There’s a lot of debate in college basketball about who is going to be ROTY or even who is going number one in the draft. There are many good players that could possibly get these accomplishments, but it can only go to one player. So, out of all the rookies in college basketball, I believe that AJ Dybantsa will be ROTY and number one in the 2026 NBA Draft.
I believe that AJ will be ROTY and go number one in the draft because AJ is a 6-9 (forward) that can play any position on the floor and can play like a guard having a great handle. While also being able to get to the rim at will and shooting the three efficiently. He can score very efficiently which he has been doing since high school, AAU and even internationally, scoring highly each game. Before coming into college in his freshman year of high school at St. Sebastian’s in Needham, MA, AJ averaged 19.1 point per game, 9.6 rebounds a game, 2.9 assists a game and 2.5 blocks a game. Just as a freshman he was almost averaging a double double. He shot an amazing 60.8% from field goal and had a great 41% from three point. In AAU, playing for team Expressions Elite he led Nike Peach Jam with 25.8 points per game. Going into his most recent high school, which was Utah Prep located in Hurricane, Utah, AJ averaged 21.5 points per game, 12.7 rebounds a game, 3.2 assists a game and 1.5 steals per game. These numbers show great improvement from his freshman year where he was already top ranked in the nation. In his senior year he was ranked number two in the country. These are already amazing stats just while playing high school basketball, but he also had impressive stats playing on the international team(USA) for U16, U17 and U19. In the U16 (Americas Championship in 2023), AJ averaged 13.7 points and 3.8 assists per game. In the U17 (World Cup in 2024) he averaged an impressive 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. In his last time playing internationally he averaged 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in the U19 (World Cup held in 2024). These stats along with his high school stats show that along his whole career he has been able to score highly even playing against people not even from his own country. Even in his first college exhibition game he had a strong performance having 30 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. He has always had an advanced pro like game so bringing that to college was an easy switch for him.
So, in my opinion I think AJ Dybantsa will be ROTY and number one in the 2026 NBA Draft. There are many talented and well skilled rookie players in college basketball, but I believe that AJ stands out from all of them. College coaches and even NBA scouts have been watching him since he started high school, to even now in his first year in college and they have always said that he showed league bound potential. I believe that AJ’s career ahead of him is looking very bright especially if he continues to play very well like he has been and showing scouts why he should be the number one in the draft. There is no doubt that any NBA team would wanna pass up on a 6-9 forward that plays like a guard, because they know he would greatly impact their franchise.
