Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Five NBA teams could dramatically benefit from landing the top prospect in this year's draft class — AJ Dybantsa.
- Each destination offers a unique blend of market appeal, roster fit and immediate impact potential.
- The debate centers on which franchise would unlock the most upside from this once-in-a-generation talent.
Nobody in college basketball could stop AJ Dybantsa this season. He averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 60 percent true shooting. Those are numbers to rival Kevin Durant, Trae Young, Cooper Flagg and the most dominant freshmen in recent history.
He's imperfect, but in a loaded NBA Draft class, Dybantsa's unmatched blend of size, strength and dexterity has made him the consensus favorite to land No. 1 in June. Dybantsa is basically impossible to guard with momentum toward the rim. He's bendy, coordinated and superbly skilled. He can score from everywhere. If he locks in on defense, watch on.
If Adam Silver had the power to rig this weekend's lottery — and we would never suggest the lottery is actually rigged — these are probably the ideal landing spots from an entertainment and marketability standpoint:
Brooklyn Nets
Brooklyn is the little brother team in NYC, but it's still NYC. The borough of Brooklyn alone is the fifth-most populated NBA market, ahead of major metropolises such as Houston, Phoenix and Philadelphia. The entire city of Chicago has roughly 100,000 more people. It would be good to have stars in Brooklyn — a counterweight to the Knicks' overwhelming presence, if nothing else.
It's also a fun basketball fit. This is still a bare-bones Nets roster, but Dybantsa is the halfcourt scoring engine Brooklyn needs to unlock Michael Porter Jr. and Egor Dëmin as complementary off-ball weapons. An up-tempo, transition attack spearheaded by Dybantsa and Nolan Traoré has showtime potential.
Jordi Fernandez is also one of the most underrated coaches in the sport. The Nets always play above their means. Give him a real cornerstone like Dybantsa, and Brooklyn could be frisky a lot sooner than later.
Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta was the best team in the East over the second half of the season, a first round flameout notwithstanding. The Hawks are trending toward real contention and winning the No. 1 pick — with a better prize than Zaccharie Risacher awaiting them — would be the ultimate catalyst. VJ Edgecombe and Dylan Harper serve as a proof of concept for elite prospects in winning situations.
The Hawks are built to push the tempo with Jalen Johnson, a 6-foot-9 bolt of lightning with legitimate guard skills. Dybantsa gives Atlanta a second big wing creator. He can gallop ahead on the break, but he can also give the Hawks the injection of halfcourt, scratch scoring that was so evidently lacking in the postseason. Especially given the uncertainty around CJ McCollum's future.
Dybantsa's defensive shortcomings are real, but there's so much potential if he commits. Playing next to Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, two gritty stoppers with a edge, couldn't hurt.
Indiana Pacers
The NBA probably doesn't think much of Indianapolis as a market, but last season's Pacers gave OKC a run for its money. If the league wants to manufacture a legitimate title threat from the East, put Dybantsa in Indy — with Ivica Zubac anchoring the paint and a healthy Tyrese Haliburton back on the controls — and the Pacers have as good a shot as anybody.
Dybantsa was the heliocentric nexus of BYU's offense this season, so there'd be a forced adjustment period in Indiana. Still, the Pacers could use another bonafide scoring threat in the halfcourt. Dybantsa and Pascal Siakam are two overwhelming downhill attackers, with Haliburton able to toggle on- and off-ball, drill spot-up 3s and exploit a defense in rotation.
The Pacers should defend like hell next season, especially with Rick Carlisle at the controls. It's hard to imagine a more beneficial, elevating co-star than Haliburton and a better coach to learn under than Carlisle. From a pure basketball and entertainment standpoint, Dybantsa on the Pacers is a dream pairing.
Dallas Mavericks
We almost never see the same team win back-to-back lotteries, but honestly, Mavs fans deserve it after the Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis sham. What better way to start the Masai Ujiri era — one that promises newfound competence and prosperity — than with another teenaged franchise cornerstone to share the floor with Cooper Flagg for the next decade.
Dallas has a chance to really take off next season. Flagg won't need long to reach that superstar gear; the returns of Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively will transform the Mavs on both ends. Irving and Flagg are a handful for opponents on their own. Mix in Dybantsa's overwhelming size and shot-making talent, with Lively as a screen-setter and veritcal spacer, and Dallas becomes damn near impossible to hold down.
The Mavs were in the Finals a couple years ago, lest we forget. This team has the foundation of a contender. They're just waiting on Flagg. If Flagg's ascent in matched with Dybantsa's own star trajectory, the Mavs could be knocking on the door in the West within a couple years.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls formally introduced new EVP Bryson Graham on Wednesday to universal acclaim. He sounds like the modern, forward-thinking GM Chicago needs to get out of this rut. The Bulls have spent far too long in the cellar. Or at least the doorstep to the cellar, never quite brave enough to enter. That is a historic franchise, in a historic market. If any team needs a good lottery-rigging to get back on track, it's the Bulls.
Graham made note of his SLAP philosophy — size, length, athleticism, physicality. Dybantsa fits those guiding principles. Chicago has real size at every position. Matas Buzelis is a talented play-finisher, connector and help-side defender. Noa Essengue, Chicago's 2025 lottery pick, is reportedly a 7-footer now. Josh Giddey is a 6-foot-7 "point guard."
Time will tell who replaces Billy Donovan and how that changes Chicago's offense, but this is a team built to run opponents out of the gym. Dybantsa would fit in nicely. He's also the three-level halfcourt weapon Chicago desperately lacks for when the game invariably slows down. The Bulls are an imperfect team still, but Dybantsa would go a long way toward restoring Chicago to some semblence of its former glory. It's been a while since we've seen a genuine, grade-A superstar in the Windy City.
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