AJ Dybantsa shares his game awareness while breaking down Kevin Durant’s highlight film: “The game is way more contact-allowed”
BYU Cougars commit AJ Dybantsa has continued to pad on the budding stardom he has as he finishes his stellar high school hoops tenure. The five-star No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2025 has been putting on a great senior showcase for Utah Prep throughout the 2024-2025 season, as he looks to move on to collegiate hoops later this year.
Dybantsa also featured on NBA x Nike Air Time on YouTube. His segment circled around his favorite player, NBA champion Kevin Durant, whom he models his game after. In one instance, the 6'9 swingman was breaking down Durant's film and how he rises over his defenders for a jumper after banging them on the post.
"The game is way more contact-allowed nowadays, so definitely like just getting your shoulder into guys lower, lower areas. They could get off-balanced which gives you more space to shoot," Dybantsa explained. (5:29)
As Dybantsa and Team USA basketball AmeriCup Qualifying coach Stephen Silas continued to watch and discuss some of Durant's signature moves, the standout forward shared what he has learned from the Phoenix Suns star and applied it to his own mindset.
"They can go back while you're shooting. That split-second like, I've realized that myself like even playing USA, like the high levels you go up like, seconds really matter. So, just to get it up quicker," Dybantsa shared. (5:54)
After he wraps up his secondary studies, Dybantsa is set to be a one-and-done player for the Kevin Young-coached BYU Cougars, who went for a 26-10 overall record, 14-6 during this year's Big 12 conference play.
They were bounced out of the 2025 national tournament in the Sweet 16 by the Alabama Crimson Tide through a staggering 25-point defeat, 113-88.
AJ Dybantsa will be playing in the 2025 Jordan Brand Classic
On Thursday, April 17, it was announced by the NBA that AJ Dybantsa will be one of the headlining stars in the 2025 Jordan Brand Classic. It is set for Friday, April 18, in Washington, D.C., and for the boys' basketball showcase, Dybantsa will be joined by other top-ranked HS prospects such as Cameron and Cayden Boozer and Kiyan Anthony.
AJ Dybantsa is coming off a stellar stint with Team USA in this year's Nike Hoops Summit showcase, which had some of the best young prospects in the world face off against each other, wherein he dropped 24 points, six rebounds and five assists.