Upon arriving in Washington as the top NBA draft’s top selection, only one question remained for AJ Dybantsa:
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What number would he wear for the Wizards?
Dybantsa rocked No. 3 during his lone campaign at BYU, but Wizards point guard Trae Young already owns the number. While Dybantsa had joked on pre-draft podcasts that he planned on taking it from Young, he’s since laughed off those comments and said he’d find something fresh for the NBA.
As the Wizards officially introduced Dybantsa to fans and media Thursday in Washington, he took the opportunity to introduce his new number — 4.
“Just new beginnings with me coming to D.C., I just wanted to grab a new number,” Dybantsa told reporters Thursday. “I was previously No. 3, and I was the No. 1 pick, so I added those up and got four.”
There have been a number of notable No. 4s in Washington over the years, such as Chris Webber, Moses Malone, Antawn Jamison and Russell Westbrook, but none have come with the expectations Dybantsa is set to face as the franchise’s new face and centerpiece.
But Dybantsa isn’t letting the magnitude of such stakes frighten him, instead choosing to look at his demanding Wizards role with the most grounded of perspectives.
“I just got to be myself. When you (are) yourself, it just comes easy to you,” Dybantsa said. “Just play the right way, play to win, and everything should just come and fall in place.”
Perhaps the only man who can relate to Dybantsa’s current road ahead is John Wall, the Wizards’ last No. 1 pick back in 2010 who ultimately made five All-Star teams as Washington’s most successful player this century.
Aside from both being top draft choices, Wall and Dybantsa will forever be linked due to Wall serving as the Wizards’ lottery representative in May when they won the right to pick first in this year’s draft.
Dybantsa said he’s known Wall for several years now, but that “Optimus Dime” has already dished out some solid advice regarding his future in D.C.
“I was there yesterday at the (WNBA) Mystics game and I spoke to (Wall),” Dybantsa said. “(He said to) really tap into the community, which I was planning on doing. (He said) ‘They love you here. They already love you.’
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“Obviously, I’ve already seen the videos they got from the (draft party showing fans) screaming and hollering, but (Wall) told me to tap into the community, which I was already planning on doing.”
In addition to the “DMV” community, Dybantsa looks forward to connecting with his new Wizards teammates and mapping out exactly how they want to mesh together on the court going forward.
“I definitely want to get in line with some of the guys and just pick their brains, see what the NBA is like, see what the chemistry is going to look like, where guys want the ball, where guys want lobs at, where guys want shots at,” Dybantsa told the ‘B-Mitch and Finlay’ radio show on 106.7 The Fan. “We’ve got to get it going.”
Dybantsa also shed some new light on the ending of his BYU career, when the Cougars were upset by Texas in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64 despite Dybantsa’s 35 points and 10 rebounds.
“Last time I was humbled on the basketball court was my last game (at BYU),” Dybantsa said. “I lost my last game. We played against Texas. We were the higher seed. We came into the game, we wanted to win that game, and (Texas) pulled up the upset.
“So I was kind of humbled, just like, you can’t take everything for granted. You’ve got to play super hard. What I learned from it is just watch a lot of film, what I needed to do better, what leadership skills I should have added in that game, you know, try to get my guys to play harder.”
There will surely be more humbling in store for Dybantsa as he adjusts to the NBA grind, and especially as he attempts to help lift the Wizards from their NBA-leading 65 losses last year to greater respectability, let alone a championship contention.
And to no one’s surprise, Dybantsa has no interest in shying away from the opportunity to be Washington’s answer to bury decades of misfortune and futility.
“I’ve been trying to embrace the challenge my whole life. Nothing comes easy and I want to be a piece of the puzzle that is part of the rebuild,” Dybantsa said.
“Obviously, Wizards fans have been waiting for a long time. We’re trying to make the playoffs, but like (general manager Will Dawkins) said, we don’t just want to make the playoffs, we want to go far in the playoffs.”
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