Washington or Utah? What the Odds Say About AJ Dybantsa's NBA Future

It should be simple: the Washington Wizards have the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and it feels like BYU Cougar standout freshman AJ Dybantsa is the consensus, safest pick.

But it’s seldom that easy in the NBA Draft, unless Victor Wembanyama is staring down at you.

We are a little over a month away from the 2026 NBA Draft, and the Wizards are officially on the clock, but it isn’t a slam dunk that they’ll take Dybantsa.

For one, they might prefer guard Darryn Peterson, who has a defensive edge that Dybantsa doesn’t bring, with the potential to be an effortless long-range shooter.

There’s also the elephant in the room: the Utah Jazz, who have the second pick and are not secretive about their love of Dybantsa, who finished his high school career in Utah before playing college at BYU.

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With Dybantsa, the Jazz would have one of the biggest, strongest teams in basketball and a set identity they could build around for years to come, behind Dybantsa, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Lauri Markkanen.

Per Kalshi, the prediction website, it’s back and forth on who people believe will end up with Dybantsa. If the Wizards don’t want him at No. 1, they have the potential to use their leverage to get the Jazz to move up for that top spot to secure their quasi-homegrown star.

After the NBA Draft Lottery, it was 90% on Kalshi that the Wizards would take Dybantsa, which has plummeted to 58% across Utah, with 40%.

The 2%?

The Milwaukee Bucks, who some risk-takers believe could possibly use Giannis Antetokounmpo and other draft capital to secure the No. 1 position, come next month.

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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 8:07 PM.