The Wizards and Jazz played a Summer League game on Thursday in Las Vegas. Normally that sentence gets a shrug. But this one had AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson, the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in this year’s draft. And people actually watched.
Dybantsa did not waste time. Thirty seconds into the game, he took the ball left, drove hard into the lane, and flipped in a reverse layup that showed exactly why Washington took him first. The athleticism and body control were immediate. It was the kind of bucket that makes you lean forward in your seat a little.
The No. 1 pick already looks comfortable
Dybantsa finished the first half with 17 points on 4-of-11 shooting and four rebounds. Not a perfect shooting night, but the aggression was there. He attacked the rim repeatedly and drew fouls. For a 19-year-old forward who led the nation in scoring at BYU, the transition to Summer League looks natural so far.
The Wizards have quietly built a weirdly deep roster around him. Trae Young. Anthony Davis. Deandre Ayton. Alex Sarr. Khris Middleton. That’s a lot of veterans for a lottery team. But Dybantsa is supposed to be the centerpiece, the guy who finally breaks Washington’s Rookie of the Year drought that dates back to Wes Unseld in 1969.
He said he’s excited to start from scratch in the NBA and put in the work. That’s the right thing to say. The early returns suggest he means it.
Peterson is finding his footing too
Peterson had nine points on 3-of-9 shooting in the first half for Utah. He played well during the California Classic with multiple 20-point games, so the talent is there. Thursday just wasn’t his best half. The Jazz are building around him, but it’ll take time for the offense to flow through him consistently against NBA-level athletes.
As of halftime, Washington held a double-digit lead. Summer League scores don’t matter much, but the individual battles do. Dybantsa versus Peterson could be the next great rookie rivalry. That’s what the league is hoping, anyway.
One game in, Dybantsa has the first impressive highlight. Peterson will get his turn. That’s the fun part about Summer League — you see the future before it’s ready, and sometimes it looks exactly like you hoped.
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