IN PICS: AJ Dybantsa reshares candid moments from his appearance on Stephen A. Smith’s show

By Kayode Akinwumi

Modified Dec 17, 2024 23:56 GMT

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BYU Cougars signee and No. 1 basketball prospect AJ Dybantsa shared photos from his interview with Stephen A. Smith on his Instagram story on Saturday. The five-star small forward appeared on the "Stephen A. Smith Show" along with his dad after announcing his college choice on Thursday, talking about details of the factors that went into his decision.

Images from AJ Dybantsa's story

Dybantsa cited the NBA-experienced staff at BYU as his major reason since his ultimate goal is to play in the league.

“Like I said on 'First Take,' NBA staff, all the way down to the dietician, strength coach, analytics guy," Dybantsa said. "And my ultimate goal is to go to the NBA, so why not surround myself a year earlier?”

BYU contended with Alabama, North Carolina, Kansas and Kansas State for Dybantsa. Stephen A. Smith asked what gave the Cougars the edge over the other programs.

“All my visits were good," Dybantsa said. "All the four visits were amazing visits. Like, after every visit, I wanted to go to the school. That’s how good the visit was.

"But, I mean, I really sat down with my parents and was like, 'What do we want out of it?' And our ultimate goal’s the NBA. We sat down, pros and cons of each school. Obviously, BYU has some cons, but their pros just overweighed all the cons, and then that’s why we chose.”

How NIL played a role in AJ Dybantsa’s commitment to BYU

As with many college recruitments recently, NIL also played a big part in AJ Dybantsa’s signing with the Cougars. His choice of BYU includes an NIL package valued at close to $7 million, according to Zagsblog.

ESPN’s Jay Bilas stressed the importance of NIL in giving BYU leverage to sign the standout talent:

“What I think this shows you is that NIL … it opens it up for other places to have a chance now. AJ Dybantsa is not a player that BYU would have been in on pre-NIL, and now they’re in on him.”

Dybantsa is the highest-rated signee in the Cougars’ history, surpassing 2024 standout Egor Demin. The Utah Prep star is already projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft. He has dreams about teams he could play for in the NBA, mentioning the San Antonio Spurs and Orlando Magic to Stephen A. Smith.