By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: nba.com
The first round of the 2026 NBA Draft is over. The Washington Wizards selected AJ Dybantsa out of BYU as the No. 1 overall pick. It’s the first time that a player from BYU has been selected as the first pick in the draft.
Dybantsa is a 6-foot-9 forward who will join a franchise with star players Trae Young and Anthony Davis. The Wizards desperately need something magical to happen. Washington finished the 2025-26 season with a 17-65 record. A potential championship team can form if the team gels well with the right system in place and everyone stays healthy.
Dybantsa spent only one season at BYU, but he left a huge mark on the program by averaging 25.5 points per game and helping the Cougars reach the NCAA tournament. He took to social media to express his satisfaction and gratitude for being selected number one:
“Number one.
The Wizards called my name. All those years of work. All those days of anticipation. It happened just like God planned.
Then everything was a blur.
Right off the stage, media circuit. Hours of it. Then dinner and a party with the people who’ve been in my corner for all of this. Somewhere in the middle of the night, I drove near Times Square, someone pointed up, and I saw my face on a billboard. Big as anything. Just sitting there, static, for the whole of NYC to see.
Very little sleep after that. Today Show and Good Morning America this morning. Now I’m on my way to DC.
We made it to the top. And now I’m starting at the bottom again. First practices. First film sessions. Building with a new team, in a new city, in front of fans I haven’t met yet. Earning all of it.
There is nowhere I’d rather be starting over.
LGI, DC. I’m home.”
https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:7475588238494048256?collapsed=1
This year’s draft is one of the deepest and most talented classes in a long time. Cam Boozer got selected as the third overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies. He is the son of former Duke and NBA player Carlos Boozer. Cameron will be a great addition to the Grizzlies. Cameron was this year’s Consensus college player of the year. He’s a great power forward, and the Grizzlies better not blow this opportunity.
We are seeing the shift from Ja Morant to Cameron Boozer as the franchise player. Boozer will surround himself with talented guys on the roster, such as Zach Edey, Cedric Coward, and Scottie Pippen Jr.
The Chicago Bulls selected Caleb Wilson out of North Carolina as the fourth overall pick. Wilson had an outstanding freshman season with the Tar Heels before he went down with an injury. Michael Jordan and Coby White are former Tar Heels who were selected in the first round by the Bulls. After getting selected by the Bulls, Wilson boldly had this to say:
“I want to be the greatest player of all time,” Wilson said Tuesday after his selection. “Y’all got one of the GOATs in y’all’s history right now. It’s time for another one.”
Tonight will be the second round of the NBA Draft. Historically, there have been some players who have stood out as second-round picks—for example, Dennis Rodman, Nikola Jokic, Manu Ginobili, and Draymond Green.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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