{"id":761225,"date":"2026-06-26T09:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/761225\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T09:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:02:10","slug":"aj-dybantsa-impresses-at-wizards-introductory-press-conference-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/761225\/","title":{"rendered":"AJ Dybantsa impresses at Wizards introductory press conference \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Upon arriving in Washington as the top NBA draft\u2019s top selection, only one question remained for AJ Dybantsa:<\/p>\n

What number would he wear for the Wizards?<\/p>\n

Dybantsa rocked No. 3 during his lone campaign at BYU and in high school, but Wizards point guard Trae Young already owns the number. While Dybantsa had joked on pre-draft podcasts that he planned on taking it from Young, he\u2019s since laughed off those comments and said he\u2019d find something fresh for the NBA.<\/p>\n

As the Wizards officially introduced Dybantsa to fans and media Thursday in Washington, he took the opportunity to introduce his new number \u2014 4.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust new beginnings with me coming to D.C., I just wanted to grab a new number,\u201d Dybantsa told reporters Thursday. \u201cI was previously No. 3, and I was the No. 1 pick, so I added those up and got four.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have been a number of notable No. 4s in Washington over the years, such as Chris Webber, Moses Malone, Antawn Jamison and Russell Westbrook, but none have come with the expectations Dybantsa is set to face as the franchise\u2019s new face and centerpiece.<\/p>\n

But Dybantsa isn\u2019t letting the magnitude of such stakes frighten him, instead choosing to look at his demanding Wizards role with the most grounded of perspectives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just got to be myself. When you (are) yourself, it just comes easy to you,\u201d Dybantsa said. \u201cJust play the right way, play to win, and everything should just come and fall in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps the only man who can relate to Dybantsa\u2019s current road ahead is John Wall, the Wizards\u2019 last No. 1 pick back in 2010 who ultimately made five All-Star teams as Washington\u2019s most successful player this century.<\/p>\n

Aside from both being top draft choices, Wall and Dybantsa will forever be linked due to Wall serving as the Wizards\u2019 lottery representative in May when they won the right to pick first in this year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n

Dybantsa said he\u2019s known Wall for several years now, but that \u201cOptimus Dime\u201d has already dished out some solid advice regarding playing in D.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was there yesterday at the (WNBA) Mystics game and I spoke to (Wall),\u201d Dybantsa said. \u201c(He said to) really tap into the community, which I was planning on doing. (He said) \u2018They love you here. They already love you.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, I\u2019ve already seen the videos they got from the (draft party showing fans) screaming and hollering, but (Wall) told me to tap into the community, which I was already planning on doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"AJ Dybantsa, the Washington Wizards’ top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, arrives at the District Debut Fan Fest in Washington, Thursday, June 25, 2026. | Tyler M. Andrews\/The Washington Post via AP <\/p>\n

In addition to the \u201cDMV\u201d community, Dybantsa looks forward to connecting with his new Wizards teammates and mapping out exactly how they want to mesh together on the court going forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely want to get in line with some of the guys and just pick their brains, see what the NBA is like, see what the chemistry is going to look like, where guys want the ball, where guys want lobs at, where guys want shots at,\u201d Dybantsa told the \u2018B-Mitch and Finlay\u2019 radio show on 106.7 The Fan. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get it going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dybantsa also shed some new light on the ending of his BYU career, when the Cougars were upset by Texas in the NCAA Tournament\u2019s Round of 64 despite Dybantsa\u2019s 35 points and 10 rebounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast time I was humbled on the basketball court was my last game (at BYU),\u201d Dybantsa said. \u201cI lost my last game. We played against Texas. We were the higher seed. We came into the game, we wanted to win that game, and (Texas) pulled up the upset. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo I was kind of humbled, just like, you can\u2019t take everything for granted. You\u2019ve got to play super hard. What I learned from it is just watch a lot of film, what I needed to do better, what leadership skills I should have added in that game, you know, try to get my guys to play harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

There will surely be more humbling in store for Dybantsa as he adjusts to the NBA grind, and especially as he attempts to help lift the Wizards from their NBA-leading 65 losses last year to greater respectability, let alone a championship contention.<\/p>\n

And to no one\u2019s surprise, Dybantsa has no interest in shying away from the opportunity to be Washington\u2019s answer to bury decades of misfortune and futility<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to embrace the challenge my whole life. Nothing comes easy and I want to be a piece of the puzzle that is part of the rebuild,\u201d Dybantsa said. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, Wizards fans have been waiting for a long time. We\u2019re trying to make the playoffs, but like (general manager Will Dawkins) said, we don\u2019t just want to make the playoffs, we want to go far in the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"AJ Dybantsa, the Washington Wizards’ top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, center, receives his ‘number four’ jersey from Will Dawkins, General Manager of the Wizards, right, at a news conference at InterContinental the Wharf, in Washington, Thursday, June 25, 2026. | Tyler M. Andrews\/The Washington Post via AP <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Upon arriving in Washington as the top NBA draft\u2019s top selection, only one question remained for AJ Dybantsa:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":761226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,5872,85],"class_list":["post-761225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-news-feed-local","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=761225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/761226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=761225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=761225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=761225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}