BYU's AJ Dybantsa declares for NBA Draft/announces he's returning for sophomore season

Here’s what O’Connor wrote about Dybantsa in his Wednesday mock draft. The Bulls are one of any number of teams who could get the number one overall pick. But no matter who ends up with the top selection, Dybantsa is going to be heavily considered.

Artūras Karnišovas and Marc Eversley got fired. And Billy Donovan decided to decline his option as head coach. But what really changes? The team felt no different under them than it did with Gar Forman and John Paxson leading the front office. The common denominator: The Reinsdorf family is still in charge. But maybe all they really need is some lottery luck to escape the middle. If the Bulls are lucky enough to move up from the ninth-best odds, it’d be hard to imagine them taking anyone but Dybantsa, who led the nation in scoring as a freshman by averaging 25.5 points for a top-25 team.

At 6-foot-9, players his size are not supposed to move with the herky-jerky elasticity that Dybantsa does. He can dunk over defenders. He can stop on a dime and fade away from midrange. And he can catch fire from behind the line too. BYU head coach Kevin Young said Dybantsa’s scoring talent is “in rare air with some of the greats.” Over the course of his freshman year, he began to make dramatic progress as a passer, too, as shown with his cross-court, pinpoint passes to find shooters. But with the Bulls, there’d be less of a need for his playmaking with point guard Josh Giddey on the roster. Matas Buzelis can handle the ball too. And all of them are tall. The three of them would have the upside to become an unstoppable trio given their blend of size and skill.

Before reclassifying up a year to play at BYU, Dybantsa was one of the most highly touted high school basketball players. He played for Utah Prep, Prolific Prep and Saint Sebastian’s during his high school career. He was the No. 1 recruit in the country in 2025 ahead of Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and Duke’s Cameron Boozer.

Both Peterson and Boozer have not made their draft decisions but are widely expected to also declare for the 2026 Draft and be likely top-three picks.