For AJ Dybantsa, landing in a small market not a concern as NBA Draft Lottery nears

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Big market, small market…does it actually matter?

Stardom is not in regards to the metropolis.

AJ Dybantsa has proven it is onerous for any metropolis, no matter dimension, to include its shine. Indiana? Sacrament? Memphis? The presumptive first choose in the 2026 NBA Draft is not sweating the quantity of consideration he’ll get as a result of he is confirmed wherever he performs, he’ll draw consideration.

Dybantsa signed an NIL take care of Nike again in January 2024, and Nike not too long ago introduced that the deal can be prolonged into a skilled basketball contract. Dybantsa performed one season at BYU and was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, as effectively as a consensus first-team All-American. I’ve declared for the NBA Draft two weeks in the past.

Some argue it is a small market’s greatest guess to land a star. Dybantsa may very well be the dream choose of a small-market group just like the Sacramento Kings or the Indiana Pacers if certainly one of them wins Sunday’s NBA Draft Lottery. Not simply because Dybantsa is an elite prospect, however as a result of he is content material to make his identify wherever.

Dybantsa grew up in Brockton, Mass., a metropolis with a inhabitants of roughly 106,000. He made prep college stops in the smaller cities of Napa, Calif., and Hurricane, Utah, earlier than taking part in school basketball at BYU, a college with 37,000 college students in Provo, Utah, a metropolis of 115,000 residents.

Lots of gamers say the group would not matter, however that is not all the time honest. Dybantsa’s upbringing and school alternative would point out in any other case.

“Obviously being from Brockton, I’m not really from a big market,” Dybantsa mentioned. “I’ve created my own path and my team. My parents have been doing a great job of just putting me out there. So, I’ve been in the spotlight for a long time.”

Dybantsa transferred to Prolific Prep in Napa after his freshman season and reclassified to the category of 2025. He performed his last yr of highschool basketball at Utah Prep Academy. Dybantsa was the consensus prime participant in the 2025 recruiting class and selected BYU over school basketball blue bloods like Kansas and North Carolina.

But he was a star earlier than he was a Cougar, and he’ll arrive in the NBA with fanfare.

There’s a mature-yet-confident mindset wanted with prospects like Dybantsa. At 19, he is been round NBA faces for fairly a while, so little or no faces him. He’s met Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith — one half of the “Inside the NBA” quartet alongside Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley — and has heard his recreation dissected by a number of tv personalities over the past yr.

What wouldn’t it imply for his identify to return up on the favored present throughout the upcoming season?

“It already does,” Dybantsa mentioned. “So, it’s not new.”

A flippant comment, playful but quick-witted — however a assertion of reality. Again, one anticipated of an assured athlete anticipating a promising NBA profession.

Stardom has discovered “Star Boy,” his nickname, for the final three years. He was named the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year as a freshman at St. Sebastian’s School in Needham, Mass. — a Boston suburb with fewer than 33,000 residents. He was a part of Team USA’s squad that received a gold medal on the 2023 FIBA ​​Under-16 Americas Championship in Mexico. He additionally received FIBA ​​gold with Team USA’s Under-17 squad in Turkey in 2024 and once more with Team USA’s Under-19 squad final July in Switzerland.

Dybantsa has seen the world – and his school alternative proved he is tremendous placing himself in conditions others could be uncomfortable with.

“When it came down to BYU, I just wanted to create my own paths, and I thought that BYU was just the right choice from a coaching standpoint, from just helping me be a better person, better player,” Dybantsa mentioned. “It wasn’t really about the market size. Everything’s that’s coming, when it comes to marketing, comes if I do me on the court.”

Let’s not be naive: NIL alternatives make the thought of ​​a five-star recruit shunning a conventional energy extra of a risk. But Dybantsa made his resolution. Being a blue-chip recruit who selected BYU makes him considerably in opposition to the norm, however that nuance in his method may very well be the lacking piece to an ailing franchise.

Dybantsa averaged 25.5 factors, 6.8 rebounds and three.7 assists for the Cougars. Beyond the stats, an harm to senior guard Richie Saunders compelled Dybantsa to tackle extra of a management position.

What he does on the court docket helps make Dybantsa extra marketable past basketball. He’s been carrying his new Nike emblem, his initials designed to form a stara nod to his “Star Boy” moniker. He has an curiosity in assembly extra athletes who play tennis or soccer, simply to study extra about their successful mindsets.

If all goes effectively, Dybantsa hopes to grow to be a huge a part of Nike’s advertising.

“Every kid dreams of having a signature shoe,” he mentioned. “But right now, I’m just focused on making my imprint on the league.

“Obviously, I gotta come in as a rookie and do a lot of great things to even get to that standpoint, but that’s what I’m focused on right now.”

That can occur in a huge metropolis or a smaller market. Dybantsa appears to flourish, irrespective of the situation.