"He basically just made Tatum": Hoops fans react as BYU commit AJ Dybantsa builds his perfect NBA player
The No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2025, AJ Dybantsa stopped all the speculation after he made his commitment to BYU on Dec. 10. Dybantsa revealed his decision on his Instagram page in a video featuring Red Bull.
Dybantsa also appeared in a video posted by Sports Center NEXT on Dec. 12. In it, he was asked to build his perfect player on the basis of scoring, passing, defense, game IQ and athleticism.
For scoring, he chose Kevin Durant, and John Stockton for passing. Kawhi Leonard was his choice for defense and LeBron James for game IQ. Giannis Antetokounmpo was picked by him for athleticism though he wanted to choose LeBron for this too, but wasn't allowed to use the same player twice.
Hoops fans took to the comment section to react to AJ Dybantsa's opinions:
"he basically just made Tatum," commented a fan.
"All the right answers. Or he could've basically picked lebron, but then sports centre wouldn't have content to post lol 😂 kid's got the perf attitude tho, can't wait to see how well he does at byu," another fan commented.
This fan pointed out that young players are choosing 6-time NBA All-Star Kawhi Leonard, "All these young guys been saying Kawhi for defense even Flagg did."
Other fans gave their opinions on the topic:
"Steph jkidd tony allen bron giannis," a fan chose his five picks.
Another fan gave his opinion, "Luka Doncic, Jason Kidd, PJ Washington, Dirk Nowitzki, Kyrie Irving. Only correct answers."
"I would do Jason Williams passing or Rajon then either ja or ant's athleticism," this fan changed Dybantsa's pick for athleticism.
With a lot of offers for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 class, AJ Dybantsa trimmed his list to seven colleges on Aug. 2. These included Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Baylor Bears, BYU Cougars, Kansas Jayhawks, Kansas State Wildcats, and North Carolina Tar Heels.
He further cropped the list on Dec. 5 with Alabama, BYU, North Carolina and Kansas making the cut before choosing the Cougars.
AJ Dybantsa praises coach Kevin Young
AJ Dybantsa has always talked about playing in the NBA. While talking with On3, the Brockton, MA native stated why he chose the Cougars and how big an impact their coach Kevin Young had on his decision:
“Kevin Young was an NBA coach, so he is telling me that he will bring a lot of NBA styles and concepts to the program. He told me that he thought he would be a good coach to help me get to that next level," he said.
“It’s good that he has NBA experience. I mean, I’m trying to get to the NBA, so anyone that has NBA experience or anyone that has brought people to the NBA or coached in the NBA is going to have knowledge for that."
AJ Dybantsa will now join Xavion Staton and Chamberlain Burgess on Young's side from the 2025 Class.