BYU’s AJ Dybantsa came into the season with expectations of being the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and he looked every bit like a top pick on Tuesday.
Dybantsa dropped 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists as he helped lead the Cougars to a massive second-half comeback against Clemson. It was the school’s largest second-half comeback as BYU erased a 22-point deficit to win 67-64.
The Cougs won on a buzzer-beating three pointer.
After the win, fans hyped the tremendous effort from Dybantsa.
Dybantsa joined BYU after being ranked as the top overall recruit in the class of 2025, per 247Sports’ composite rankings. He’s also already widely projected to be one of, if not the top pick, in the NBA draft. Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman projects him to go third overall in his latest mock draft.
Dybantsa has had a few performances typical for a freshman, but he’s mostly looked NBA-ready. He’s putting up 19.4 points per game on an efficient 54.5 percent from the field.
But before Dybantsa turns his attention toward the NBA draft, he’ll look to lead BYU during the 2025-26 campaign. The Cougars have had a strong 8-1 start to the year, with their only loss coming to No. 5 UConn.
BYU has had a few tournament appearances and reached the Sweet 16 last year, but the Cougars have only been to three Elite Eights in school history, with the most recent appearance coming in 1981.
If there were ever a year for BYU to make a Final Four run, it’s this year, and Dybantsa has shown early on that he’s capable of leading the Cougars to that kind of success.