Washington Wizards rookie AJ Dybantsa has openly embraced the challenge of guarding the opposing team’s best players during the 2026-2027 NBA season.
According to him, he has asked his coaches to give him the toughest defensive matchups in their games.
Dybantsa, the top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, said he has the physical tools to do so across all positions.
“It’s been great. I’ve been telling the coach I want to take that challenge,” Dybantsa said. “I want to guard the best player on the other team. I think I got the length for it, I think I got the size for it, I think I got the quickness for it.”
“So since I’m taking that challenge, that’s what the NBA is about. I mean you want to go compete against the best. I want to prove I’m a good defender in this league, so the only way to do it is to go, you know, guard the best player on another team,” he added.
Dybantsa noted that wanting to compete against and shut down top-tier talent is what the NBA is all about, shifting away from his defensive reputation at BYU.
Standing at 6’10” with a 7-foot-plus wingspan, Dybantsa utilizes his size and athletic tools to switch onto perimeter scorers and disrupt passing lanes since he was a collegiate athlete.
Dybantsa is averaging 16.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game through his first seven appearances, including a 21-point, 8-rebound, 2-block effort against the Detroit Pistons.
AJ Dybantsa Wants To Be Everywhere Whenever He Is On The Floor
AJ Dybantsa plays with a high-motor, all-over-the-court style as a rookie.
Dybantsa said he has been carrying an all-over-the-court mindset since he was playing for the Team USA youth team, where he fully embraced a major defensive role.
“We had twelve players who were all going to become NBA players. So we knew we would all have to make sacrifices,” he said. “And I wanted to be the best defender in the group. I wanted to be everywhere, defend on the front line in the press, deflect passes, block shots, intercept passes and run in transition. It worked, because we won three gold medals.”
Dybantsa has also put Detroit Pistons’ Ausar Thompson as his benchmark on the defensive end.
“Ausar is probably one of the best defenders in the league, if not the best perimeter defender. And they also have guys like Jenkins and Ron Holland, who are extremely physical,” the Wizards rookie said.
AJ Dybantsa Wants To Win With The Wizards
Having such a mindset, Dybantsa has been vocal about winning games, especially now that the Wizards have been struggling to secure victories to start this season.
Dybantsa has made it clear that winning games is his primary focus over individual highlights or statistics as a rookie.
This reflects what he stated prior to the season, when he emphasized that he wanted to win games to help Washington make the playoffs and energize the city.
The Wizards last reached the playoffs in 2021, when the team was still led by Bradley Beal and the now-retired Russell Westbrook.
Right now, Washington has lost its last four games and is currently at 4-7.
AJ Dybantsa Asks To Have Wizards’ Toughest Defensive Assignments