AJ Dybantsa Reveals Which NBA Player He's Most Excited to Play Against

After a standout college basketball season with the Brigham Young Cougars, top prospect AJ Dybantsa declared for the NBA Draft, where many believe he’ll become the first pick.

That would mean he’ll suit up for the Washington Wizards, a team that hasn’t had much success over a significant stretch of time in terms of winning a season or reaching the playoffs.

However, many feel that Dybantsa has all of the talent and tools to become a superstar in the league and bring this lowly Wizards squad to another level.

He’s still young and will face some tough competition in the league, including one NBA player he said he’s most excited to go up against on the hardwood.

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“Easy answer, [Kevin Durant]. him being my favorite player. I just want to guard him and be on the same court as him,” Dybantsa shared. “Hopefully, LeBron [James] is still playing. Never know with that.”

However, Dybantsa also called himself a student of the game and said he wants to see how the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic get their shots off in games.

“I just want to see from a defensive standpoint how it feels, because they’re making it look way too easy,” he said on “The Gilbert Arenas Show.”

Dybantsa said he watched Luka easily achieve a 40-point triple-double when he went to see him play live against the Utah Jazz. The former BYU freshman indicated he used to watch the NBA as a fan, but now he watches it more to study how players do certain things on the court.

That sort of mentality shows Dybantsa’s dedication to becoming the best player he can by learning what he might need to do defensively if he’s guarding them in games. There are already high expectations for him before he sets foot on an NBA court, but he seems to be preparing himself already.

If the Wizards are the team he ends up with, he’ll potentially get his first chance to see Durant up close and personal twice next season. The same would be true for SGA and Luka, as Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams generally meet in two games, with one on each team’s home court.

Meanwhile, it remains uncertain whether LeBron will return to the Lakers next season, retire, or join a new NBA team. After multiple seasons in Los Angeles, he’s officially an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

As of this writing, the NBA schedule reveal is also still weeks away. Meanwhile, the NBA Draft arrives on Tuesday, June 23, with Dybantsa’s name likely to be the first one called by Adam Silver.

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 8:34 PM.