The 2026 NBA Draft is still hours away, and already one of its top prospects is out here staking a massive claim. AJ Dybantsa, the former BYU forward expected to go No. 1 overall to the Washington Wizards, told ESPN’s Malika Andrews that this year’s class is about to be one of the most remembered in league history. And he didn’t stop there. He went straight to the gold standard.
Dybantsa compared this group to the 2003 draft class. That’s the one that gave us LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Four Hall of Famers. Multiple championships. A class that basically shaped the next 15 years of the NBA. So yeah, that’s a high bar.
But Dybantsa wasn’t hedging. When Andrews asked him where the 2026 class would rank among the all-timers, he answered without hesitation.
“I think at least 10 of us will probably be still playing when, let’s say, eight years down the road,” Dybantsa said. “I think that’s how deep we are. Um, but it can be more. And I think this will be probably one of the most talked about draft classes since LeBron’s, I think. I think we’re just super talented, and the fact that it’s a lot of freshmen kind of tells the story.”
The depth in this class is real
Dybantsa isn’t just talking. The 2026 class does have real depth at the top. Darryn Peterson out of Kansas has been climbing boards all season. Cam Boozer, the Duke big man, has the lineage and the game to make a case for No. 1. Caleb Wilson from North Carolina and Darius Acuff Jr. from Arkansas are both seen as franchise-level talents. Even Michigan’s Aday Mara, who had an uneven college season, is still a projected lottery pick because of his size and touch.
The argument Dybantsa is making is basically that this isn’t a two-man class or a three-man class. He’s saying there are at least ten guys who will still be in the league eight years from now. That kind of durability is rare. For comparison, the 2003 class produced six All-Stars and had a whole second tier of solid pros.
Of course, nobody knows how these kids will actually develop. Plenty of hyped classes have fizzled. But Dybantsa is putting his name and reputation behind this group right before he gets drafted. That’s a bet he’s willing to make.
Why the Wizards are the big winner here
If Dybantsa is right, Washington is about to land a cornerstone. The Wizards have been stuck in the middle for years, never bad enough to get a true superstar at the top of the draft. They tanked hard for this moment. And Dybantsa’s confidence suggests he thinks he can be that guy. He’s not just happy to be picked first. He wants this class to define an era.
The draft kicks off Tuesday night. Dybantsa will be the first name called. But if he’s right about the rest of this class, we might be talking about the names called later in the first round for a long, long time.
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