AJ Dybantsa: In the Shadow of a Flagg
For the number 1 projected draft pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, AJ Dybantsa has a lot to prove to NBA Scouts-perhaps even more than the number 1 draft pick from a year before, Cooper Flagg. This season, Dybantsa will have to balance having a successful one and done season at BYU and escaping the shadow of Flagg who is now with the Dallas Mavericks. To better understand why Dybantsa will have a chip on his shoulder coming into the college basketball season, let us examine the common and the not so common factors between the two.
Region
The regional part of this assessment is probably the most noticeable common factor between the two men. Both grew up in the New England region of America. Flagg is from Lancaster, Maine while Dybantsa grew up in Brockton, Massachusetts. Both have encountered each other prior to attending college. However, while Flagg chose to spent his time in his hometown before moving on to Duke, Dybantsa chose to take his talents out west and attend Utah Prep before deciding to stay in the State of Utah and play at BYU. It important to note that Dybantsa seems to be more comfortable in his environment by playing in Utah while Flagg chose to go to Duke without attending high school in North Carolina. Both men seem to differ when it comes to acclimatization of their environment.
Team
The teams that both men have chosen demonstrate the work effort that will or have to be made at their university. Flagg chose to attend Duke University in North Carolina, a prestigious blue blood college basketball university that needs no introduction when it comes to its contributions to the sport. On the other hand, Dybantsa chose to attend BYU, a university that has had some success in college basketball, but nowhere near what Duke has accomplished. So, BYU and Dybantsa will be working to prove themselves.
The teams themselves have been a significant factor with respect to what their star players can achieve in the national spotlight. For example, last season, Flagg achieved massive success with help from his teammates and the stable structure that Duke provided. This led to him garnering national headlines and leading Duke to a Final Four appearance. On the other hand, Rutgers had the number 2 and number 3 projected draft picks on their roster. However, the team itself was a mess and they did not even get close to the NCAA Tournament. Thus, they did not receive as much attention as Duke or Cooper Flagg on the headline grabbing scale. Dybantsa needs to be surrounded by teammates that are willing to support him and be crucial to his and BYU’s success or they could quickly become nationally irrelevant despite the limited success the team has had in the past in the NCAA tournament.
Spotlight
AJ Dybantsa will have a tougher time garnering the national spotlight when BYU takes the court while Duke and Cooper Flagg had less pitfalls when it came to this topic. For example, Duke is an east coast team with weekday games usual starting around the 7 pm to 9 pm time range. It was rare for the team to start at 10 pm and, when they did, they were on a west coast road trip. On the other hand, BYU is a west coast team and their weekday game start times are usually at 10 pm or later (at least at home). This is important to note as Duke’s start times are acceptable viewing times for most of the United States. However, BYU’s start times risk alienating the east coast of the United States as it is likely only some, but not all, of the east coast would tune into a basketball game at such a late time on a weekday. As a result, Dybantsa has less opportunities to impress the country on a national scale and he will need to seize those opportunities in a one-and-done season to be a successful NBA Draft prospect.
Dybantsa has one thing going for him in the national spotlight that Flagg did not have last college basketball season, namely more time on the big stage. Unlike Flagg, who played only three regular season games in neutral venues (in Atlanta, Las Vegas, and New York City) last season, Dybantsa will be playing several games in neutral venues. BYU will play three games (one preseason, two regular season) at the Delta Center (home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz) in Salt Lake City, Utah against North Carolina (preseason), Wisconsin (regular season), and California Baptist (regular season). In addition, BYU and Dybantsa will start the regular season in Las Vegas against Villanova on November 3, 2025, and play at TD Garden in Boston against UConn on November 15, 2025. On Thanksgiving week, BYU will participate in a regular season tournament against teams such as Miami, Dayton, and Georgetown at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Walt Disney World. Finally, BYU will play against Clemson at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 9, 2025. In conclusion, Dybantsa’s appearances at these neutral site venues will garner him a national attention that Flagg was unable to produce at his time at Duke. Dybantsa needs to take advantage of this to offset the reduced role of him playing for an east coast audience.
Following the analysis of the three factors above is has been determine that Dybantsa’s road to the NBA Draft has more pitfalls than Flagg’s path to the Draft. Will Dybantsa live up to the challenge or lose to said pitfalls and be tossed aside into irrelevance like the prospects from Rutgers from a season ago? It will be an interesting question to ponder as the college basketball season kicks off for BYU on November 3, 2025.