Ace Bailey headline: AJ Dybantsa presses No. 1 case at combine
ace bailey was not the player in the room, but AJ Dybantsa made the clearest push yet for the top spot at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. He said he wants to be picked No. 1 in next month’s NBA Draft and backed it with a 42-inch max vertical leap test and a blunt pitch: “I fill seats.”
Dybantsa’s No. 1 pitch
Dybantsa handled team meetings in a suit and tie and said the setup felt like a first job interview. “I had interviews this morning with different teams, and I mean, I never had a job before,” he said during his media session, adding, “This is like my first job interview.”
He laid out the case for why his name belongs at the top. “I’m super versatile as a player,” he said. “I think I can guard one through four, play one through four.” He added that he can be “a little bit of combo guard” or “that jumbo wing” if needed, then summed up his appeal in one line: “I fill seats.”
Wizards, Jazz, Grizzlies
As of noon Wednesday, Dybantsa said he had met with the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls, LA Clippers, Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks. The Wizards won the draft lottery and hold the No. 1 pick, while the Jazz sit at No. 2, the Grizzlies at No. 3 and the Bulls at No. 4.
That is the lane Dybantsa is trying to enter. He is a BYU wing in a draft class where the top selection has been discussed alongside Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson, and he said the combine interviews are part of proving he belongs in that conversation.
Combine competition
Peterson said he had interviewed with approximately 10 teams by midday Wednesday and had met with the Wizards, Jazz and Grizzlies. He said he can fit with any team because he can play both off and on the ball, and when asked whether he would cross a team off his list if it viewed him solely as a two-guard, he answered, “Nah, no, sir.”
Boozer pointed to the traits he believes will carry over immediately, saying, “I think my mind, for sure.” He also cited “my feel for the game” and “my competitiveness, my will to win,” while Wilson’s path has been shaped by injuries after he broke a bone in his hand on February 10, 2025 and later had his North Carolina season limited to 24 games by hand injuries.
For Dybantsa, the combine has turned into a direct sales pitch. He has the measurements, the interviews and the lottery board in front of him now, with Washington holding the first card and the draft set for next month.
