Ella Adams, State House News ServiceJune 30, 2026
Standing at 6 feet 9 inches, Brockton native AJ Dybantsa towered over Gov. Maura Healey when the two stood to snap photos Monday.
The 19-year-old No. 1 pick of the 2026 NBA Draft and new Washington Wizards forward said there’s been “a lot of love” from his hometown since being drafted June 23 — a place he’s also focused on giving back to via the AJ Dybantsa Foundation.
Through the nonprofit, Dybantsa told Healey, he’ll be sending kids from Brockton and from his parents’ hometowns onto further education and universities. Dybantsa’s father is from the Republic of Congo and his mother is from Jamaica.
Dybantsa played one season at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah before being drafted into the NBA.
“After my mom wanted me to go back to school and graduate, I told her I’m not going to finish school at — like, I was going to go to the NBA, but I would finish, you know, online,” Dybantsa said. “So, in like three-to-four years, I end up graduating and go back to BYU and walk the stage. But it’s just kind of like, if she wants me to go back so bad, there’s probably a lot of people that are less fortunate to even afford for college.”
Dybantsa has also facilitated back-to-school drives, gear giveaways, academic development and math literacy programming, care package distribution following the hurricane devastation in Jamaica and community events for youth across the state, Healey said while sitting with him in her ceremonial State House office.
Dybantsa will wear No. 4 for the Wizards, who picked first in the draft this year for the first time since 2010, according to the Associated Press. The outlet reported last week that Dybantsa said he wants “to be a piece of the puzzle that is part of the rebuild” for the team.
“I’m psyched to see what AJ is going to do, you know, taking it to the next level. I also think that having AJ out there is going to be an inspiration to so many other kids in the area,” Healey told reporters. “I think these kinds of things inspire our young people, and I think it’s going to continue to feed, you know, the quality and the level of players coming out of Massachusetts.”
Gov. Maura Healey (center) stands between No. 1 NBA 2026 draft pick AJ Dybantsa (right) and his father, Ace Dybantsa (left), in her State House office on June 29, 2026.(Ella Adams / SHNS)
Dybantsa is the first Massachusetts native to be draft first overall in the NBA since Cambridge Rindge and Latin’s Patrick Ewing in 1985.
Healey, who played college basketball at Harvard and professionally in Europe, is a widely-known basketball fan. She gave Dybantsa a citation in recognition of his “dedication to youth empowerment and your community.”
Dybantsa gifted her a signed jersey. “Since you’re now a Wizards fan,” he joked.
“We’ve got an incredible basketball history with the Boston Celtics, the most storied franchise in NBA history. To me, it’s just like seeing AJ drafted number one — it just, you know, helps once again put Boston back on the map, you know, in terms of who we are,” Healey said when asked what it means to her to see “this culmination of Boston basketball” in the No. 1 pick.
“I think of the contributions — you go back through time. You know, I talk a lot about Bob Cousy. I talk a lot about Bill Russell. I mean, these are players who, in their positions, changed the game, changed the way the game was played,” Healey said. “We’ve continued to have winning teams here in Boston. I think there’s a great culture around basketball. It’s certainly one that I grew up with.”
“And, we still need a W team,” Healey added as reporters dispersed. Despite a chorus of support for bringing women’s basketball to Boston last year via a relocation of the Connecticut Sun, the team announced in March it would move to Houston in 2027. Healey said in April she’s “not giving up” on the cause.