The NBA has long awaited the debut of No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa, dating back to days spent dominating preps and college basketball. Following a preseason injury, there’s a chance fans will have to wait just a bit longer.
In the Wizards’ final preseason game, Dybantsa shot a left-fading jumper with his right hand and landed awkwardly. He would eventually walk back to the team’s locker-room, with plenty of questions thrown around following the game as to the severity of the injury.
At practice on Sunday, Wizards’ head coach Brian Keefe said that Dybantsa will be considered “day-to-day,” a big win for Washington. When asked by The Athletic’s Josh Robbins if Dybantsa would be playing the team’s opener, Keefe wouldn’t commit.
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) October 18, 2026That's a very fair, logical question!
I posed a follow-up to Brian Keefe that went exactly like this. I said, "I heard you when you said AJ is 'day-to-day.' Do you know if he'll play on Wednesday?"
"We're just going one day at a time," Keefe answered. https://t.co/vzXFHCULKQ
Delaying Dybantsa’s official start in the NBA by one or a couple games won’t be earth-shattering, though fans certainly want to see him suited up against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.
Washington enters the season as one of the biggest wildcards in the league. They have a freshly-inked and hyper-talented No. 1 pick, added big-name stars in Trae Young and Anthony Davis for the foreseeable future, and still have a bevy up up-and-coming young talents to pour into. The Wizards have finished near the bottom of the league for several seasons in a row, but could make waves this season, even in a competitive Eastern Conference.
Dybantsa will be crucial to that potential success on both ends. Scoring-wise, he hasn’t been as potent as he was for the BYU Cougars through preseason, but still has great command of the ball for a wing. He can score at all three levels, has elite measurable, and only stands to improve as he gets more opportunities.
Luckily for Washington, Dybantsa has already looked a better defensive prospect than he did with the Cougars. He’s used his 6-foot-10 frame and unique movement skills to clog lanes, racking up far more steals per game than he did through college.
“I always knew I had defensive potential,” Dybantsa said at a practice following his first preseason outing. “It was just me being lazy in college — I’m definitely capable of [defending] at the highest level.”
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