Jazz Fans Walked Out of Their Own Draft Party the Second the Wizards Picked First

The NBA Draft watch party in Utah was supposed to be a celebration. Instead, it turned into a funeral within seconds.

When NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced that the Washington Wizards had selected AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 overall pick, the room went cold. A video posted by Caleb Turner shows fans booing. Some of them are already headed for the exits before Silver even finishes the announcement.

The reaction makes sense if you know the context. Dybantsa is a local hero. He spent his freshman season at BYU, putting up over 25 points per game and breaking the Big-12 freshman scoring record. That record belonged to Kevin Durant, who is a two-time NBA champion and future Hall of Famer. So yeah, Utah fans had every reason to dream.

The dream died when the Wizards made their pick.

Plan B wasn’t exactly a consolation prize

With Dybantsa gone, the Jazz took Darryn Peterson out of Kansas. Peterson might actually be the most talented player in this draft, depending on who you ask. Jay Bilas at ESPN has been high on him all year. But Peterson’s season at Kansas came with its own drama, mostly around his availability and whether he was fully committed to the program.

Peterson is a 6-foot-6 guard who can score from anywhere. He’s got the kind of game that translates to the modern NBA. But he’s not the BYU kid who would have sold out the Delta Center every night. That part stings for the front office and the fans.

The video of the watch party tells you everything about the mood in Utah right now. It wasn’t just disappointment. It was a kind of resignation. Fans knew the Wizards were likely to take Dybantsa, but they showed up hoping anyway. When it didn’t happen, they didn’t stick around to see what came next.

Darryn Peterson is a good player. He might even be a great one. But for one night in Utah, nobody cared about that. They just wanted their guy.