BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa has officially declared for the 2026 NBA Draft. Many consider him the projected No. 1 prospect heading into the lottery. After 35 games averaging 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, the 6-foot-9 wing has held the top spot on draft boards frequently, and his decision sets the most consequential question facing lottery teams: Where does Dybantsa actually fit?
Some destinations would put him in contention immediately. Others would drop him into dysfunction that stunts even the most talented young players.
Here is a look at the best and worst fits for Dybantsa in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Best Fits
Utah Jazz
After finishing the season tanking again, the Jazz appear set to finally be in a position to compete with the right lottery outcome. Utah already boasts a strong plug-and-play roster. Lauri Markkanen provides the floor spacing Dybantsa would need to attack closeouts and operate on the move. Jaren Jackson Jr. brings two-way star power and rim protection in the frontcourt, letting the Jazz play big without sacrificing speed. Keyonte George can either run the offense or play off the ball, depending on the matchup. Walker Kessler is a restricted free agent this summer, but if Utah retains him, the Jazz have a starting five built to compete the moment Dybantsa walks in.
Head coach Will Hardy has earned a strong reputation for player development. The Jazz front office is also sitting on a stockpile of assets, giving Utah the flexibility to add talent around Dybantsa to accelerate its timeline. However, he’d be able to get acclimated to the NBA by complementing established players while helping this team start winning again.
Indiana Pacers
Getting Tyrese Haliburton back from a torn Achilles immediately puts the Pacers back in the mix in the Eastern Conference. For Dybantsa, playing with a pass-first guard who pushes the pace would be a strong complement to his game. He could be a monster in transition while also being leaned on to score in the half-court alongside Pascal Siakam. Dybantsa wouldn’t have too much on his plate early, would play meaningful basketball, and could still grow his game.
The Pacers also added Ivica Zubac at center, addressing the rim protection issue they had been dealing with after losing Myles Turner, while also adding efficient paint scoring. That gives Dybantsa room to attack downhill. Drafting him would replace Bennedict Mathurin’s wing role and complete a roster that just played in the 2025 NBA Finals. Rick Carlisle’s offense ranks near the top of the league in pace, which fits Dybantsa’s open-floor impact.
Atlanta Hawks (Via New Orleans Pelicans)
While the Hawks are in a strong position to win a playoff series as they battle with the Knicks in the first round, Atlanta owns a pick swap with the Pelicans for this year’s NBA Draft. If the lottery plays out in the Hawks’ favor, they could be in a position to land Dybantsa.
If Atlanta added Dybantsa, he’d immediately slot next to Jalen Johnson, who has emerged as an All-Star, and give the Hawks a secondary frontcourt creator capable of keeping defenses honest while Dybantsa works on the perimeter. Most Improved Player of the Year Nickeil Alexander-Walker provides two-way perimeter impact, while Dyson Daniels‘ elite on-ball defense helps to set the tone. Onyeka Okongwu also brings versatility to the center position. That young core gives Atlanta a backbone three or four years younger than most contenders can match.
While Zaccharie Risacher has fallen out of the playoff rotation after going No. 1 overall a few years ago, Dybantsa would give the Hawks another swing at a foundational wing to add to this core. Jonathan Kuminga has looked impressive in the playoffs and provides another athletic forward who can score. Re-signing CJ McCollum would round out a roster that already has enough scoring to let Dybantsa develop into an all-around player.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks are an intriguing fit on this list as a long shot, but they are not without faults. Off the top, Cooper Flagg and AJ Dybantsa would form a wing pairing that gives a team the best start around this position group since the Celtics drafted Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Two 6-foot-9 wings with star ceilings inside their first three seasons would give the Mavericks a positional matchup advantage any front office would dream of.
Kyrie Irving is on track to start next season after a full recovery from his ACL tear, providing the veteran shot-creation that lets young wings work off the ball. His gravity in the half-court will help Flagg immensely and would do the same for Dybantsa, while giving the team a veteran closer to set the tone late. Dereck Lively II is expected back from season-ending foot surgery, and his rim-running would unlock spacing for both Flagg and Dybantsa. Jason Kidd has a reputation for getting the most out of multi-positional talent.
However, it cannot be overlooked that the Mavericks are depleted of their own first-round picks through 2031. The thought of a Flagg-Dybantsa tandem is intriguing, but this team still needs to find a permanent general manager, making it challenging to gauge how confident outsiders should be in any possible trajectory.
Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis is in the early stages of a youth movement, and Dybantsa would arrive as the centerpiece. Ja Morant‘s future is uncertain after being a focus of trade talks in February. However, Cedric Coward and Zach Edey are intriguing players for Dybantsa to grow with, and the supporting cast has plenty of cost-controlled young talent. GG Jackson, Jaylen Wells, Santi Aldama, Walter Clayton Jr., Scotty Pippen Jr., and Ty Jerome give Memphis a combination of complementary talents that would fit with Dybantsa without forcing him to shoulder too significant a workload.
Additionally, after trading Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis is loaded with future first-round picks. The front office can patiently build around Dybantsa while having the assets necessary to get aggressive, adding talent around him when it’s time to compete. The Grizzlies have hit on draft picks as well as any team in the league recently, and the front office isn’t shy about playing the long game.
Worst Fits
Washington Wizards
The Wizards have no proof of concept currently after adding Trae Young to pair with Anthony Davis. The two stars have not shared the floor for a single game. Davis took a non-shooting injury suffered in early January all the way to the end of the season despite electing not to have surgery after previously being projected to return in mid-March had he remained a Maverick. Meanwhile, Young barely played. The goal was to tank.
Washington drafting Dybantsa would mean asking a 19-year-old wing to figure out his role in a pairing that has not proven it works and is accustomed to a heavy offensive workload.
There are some clear questions. Young commands the ball and the offense. Davis likes to play power forward, which slows teams down and compresses spacing. Cooper Flagg flourished in Dallas after Davis was no longer a factor, with the Mavericks playing faster and Flagg having more room to get to his spots. Dybantsa would run into a similar structural problem to that of a wing who likes to use his athleticism and size when getting downhill. However, the additional complication is carving out perimeter touches between a ball-dominant star guard and a star big man who operates as the offensive hub.
Beyond the on-court fit, the front office has assets but has not yet shown a coherent vision. The Wizards have not been competitive in years, and the path to relevance runs through more questions than answers.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings have been rudderless for a while and now hold one of the worst cap sheets in the NBA. Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis are set to earn a combined $94 million in 2026-27, which severely limits the team’s flexibility to add complementary pieces around a young wing. Keegan Murray is a solid young piece, but he has not taken the leap his early career suggested he would, and the rest of the supporting cast lacks a clear co-star to grow alongside Dybantsa.
If the Kings cannot move on from LaVine or Sabonis, they are both players that Dybantsa could play well alongside early in his career. However, there is a clear lack of direction at that point.
Chicago Bulls
Everything that’s been said about the Kings can apply to the Bulls. However, Sacramento at least now knows Doug Christie will be the team’s head coach next season. There is currently no clarity on who will coach Chicago or run the front office. Regardless, the Bulls’ recent track record offers nothing to entice a top prospect, and the path forward is murky at every level of the organization. They were sellers at the trade deadline and mostly have Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, and Anfernee Simons as talents to build around.
The Bulls have spent the better part of a decade churning between play-in mediocrity, and there is no evidence that the organizational structure is equipped to develop a transcendent prospect. Dropping an elite prospect into that vacuum is exactly the kind of mismatch that stunts star development.
Brooklyn Nets
Brooklyn brought in many guards in last year’s NBA Draft, but none have emerged as foundational talents. That doesn’t appear set to change either. The roster lacks a clear hierarchy, and the front office’s recent strategy has been to accumulate picks rather than build around a singular star.
Michael Porter Jr. had a strong season after the Nuggets traded him, but like Nic Claxton, he is approaching 30 while Dybantsa would just be starting his career. The timelines do not align.
Brooklyn hasn’t been past the second round since the Kevin Durant era, and that team got there through trades, not by developing draft picks. The Nets haven’t shown they can grow a top prospect into a franchise piece, and the current roster doesn’t give Dybantsa the supporting cast to make the transition any easier.
Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee is in turmoil. The Bucks have stripped their pick cupboard to build around Giannis Antetokounmpo, and now Antetokounmpo himself sits at the center of trade rumors. If he is moved, the return would help reset the timeline, but a Dybantsa-led rebuild stacked on top of an already depleted asset base is the worst of both worlds. If he stays, the roster is too old and too capped-out to give Dybantsa the supporting cast he would need to develop on a competitive timeline.
Taylor Jenkins is a strong hire and would be a quality voice for a young talent to learn under, given his track record of developing players in Memphis. The schemes he is bringing should accelerate the offensive growth of any rookie wing.
Outside the coaching staff, the outlook is essentially a team in turmoil. There’s a lot of dead money on the books after moving on from Damian Lillard following his Achilles tear, they are limited on future picks, and the path to long-term relevance runs through a generational star whose future is perpetually uncertain at this stage. That is not a situation that does Dybantsa any favors at the start of his career.
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