AJ Dybantsa walked into the Barclays Center on Tuesday night with the weight of a draft class on his shoulders. He’s the guy everyone expects to go No. 1 overall. But the 19-year-old BYU star carried something else with him too. A small pin on his jacket that read TC 5.
That pin was for Terrence Clarke. Clarke was a five-star recruit out of Boston who died in a car crash in April 2021. He was 19. Dybantsa and Clarke grew up in the same city. Clarke went to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, the same prep powerhouse Dybantsa later played for. Clarke was Dybantsa’s idol. Not just any idol either. The kind you actually pattern your game after.
Dybantsa posted a photo of the pin on Instagram before the draft. The caption was simple. He didn’t need to say much. People who knew the story understood.
Clarke was supposed to be in this draft class five years ago. He’d committed to Kentucky, played a season there, and declared for the 2021 NBA Draft. A few weeks before the draft, he was killed in a Los Angeles car accident. The basketball world stopped for a minute.
Dybantsa has never been shy about carrying Clarke’s legacy. In high school, he won a dunk contest and dedicated the whole thing to Clarke. Now he’s on the verge of becoming the first Boston-area player taken in the NBA Draft in 41 years. That’s a long dry spell for a city that produces ballplayers.
A season that made him the favorite
Dybantsa’s freshman year at BYU was ridiculous. He averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. Shot 51% from the floor and 33.1% from three. Those are grown-man numbers in college basketball. Scouts love his versatility, his shot selection, and the way he plays with a kind of swagger that doesn’t cross into arrogance. Sound familiar? It should. People in Boston see a lot of Clarke in him.
The Washington Wizards won the lottery in May and hold the No. 1 pick. Everyone expects them to take Dybantsa. Nothing is official until the name is called, but the league has been treating this as a formality for weeks.
Dybantsa said earlier this week that he wants to be a franchise cornerstone. He wants to win. He wants to keep Clarke’s name alive. That pin on his jacket wasn’t just a fashion choice. It was a promise.
The draft is set to start at 8 p.m. Eastern. Dybantsa will be one of the first names off the board. And somewhere, a lot of people in Boston will be watching, remembering a kid who should have been there too.
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