AJ Dybantsa told Stephen A. Smith on The Stephen A. Smith Show that he has gained 8.5 pounds of pure muscle since his freshman season at BYU – and now checks in at 219-220 pounds heading into Tuesday’s 2026 NBA Draft. That number matters because Dybantsa is a downhill attacker whose entire offensive game depends on absorbing contact at the rim. Adding legitimate muscle without sacrificing speed is exactly what skeptics said he needed to do.
What Dybantsa Confirmed on Air
Dybantsa kept his answer tight when Smith pressed him on the weight gain composition. Asked how much of the 8.5 pounds was muscle, the 19-year-old said simply, “All of it.” The diet driving that transformation is deliberately unglamorous – brown rice, asparagus, and chicken, repeated with the discipline of someone who treats his body as a professional asset already.
This is not a prospect cramming for a combine weigh-in. This is a teenager who chose BYU specifically because head coach Kevin Young built an NBA-caliber support system around him, complete with a dedicated dietitian, a strength coach, and pro-level analytics infrastructure. The physical gains reflect a multi-year process, not a last-minute bulk.
The Case for No. 1 Overall
Bleacher Report analyst Jonathan Wasserman locked in Dybantsa as the top pick to the Washington Wizards in his final mock draft, writing that “Dybantsa’s positional size, advanced footwork for creation, high-level shotmaking, 25.5 points per game and competitiveness suggest he may be too rare of a scoring prospect to pass on.” Wasserman also noted that Washington‘s existing investment in Tre Johnson and Alex Sarr creates genuine fit value for a small forward who can start immediately.
The supporting numbers back that framing. Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points per game at BYU and measured out at 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan at the pre-draft combine. He has drawn comparisons to Tracy McGrady – a big wing who can carry primary scoring and playmaking load simultaneously. That archetype is historically rare and historically valuable.
“With the front office invested in developing Tre Johnson and Alex Sarr, leaving room for a small forward to start and grow could give Dybantsa added fit value in Washington.”
– Jonathan Wasserman, Bleacher Report
The Peterson Variable
The pick is not officially sealed. ESPN reporter Jeremy Woo reported that the Wizards have “narrowed their decision” to Dybantsa or Kansas guard Darryn Peterson. That framing introduces a real decision point – Washington‘s front office has shown interest in guards, and Peterson is a legitimate prospect in his own right.
The probability split here reads closer to 70/30 in Dybantsa‘s favor than a coin flip. Woo also noted that Dybantsa “is still considered by rival teams to be the favorite,” and rival front offices typically have no incentive to inflate a competitor’s confidence in a specific pick. That signal carries weight.
What Happens Next
The 2026 NBA Draft is scheduled for Tuesday, and final team workouts and medical reports are the last data points Washington will process before locking in its selection. Any late workout leak or medical flag could move draft odds quickly in either direction.
For bettors and fantasy managers, the core question is not whether Dybantsa goes No. 1 – it is what his usage looks like in Year 1 alongside Johnson and Sarr. A 6-foot-9 wing with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, 220 pounds of muscle, and a Tracy McGrady self-comparison is not a development project. He is a franchise engine, and Washington is almost certainly about to treat him like one.
