AJ Dybantsa needed one free throw to make his Las Vegas debut even more memorable, but the No. 1 pick was not dwelling on what he missed.
“It was alright. I missed a free throw so I could have had the record but it’s just good to play basketball,” Dybantsa said Thursday after leading the Washington Wizards to a 92-88 Summer League win over the Utah Jazz.
Dybantsa’s first pro game delivered the kind of all-around line Washington hoped to see. He finished with 27 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in 26 minutes, while going 7-of-18 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts, but repeatedly got downhill, drew contact and created pressure at the rim.
That was the part Dybantsa emphasized after the game.
“A little bit of everything,” he said when asked what he showed Trae Young and Anthony Davis. “I try to defend a little bit, get a couple blocks, get a couple of steals, rebound the ball well and obviously just showing my scoring ability and I can space the floor and give them guys an extra ball handler, an extra scorer if they get tired.”
The game also gave Washington its first look at how Dybantsa might fit next to a roster built around size, versatility and multiple initiators. The Wizards already have Anthony Davis, Deandre Ayton, Trae Young, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson and Alex Sarr on the roster, which gives the 6-foot-9 forward plenty of runway to develop as a connector and secondary creator.
Dybantsa’s debut came in one of the most watched Summer League games of the week, a matchup that paired the top two picks in the 2026 draft. Utah’s Darryn Peterson scored 24 points, but the Wizards got the win behind Dybantsa’s 27 and a balanced supporting effort from Tre Johnson, who added 26.
Dybantsa briefly left late with leg soreness, but he said afterward he was fine. More importantly, he did not sound interested in making too much of one Summer League game, even with the stage, the opponent and the crowd attention that came with it.
When asked whether Thursday counted as his welcome-to-the-NBA moment, he shut that down quickly.
“Has to come in a regular season game,” Dybantsa said. “I’m not counting it in summer league.”
