For most of the last year, AJ Dybantsa was part of a three-horse race with fellow college superstars Darryn Peterson and Cam Boozer for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Ultimately, the consensus No. 1-ranked recruit from high school retained his status.
Dybantsa’s dream came true Tuesday night as he was selected by the Washington Wizards with the top pick. The Brockton, Mass. native savored the moment at the Barclays Center surrounded by his parents Ace and Chelsea and sisters Samarra and Jasmyn. Dybantsa chose to be announced by NBA commissioner Adam Silver by his formal name of Anicet as a tribute to his father.
“It means a lot,” Dybantsa said to ESPN’s Lisa Salters. “It’s a stepping stone. Obviously I have a lot of work to do, but it’s a testament to all my hard work and all the discipline and sacrifice that I made.”
Dybantsa made some New England history with Tuesday’s selection. He became the first Massachusetts product to be drafted No. 1 overall since Patrick Ewing – who was born in Jamaica and later moved to Cambridge – in 1985. And it’s believed to be the first time in NBA history that two New England natives were chosen with the No. 1 pick in back-to-back years, after Maine’s Cooper Flagg last year.
Dybantsa played at St. Sebastian’s as a repeat eighth grader and freshman, winning Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year in 2023 while leading the Arrows to the NEPSAC Class A championship game. He then moved to the west coast to join Prolific Prep in California before moving to Utah Prep for his final prep season.
At Brigham Young last season, the 6-foot-9 Dybantsa was one of the best freshmen in the country as he averaged a nation-leading 25.5 points per game to go along with 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He was named a first-team All-American.
Dybantsa joins a Wizards team that could be quickly on the rise. He’ll team up with star guard Trae Young – who just inked a contract extension – in addition to star bigs in veteran Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr, who was the No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft.
Dybantsa wasn't the only New England native chosen in the first round on Tuesday night.
Ebuka Okorie continued his remarkable rise as he was selected with the 17th pick by the Detroit Pistons. A native of Nashua, N.H., Okorie played three seasons at Cushing before transferring to Brewster Academy for his senior season in 2024-25, when he was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in New Hampshire. He played for BABC and legendary coach Leo Papile on the grassroots circuit.
As an undersized guard, Okorie wasn't initially viewed as a blue-chip prospect. But he was mentally ahead of his peers and excelled against older competition as his physical gifts caught up. He initially committed to play at Harvard before flipping to Stanford, where he was one of the nation's best freshmen. He averaged 23.2 points per game – good for seventh in the country – as he broke several Stanford and ACC freshman records. He scored 30 or more points eight times, including a career-high 40 points vs. Georgia Tech.
“I think Ebuka is probably the most underrated prospect that I’ve coached in the last five or six years,” Cushing coach James Cormier said in 2024.
Okorie is the third Cushing product in recent memory to reach the NBA, joining David Duke and Phil Pressey, and he's coach Jason Smith's 26th NBA product from Brewster Academy.
Alex Karaban became the third New England native to be drafted in Tuesday's first round. The UConn great was picked 29th by the Cleveland Cavaliers but will be traded to the Sacramento Kings.
A native of Southborough, Mass., Karaban started at Algonquin High School before spending two seasons at New Hampton under coach Andrew Gale. He led the Huskies to the 2020 NEPSAC Class AAA championship in 2020 before winning Gatorade Player of the Year honors in New Hampshire in 2021. Karaban went on to become one of the greatest winners in recent college basketball history, helping UConn win back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024 and leading the Huskies' run to the 2026 title game.
