AJ Dybantsa’s first appearance in a Washington Wizards uniform did not disappoint.
The No. 1 overall draft selection and BYU product dazzled in his NBA Summer League debut, scoring a game-high 27 points with seven rebounds in just 26 minutes Thursday night against the Jazz in Las Vegas.
In addition to helping the Wizards earn a 92-88 win, Dybantsa’s impressive outing came against Darryn Peterson, his longtime rival drafted immediately after him at No. 2 overall and whose recent Summer League heroics set a steep standard for Dybantsa to meet.
By all accounts, Dybantsa met the moment — and won the battle against Peterson.
Of his 27 points, Dybantsa scored 19 before halftime, including a ferocious dunk that quickly went viral online.
While going 0 for 5 on 3-pointers, Dybantsa shot 7 of 13 inside the arc and made 7 of 8 free throw attempts. He also dished out a pair of assists, swiped two steals, recorded a block and only turned the ball over once.
Most importantly, Dybantsa looked the part of a top draft pick, having no trouble getting his shot off, easily weaving through defenders and braving contact, playing adequate defense and rebounding well.
He’ll need to shoot better than 39% from the floor going forward, but the shots he did make on Thursday were loud enough to drown out his misses. The scoring prowess he showed at BYU was obvious against the higher competition.
Summer League isn’t the place to make strong judgements on players, but Dybantsa’s debut offered a new splash of encouragement for both his professional future and the hopes and dreams of Washington fans, along with helping to prove his worthiness of being the No. 1 draft choice.
Here’s a look at more of Dybantsa’s highlights from Thursday night.