Brockton-Native AJ Dybantsa Skies High in NBA Summer League Debut for Wizards

Brockton-Native AJ Dybantsa Skies High in NBA Summer League Debut for Wizards originally appeared on NESN.
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Those who watched AJ Dybantsa growing up in Massachusetts, where he was the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a high school freshman, have known for a long time that he’d grow into a special talent who could take the NBA by storm.

On Thursday night, that journey really started to become a reality. The Brockton-native Dybantsa made his NBA Summer League debut after being the No. 1 overall pick by the Washington Wizards in last month’s draft, and he shone brightly.

The highlight came in the first half, when Dybantsa sliced powerfully down the lane and rose up for a huge slam dunk:

AJ DYBANTSA POSTER

OH MY GOODNESS

🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/6uUE1Jmcva

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 10, 2026

It was really a special all-around debut for Dybantsa, though, who struggled a bit with efficiency but also did a little bit of everything.

In the process, he also got the win over Darryn Peterson and the Jazz while being slightly more efficient than the No. 2 overall pick.

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AJ Dybantsa stats tonight

This is how Dybantsa played on Thursday night:

• 27 points
• 7 rebounds
• 2 assists
• 1 turnover
• 2 steals
• 1 block
• 7-18 FG
• 0-5 3FG
• 7-8 FT

The fact that his inefficiency was beyond the arc is a rather good sign.

Dybantsa has a good stroke, and it’d be concerning if he was missing shots a lot closer to the basket. The 3-point shooting should come along nicely as he gets comfortable with the size of the floor and the speed of the game.

A player like Dybantsa may not even need the whole summer to prove he belongs. He’s already done so.

And for those watching from the New England region, they’ve seen this coming for a long time.

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