How good is 2026 NBA Draft class? Wizards GM, prominent agent weigh in

CHICAGO — The person who now controls the direction the 2026 NBA Draft will take began to go through his memory while inside Wintrust Arena on Tuesday, May 12.

Washington Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins remembers initially hearing about A.J. Dybantsa for the first time when Dybantsa was only 14 years old. They are both from Massachusetts and Dawkins, a former Division-III player, kept hearing about the basketball prospect who would be the next big thing from his area.

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Dawkins said he initially saw Cameron Boozer when Boozer was only 15 years old at the NBPA Top 100 camp. Team USA practices, national high school showcases and Nike’s EYBL events had Darryn Peterson on the Wizards’ radar by the time he was 16.

“We knew we wanted to go on an intentional rebuild,” Dawkins explained from the NBA Draft Scouting Combine in Chicago, two days after the Wizards received the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft lottery, “so we loaded up on the grassroots spaces, and made sure we were in those gyms watching these guys so you could best predict how deep the talent would be. … I think pound-for-pound it’s one of the best drafts I’ve seen in a long time.”

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See NBA mock draft first‑round projections

1. Washington Wizards: AJ Dybantsa
TEAM: BYU | POSITION: Wing | BORN: Massachusetts | HEIGHT: 6-9 | DRAFT AGE: 19 – The Wizards have the second-worst offense in the NBA and could instantly inject life into their offense by selecting AJ Dybantsa, the NCAA scoring champion and Julius Erving Award winner. He emphasized that point during his one game for BYU in March Madness, putting up 35 points and 10 rebounds. The Big 12 Rookie of the Year led the nation in unassisted points scored (680) by a wide margin this season, per CBB Analytics. The emerging star also had 40 points against Kansas State in the Big 12 Tournament on March 10 and averaged 28.8 points per game over his final 17 appearances.

1 / 30

See NBA mock draft first‑round projections

1. Washington Wizards: AJ Dybantsa
TEAM: BYU | POSITION: Wing | BORN: Massachusetts | HEIGHT: 6-9 | DRAFT AGE: 19 – The Wizards have the second-worst offense in the NBA…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/good-2026-nba-draft-class-162505300.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-13 16:25:00

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