AJ Dybantsa stood at the podium this week, freshly minted as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and a reporter asked him a simple question: Who is your favorite professional athlete?
He paused. You could almost see the mental Rolodex spinning. LeBron? KD? Steph? Then he landed on one.
“Michael Olise,” Dybantsa said. “Soccer player.”
Olise is a French winger who plays for Bayern Munich. He’s quick, creative, and one of the best in the world at cutting inside from the right flank. It’s an answer you don’t hear every day from an American basketball rookie, and it tells you something about how Dybantsa sees the game — movement, angles, making defenders look lost. That matters when your job is to put the ball in the basket.
But let’s be real. Wizards fans care more about who he wants to face on a basketball court. And on that front, Dybantsa had two names ready.
“My favorite player has always been Kevin Durant, so just me sharing the court with him will probably be like ridiculous,” Dybantsa said. Durant now plays for the Houston Rockets, which means their first matchup isn’t just a game. It’s a full-circle moment for a kid who grew up watching KD tape.
Then there’s the homecoming. Dybantsa is from Brockton, Massachusetts, a town about 20 miles south of Boston. He spent his childhood watching the Celtics at TD Garden, memorizing the roar of the crowd when Kevin Garnett flexed or when Jayson Tatum hit a dagger. Now he gets to walk into that building as the enemy.
“Going back home to play at TD Garden, that would be crazy,” he said. “Just watching all those games there since Kevin Garnett, since being a fan since Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown won a championship.”
The question hanging over that matchup — and it’s a big one — is what version of the Celtics will show up. The team is still dealing with Jaylen Brown trade rumors that have followed them into the summer. Nobody knows if Boston will look like the same powerhouse by the time Dybantsa and the Wizards roll into town for the 2026-27 season. That uncertainty adds an extra layer to an already intriguing story.
Dybantsa will make his unofficial debut in July when the Las Vegas Summer League tips off. That’s where Wizards fans get their first real look at the 19-year-old wing they just bet the franchise on. He’s long, fluid, and has that rare ability to make the game look slow. Sound familiar? It should. The Durant comparisons aren’t just lazy scouting shorthand. They’re real.
For now, Dybantsa is soaking it all in. He’s got a soccer star on his favorites list, a childhood idol to chase, and a home arena full of hostile fans waiting to test him. That’s a pretty good place to start.
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