Top recruit A.J. Dybantsa, projected to be a top pick in the 2026 NBA draft, has committed to BYU for the 2025/26 season, he announced on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday (YouTube link). Sources tell Sam Lance and Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com that Dybantsa’s NIL figure was close to $7MM.
While Dybantsa is still at least a year-and-a-half from being drafted, there’s plenty of excitement among scouts and evaluators about how his game will translate to the NBA. He has been considered the frontrunner to be the No. 1 pick in 2026 since he reclassified last fall to the 2025 recruiting class.
“Let’s put it this way,” ESPN’s Jay Bilas told Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter on Tuesday (link via Zagoria at NJ.com). “If Dybantsa was in this (2025) draft class, along with Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper and all the outstanding players — this is a great draft class — he may very well be No. 1.”
With Dybantsa not eligible to be drafted for another year, Flagg, Harper, and Bailey – in that order – continue to hold the top three prospects on ESPN’s newest big board for the 2025 draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Insider link). In his latest rankings update, Givony has moved BYU’s Egor Demin up to No. 7 (from No. 11), Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis to No. 8 (from No. 15), and Illinois’ Will Riley to No. 12 (from No. 22).
We have a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world to pass along:
- NBC, which will begin broadcasting NBA games during the 2025/26 season, has reached a deal to hire Jamal Crawford as an analyst, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, who says the three-time Sixth Man of the Year is expected to call games for the network. Crawford, who has worked with TNT Sports, NBA TV, and MSG Network, isn’t the only former NBA guard drawing NBC’s attention — Marchand says the company also has interest in lead TNT analyst Reggie Miller and that talks with Miller are ongoing.
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo will turn 33 in July and is recovering from an Achilles tear, but he has no plans to call it a career, according to Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who spoke to the former Buck about his recovery and comeback efforts. “I didn’t miss a beat when it came to my rehab. I’ve been working almost every day, six out of seven days,” Antetokounmpo said. “That’s why I’m in this condition that I am now. Guys see me out there like, ‘Hey man, you look great.’ I was like, thank you, I’ve been working my butt off, I’m not gonna lie. I’m just proud.”
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) breaks down which players are currently trade-eligible and which players will join that list in the coming days and weeks, providing an in-depth summary of the trade restrictions affecting players around the league. Most offseason signees will become trade-eligible on December 15, though others will remain ineligible to be dealt until January 15 or other dates.
As a Bulls fan with very little hope in tanking, I saw Derik Queen play on Sunday at Purdue. He’s projected around 8-12 range which I think is where we will pick in June. I liked what I saw in terms of pick and pop, his activity on defense and finally making 3 pointers. I think he can be coached up really well at the next level.
Also I have Dybantsa going to Utah next year. Utah has never had the 1st overall pick and he’s going to BYU next fall. It wouldn’t be the first time a team would be rewarded the 1st overall pick at for his hometown team.
Dybantsa is from Mass. so the C’s would be his hometown team. I love Queen too tho. He’d be a really nice pickup for Chicago, they can def use a talented young big.
Depends on what you mean “hometown”, considering he’s in Hurricane Utah at the moment?
FWIW it’s collegiate team that I was attempting to say.
Harper is going to be the best player in the next draft. He looks incredible.
I agree. Everything I have seen and read shows me that he is the next great guard in the NBA. I wonder what his ceiling will be.
Please no more Reggie Miller. I hate hearing him call games.
For real. He manages to talk more than the play-by-play person yet offers less actual insights than most analysts.
AJ Dybantsa is the whole entire package as a basketball player. He has about 70-80% of the athleticism that Bron had at the same age. Other than that he’s extremely similar to Bron & he’s prob longer/taller than Bron. I’d def take him over Flagg, Ace, VJ or any of the guys coming out this season. That being said, it’s just so obvious that AJ’s eventually gonna be one of the most hated basketball players of all time. He’s dark skinned, he’s not the overly humble type, he’s extremely talented. That combo rubs a lot of people the wrong way but AJ can handle it.
Love how we’re already moving past Flagg as the top prospect. This isn’t even the offseason. Are people so impatient? What a world. Makes me sick.