THREE HOURS BEFORE the most anticipated game at the Las Vegas summer league, AJ Dybantsa was on a trainer's table. He was getting a massage and treatment inside the 26,000 square-foot ballroom that serves as the Washington Wizards ' facility at Mandalay Bay.
At the same time, assistant coach Cody Toppert was running Dybantsa through video clips on an iPad to show the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft how to attack defenses.
No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson and the Utah Jazz were on deck first.
What happened next was normal before a regular-season NBA game but rare at summer league because of the back-to-back contests: Dybantsa stepped onto the Wizards practice court to warm up shooting, taking midrange shots, 3-pointers from all over the court, practicing shot creation moves and working on free throws for over 30 minutes. From his pregame routine to his 6-foot-9 frame to his thoughtful interviews, Dybantsa looks, acts and sounds like a franchise player.
The Wizards, who have not made it past the first round since 2017, have gone 50-196 over the past three seasons. They need the 19-year-old to be great.
"I don't want to sound cocky," Dybantsa's father, Anicet "Ace" Dybantsa Sr., told ESPN. "But he was born ready." Dybantsa outdueled Peterson in a 92-88 win , scoring 27 points and grabbing seven rebounds in just 26 minutes.
He added 23 points and seven more boards against the Sacramento Kings in his second -- and final -- summer league matchup. He became the first No.
1 pick to score 20-plus points in each of his first two games at the Las Vegas summer league, according to ESPN Research. He did this despite shooting just 1-of-11 from 3-point range.
"He's nice," Wizards point guard Trae Young said. "He's going to be great.
He's already good now. But people don't understand, I see certain things that he can even be better at.
And [that's with him being] already the No. 1 pick.
"He made [scoring 27] look easy." The vibes around the Wizards were high last week with the entire roster in Las Vegas, including Young and Anthony Davis , whom Washington traded for in separate deals at midseason. Players attended Dybantsa's highly anticipated debut and then attended Young's news conference announcing his new four-year, $212.8 million contract the next morning.
With Davis and Young -- along with recent first-round picks Alex Sarr , Kyshawn George , Tre Johnson and Will Riley -- the Wizards have entered the next phase of their reconstruction. With Dybantsa's arrival , the pressure is on to be competitive and make the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
If Dybantsa's summer league debut is a taste of things to come, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis will be thrilled. On one first-half play against Utah, Dybantsa drove past two Jazz defenders, temporarily losing the ball in air before punching in a nasty two-handed dunk that was punctuated by the rookie screaming and flexing his muscles.
Leonsis noticed a fan behind the Wizards bench celebrating more than Dybantsa. He hopes it's a preview of what fans will see at Capital One Arena this season.
"I was watching this guy over there," Leonsis told ESPN at halftime. "That dunk got him out of his seat and that's what I'm talking about.
"[Dybantsa's] kind of the next generation prototype. And this is just his first game." DYBANTSA WAS RAISED to manage this moment.
Ace Dybantsa, a believer of discipline and accountability, had his three kids do 100 pushups daily starting when they were 5. He made sure of it by installing a camera so he could watch them while he was at work.
"It's called tough love," Ace said. "Make him and his sisters accountable since they were babies.
If you don't do this, this will happen. That's just the way they work." Dybantsa was first allowed to do media interviews on camera in the seventh grade.
Ace, who is from the Republic of Congo, watched each one and critiqued how his son could improve, pointing out repeated "umms" or leaning too much on phrases such as "You know what I'm saying?" He would also correct Dybantsa's posture. It's no wonder why Dybantsa is comfortable in front of cameras and a large media scrum.
Leonsis couldn't help but notice how Dybantsa's personality reminds him of an all-time DC legend: Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin , the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer. "What I was impressed with was when we introduce him to people, he makes eye contact, he asks, 'What's his name?' Shakes his hand.
He's a very magnanimous personality," said Leonsis, who has