Analysis: Memorable draft night sends No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa to the nation’s capital as a BYU hero and Washington’s new hope

It was a quick swing of emotions at the Barclays Center Tuesday night as NBA commissioner Adam Silver took the podium to announce AJ Dybantsa as the first pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Many fans and analysts had expected the Washington Wizards to select Dybantsa No. 1 overall, but few were expecting to hear his full name — Anicet Dybantsa Jr. — from Silver’s lips rather than simply “AJ.” Dybantsa had always planned for his full name to be read at the draft, but most of the Brooklyn crowd must have missed that memo, being briefly caught off guard to think for just a split second that some other mystery player named “Anicet” was going No. 1 instead of the BYU star or soon-to-be Utah Jazzman Darryn Peterson.

By Jason Griffith for PeeDeeWire

Yahoo Sports reports: It was a quick swing of emotions at the Barclays Center Tuesday night as NBA commissioner Adam Silver took the podium to announce AJ Dybantsa as the first pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Many fans and analysts had expected the Washington Wizards to select Dybantsa No. 1 overall, but few were expecting to hear his full name — Anicet Dybantsa Jr. — from Silver’s lips rather than simply “AJ.” Dybantsa had always planned for his full name to be read at the draft, but most of the Brooklyn crowd must have missed that memo, being briefly caught off guard to think for just a split second that some other mystery player named “Anicet” was going No. 1 instead of the BYU star or soon-to-be Utah Jazzman Darryn Peterson.