryn Peterson and Cam Boozer were continuing to grow, dominate, and win, Dybantsa seemed more focused on just getting through the year. I get it, but don’t love it. What’s oddly reassuring is that Dybantsa’s senior year reminded me a lot of Paolo Banchero’s. Banchero spent a lot of his senior year putting up dominant numbers but also going through the motions and experimenting with different things. Dybantsa did a lot of the same. Despite some of the coasting in high school, Dybantsa also flipped a switch during FIBA this summer.

The more I watch Dybantsa, the more unsure I am of who he is as a player. Initially, I saw Dybantsa as an offensive hub who could get whatever shot he wanted whenever he wanted while also being able to occasionally create for others. The more I watched, though, the more I became skeptical of the shooting, efficiency, and decision-making. There’s no doubt that the offense is exciting, especially when things are clicking, but there are some real holes in it as well. What got me incredibly excited and made me rethink Dybantsa as a player, though, is his defense.

Like all high schoolers, there are some rough defensive lapses. However, most of the time, and especially when he wants to be, Dybantsa is the best defender on the court. His size gives him a tremendous starting point, but I saw a tangible and meaningful improvement this year with his fundamentals and desire to defend. Dybantsa is fine as a defensive playmaker, but he probably won’t have outlandish block and steal numbers. Where he really thrives, though, is by shutting down opposing wings in space.

Dybantsa does a great job of sliding his feet and flipping his hips while sitting in a low defensive stance. This consistently puts him in position to shut down drives, defend with his chest, and make life really difficult for ball-handlers. I never thought Dybantsa was a bad defender, but his growth on that end of the floor has me rethinking where his ultimate impact could come from. Even in games where his shot betrayed him, he would still singlehandedly shut down a possession, force a bad shot, and then react like he just put someone on a poster.

Dybantsa still needs to improve his off-ball defensive consistency and screen navigation, but that’s not uncommon at his age or size. There’s a long way to go and a lot of ball left to be played, but if he continues to truly commit to that end of the floor, it wouldn’t shock me if Dybantsa is one of the best defenders in this class.

As excited as I am about his defense, I am equally skeptical about his shooting. Regardless of the competition level, Dybantsa has never had outstanding shooting numbers. His most encouraging figures came in his junior season with Prolific Prep, as we can see below per Synergy. The FIBA numbers are very small sample sizes, so take them with a grain of salt, but it is concerning that the most encouraging shooting display from Dybantsa was still sub-40% two seasons ago.

Thankfully, the bones of Dybantsa’s jumper look workable. He gets solid elevation and has a high release point. However, the timing of his release is consistently different (often on the way down), his release isn’t always the same (sometimes fluid, other times more of a catapult launch), and he tends to shoot a flat ball. There’s always work to be done, but it would be surprising if Dybantsa makes the necessary adjustments in time for this season.

While Dybantsa’s mechanics need work, it’s also crucial to provide context. Dybantsa has consistently been THE guy, so his shot selection isn’t the same as everyone else’s. He doesn’t get to just stand in the corner and launch wide-open threes. Instead, he’s typically facing aggressive gap coverage, double teams, being put in motion, and having to create a lot for himself. While the raw percentages are concerning, his volume, versatility, and level of difficulty are highly encouraging for what his jumper could look like in a few years if he became more consistent with his mechanics.

Where Dybantsa thrives as a scorer, though, is in the midrange and getting downhill. The vast majority of Dybantsa’s two-point scoring arsenal is fascinating, but I have to get a quick gripe out of the way. This season, Dybantsa was WAY too focused on foul hunting and complaining to the refs. To his credit, Dybantsa shot a ridiculous 7.95 free throws and drew 6.8 fouls per game across his 40 games in Synergy. For comparison, Boozer was at 6.4 and 5, respectively, across his 26 games. Foul drawing is a skill, and Dybantsa will likely continue to live at the line. However, that doesn’t mean that I have to love it, especially in high school.

My bigger concern is how easily teams were able to take him out of his game and lure him into foul-baiting practices with bad shot selection. Situations like the one below were pretty common throughout his high school film. He doesn’t create any space, settles for a bad shot, and tries to draw a foul with high school refs who are about as predictable as a squirrel crossing the street. When those calls come, Dybantsa’s scoring skyrockets, but when they don’t, the numbers can get a bit ugly.

Please forgive my old-man-yells-at-clouds moment because the difficulty, versatility, and craft with Dybantsa’s two-point scoring is awesome. It’s the type of craft that we tend to see from All-Stars. Dybantsa doesn’t have a great first step, nor does he tend to create a ton of space. His inconsistency in terms of being able to separate may be an issue down the road, but I’d be surprised if it was. At his size, Dybantsa doesn’t have to create a ton of space. He does such a good job of leveraging his size that it doesn’t really matter. He's very comfortable in crowds, has a great understanding of angles, and has sublime footwork that ensures he’s almost always balanced. All of that, combined with his comfort with physicality, makes him a deadly midrange scorer; he ranked in the 87th percentile in isolation scoring and the 96th percentile on post-ups.

That same sense of composure and physicality also makes Dybantsa a monster getting downhill, as he ranked in the 93rd percentile scoring at the rim. He has the footwork and composure to navigate crowds, along with the size and power to overwhelm smaller defenders. If or when the shot improves, his interior scoring is only going to get more dominant.

The offensive skillset that I’m most excited to see unlocked, though, is his playmaking. On the surface, Dybantsa’s playmaking numbers aren’t crazy, with 3.6 assists per game and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.19—not bad numbers by any means, but they also don’t properly reflect how good of a passer I think Dybantsa could become.

In this clip, I love the process. It ends up in a turnover, but you can see Dybantsa analyzing the situation and having the right mindset. As he gets the entry pass, he is immediately shown a second defender against a zone. Instead of forcing it, he keeps his dribble alive and is reading the weak side. His teammate makes a good cut, but Dybantsa puts the ball in the wrong spot as he left it too close to the defender, who was able to poke it away.

There are two alternatives here. First, Dybantsa needed to put it more on the back shoulder where the defender couldn’t deflect it. There still would’ve been a lot for his teammate to do, but he would’ve been in better position. Second, Dybantsa needed to be a little more patient and instead make a skip pass once the defender collapsed on the cut. The shot clock was starting to wind down, but waiting for that extra second would’ve set up a likely wide-open three on the weak side. Regardless, I like the intention and process here overall, and I think it should only improve with more experience.

That’s also just one clip. As we can see below, Dybantsa generated a ton of scoring gravity this year that frequently put him in position to set up teammates. Some of the passing accuracy needs work, but his assist numbers also don’t properly reflect some of the reads he was making all year. Despite collapsing the defense and being in a crowd regularly, Dybantsa still played with his head up and was willing to find open teammates. If defenses continue to collapse on him like this, his assist numbers should continue to rise as his teammates improve. If defenses don’t, then his interior scoring numbers will rise. It’s a very fun dilemma for him to face.

AJ Dybantsa still has a lot of work to do, and it’s easy to get really concerned about his shooting numbers. I have similar concerns, but that’s also only one aspect of his versatile skillset. Over the last year, the way Dybantsa’s defense has improved has me rethinking him as a player. Instead of a volume scoring offensive hub, I think we may need to think of him more as a defensive stopper who is still scratching the surface on offense. He has all the tools, and also seems to have the mindset to be a dominant wing defender. He’s already one of the top prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft, and the shot has to improve. If he continues to commit to defense while also incorporating his playmaking and dynamic two-point scoring arsenal, though, his game is going to be tremendously fun.