The No. 1 prospect in highschool basketball is off the board — and he’ll BYU.
A.J. Dybantsa, who can also be the overwhelming favourite to be the No. 1 decide within the 2026 NBA draft, chose the Cougars over Alabama, North Carolina and Kansas. Despite Dybantsa’s top-ranked standing and the powerhouse packages going towards BYU, there was comparatively little drama surrounding his recruitment for the previous few months. The Cougars emerged because the favorites in the course of the summer season and held off late pushes from the competitors to land Dybantsa’s dedication.
He turns into the primary five-star prospect to decide to BYU because the ESPN recruiting database started in 2007, and his pledge vaults the Cougars into the highest 10 of the 2025 recruiting class rankings.
How did the highest participant within the nation find yourself in Provo, Utah? And what makes him so intriguing for NBA entrance places of work?
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Paul Biancardi and Jonathan Givony break down Dybantsa’s recreation, his influence on the subsequent degree and what his dedication means for the colleges concerned.
Why BYU?
Dybantsa was a precedence goal for BYU coach Kevin Young and his employees nearly instantly after Young was employed within the spring. Young met with Dybantsa’s dad and mom a few weeks after taking up the job, then welcomed Dybantsa on a go to in early June. Young’s expertise on NBA staffs was interesting to Dybantsa, as was his work with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
It would even be naive to low cost the function identify, picture and likeness performed in securing Dybantsa’s dedication. He would have earned a number of hundreds of thousands at any of his finalists, however BYU’s pockets are as deep as anybody’s — and Young did not disguise it in April when he received the job, saying “There’s not going to be loads of issues that maintain us again right here. … I have never heard ‘no’ an entire lot.”
But Dybantsa would not make BYU a nationwide championship contender by himself — Young and his employees now need to exit and encompass Dybantsa with sufficient expertise to make sure his one 12 months in Provo is not a waste. The Cougars will lose 4 seniors from this 12 months’s crew, and they’re going to additionally possible bid farewell to projected lottery decide Egor Demin and doubtlessly first-round decide Kanon Catchings.
Top-50 recruit Xavion Staton is a begin. He ought to make a right away influence on the defensive finish and supply inside depth. Starters Richie Saunders, Dallin Hall and Keba Keita are all slated to be again, too. Beyond that, BYU should go massive within the spring, whether or not that is within the switch portal, internationally or with obtainable highschool prospects. It’s promising that Young and his employees have been in a position to land Demin and Catchings in May and June, respectively, final offseason. — Borzello
BREAKING: A.J. Dybantsa, the No. 1 prospect in highschool basketball, has introduced his dedication to BYU on @FirstTake. Dybantsa turns into the Cougars’ first five-star recruit within the trendy recruiting period. He selected Kevin Young and BYU over Alabama, North Carolina and Kansas. pic.twitter.com/Ku2uoyidlD
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) December 10, 2024
How does Dybantsa match into BYU’s system?
Dybantsa’s versatility meshes completely with Young’s NBA-oriented scheme. The Cougars run a five-out offense that ought to result in loads of seems on the rim and from past the arc, the place Dybantsa has gotten higher this season. Young coached Kevin Durant and Devin Booker as an assistant with the Phoenix Suns, so he understands learn how to incorporate middle-game elite — consider Dybantsa has lived with nice success within the midrange — with BYU’s fast hitters and half court docket actions. Dybantsa is a terror main the break within the open court docket and in two-man video games within the half court docket. At 6-foot-9 with nice verticality and vitality, count on him to be a a number of place change defender and to make some highlight-reel defensive efforts.
Young can encompass Dybantsa with the fitting items for fulfillment: Big man Keba Keita can be returning and can free Dybantsa up with laborious screens each on and off the ball. Junior Dallin Hall would be the major level guard and assist-maker, and 3-point shooter Richie Saunders (39.5%) can even be again. Fellow commits Xavion Staton, an ESPN 100 recruit who is among the greatest shot blockers within the nation, and four-star prospect Chamberlin Burgess will assist tie issues collectively. — Biancardi
What makes Dybantsa the favourite to be the No. 1 decide within the 2026 NBA draft?
Every NBA crew is searching for a wing in Dybantsa’s mildew: a 6-9, long-armed major shot creator who scores relentlessly out of isos, pick-and-rolls and transition; could make high-level playmaking reads; and brings nonstop depth defensively.
He has very good footwork, physique management and tempo working out of triple menace, altering speeds skillfully with lengthy strides probing one-on-one, ending creatively within the lane, typically looking for out contact and drawing fouls in bunches in every single place he has performed.
The NBA extremely covets his archetype, and he is the favourite to go No. 1 proper now for that cause. That stated, it is not at all a finished deal, and he may have important competitors from the likes of Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer for that spot. He’ll have to earn that mantle with a productive season at BYU. — Givony
What does the NBA wish to see from him in school?
Winning can be an important begin — exhibiting he will be the point of interest of a BYU crew that goes deep into the NCAA event. Finding some consistency together with his perimeter taking pictures, shot choice and decision-making would go a great distance, as effectively.
His starvation for scoring and bully-ball model (not at all times extremely aesthetically pleasing) has hampered his effectivity previously. It can be attention-grabbing to see which model we get of him in school: the ball-stopping, generally wild decision-maker who has been very streaky from past the arc traditionally (30%), or the extra below management, extremely team-oriented participant we noticed with USA Basketball. That model of Dybantsa was typically unstoppable on the FIBA U17 World Cup this previous summer season.
He’s going to get coached up at BYU, whereas being given an extended leash to discover the depths of his expertise, and I count on him to have a incredible season and make appreciable strides on each ends of the ground throughout the construction he’ll be requested to play in. — Givony
What’s subsequent for the groups that missed out on Dybantsa?
There was a quick stretch over the weekend when it appeared like a college in addition to BYU — which had been thought of the favourite because the summer season — would possibly get Dybantsa, with the Alabama Crimson Tide producing loads of late buzz and North Carolina Tar Heels hanging round. But each groups fell quick, so the place do they flip subsequent?
Alabama loses no less than 5 seniors — together with three starters — and freshman Derrion Reid might additionally take a look at the NBA draft waters. The Crimson Tide have already got top-25 recruit Davion Hannah within the fold, and their greatest targets left are five-star guards Mikel Brown Jr. and Brayden Burries.
Depending how the remainder of its season goes, North Carolina might have loads of transferring elements on the finish of the marketing campaign. But the Tar Heels have one massive fish left on their goal board: elite ahead Caleb Wilson. A call may not be too distant, they usually’re proper there on the high of his checklist.
The Kansas Jayhawks by no means appeared to have a lot of a shot with Dybantsa down the stretch, and the Jayhawks have already got No. 2 total recruit Darryn Peterson signed for 2025. A.J. Storr and Rylan Griffen are additionally projected to return on the wings, which implies Self might be well-stocked on the perimeter earlier than the portal opens. — Borzello
