LAS VEGAS — It counted as only one sequence in a 40-minute NBA Summer League exhibition, but sometimes a single moment can reveal a larger truth about a young player’s potential.
In the middle of the first quarter late Sunday afternoon, with the Washington Wizards on defense, 6-foot-9 wing AJ Dybantsa switched onto the Sacramento Kings’ 6-foot-2 rookie point guard, Darius Acuff Jr.
Normally, that would be a mismatch in favor of a small, fleet-footed guard as talented as Acuff is. Not in this case, though.
Acuff elevated for a pop-up 3-point jumper at the top of the arc. Dybantsa jumped, too, raising his left arm into the air, and swatted the ball, with one of his Wizards teammates collecting the rebound.
The block demonstrated one of the reasons the Wizards selected Dybantsa with the top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Although Dybantsa has a well-earned reputation as a lethal scorer, team officials believe he can develop into an upper-level defender in time.
“I think he should be All-Defense,” Wizards summer-league coach T.J. Sorrentine said. “He’s one of those … two-way players. You just see the size and the length and the way he moves. Once he nails down the way the NBA is played — he’s a sponge, so it’s going to happen quick — the sky’s the limit.”
Dybantsa and second-year wing Will Riley led the Wizards to a 104-85 victory over the Kings at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, with Dybantsa doing a bit of everything and Riley scoring a game-high 32 points.
Washington’s performance was impressive because it operated at an experience disadvantage. Sacramento already had played four summer-league games entering Sunday, posting a 3-0 record earlier this month in the California Classic and winning its NBA Summer League opener. Washington, on the other hand, had played only one summer-league game.
The Kings also started three players who logged heavy minutes during the 2025-26 regular season: Maxime Raynaud, Dylan Cardwell and Nique Clifford. The edge should have belonged to them, but the Wizards controlled the second and fourth quarters, with Dybantsa and Riley leading the way.
Dybantsa finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks, a stat-stuffing performance. He was far from perfect, shooting only 6 of 15 from the field and forcing too many shots.
His potential, though, is undeniable. He scored the Wizards’ opening points of the night on a pull-up 3 in transition. He continued to reach the free-throw line at a high rate, drawing six shooting fouls, including two when the Kings were in the penalty. He and Riley ran the Wizards offense at times, and those on-ball reps should help with their long-term development.
AJ Dybantsa did a little bit of everything in the Wizards’ summer-league win over the Kings, including scoring 23 points. (Ian Maule / Getty Images)
In his summer-league debut Thursday, a victory over the Utah Jazz, Dybantsa tallied 27 points, but after that game, he noted he wanted to improve on his two steals and one block.
Mission accomplished.
Early in the second quarter, after a Wizards shot was blocked out of bounds, Dybantsa hounded Clifford as the second-year King attempted to dribble the ball upcourt. Before Clifford reached the midcourt line, Dybantsa poked the ball away once, then did it again, knocking it out of bounds after Clifford recovered it. Dybantsa clapped repeatedly after nearly causing Clifford to commit an eight-second violation.
“I think I can be a first-team All-Defensive team guy,” Dybantsa said later. “That’s just where I’m trying to make an impact, on the defensive end. In college, I was being a lot lazy on the defense end, just letting guys blow by me, not being a help-side (defender). But I definitely want to bring it to the next level.”
Sunday’s exhibition was only the second competitive game Dybantsa has played since March 19, when BYU was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. He looked fatigued against the Kings.
“I think he got tired, right?” Sorrentine said. “He’s running around, doing all types of stuff, and that’s part of being ‘The Guy’ and the No. 1 pick. So I thought he got a little tired, and the ball got a little sticky. But you look at the stat sheet, and he ends up with 23 (points). He’s a heck of a player.”
The Wizards will play their next game Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls. It’s unclear whether Dybantsa, Riley or Tre Johnson will be held out for the remainder of the team’s summer-league schedule. Johnson did not play Sunday after his 26-point performance several days earlier.
If Sunday was Dybantsa’s final summer-league game, he left a strong impression during the fourth quarter.
With Sacramento trailing 75-65, Clifford caught the ball near the 3-point line on the right side of the floor and dribbled toward the lane. Dybantsa matched him step-for-step. With no clear path to the basket, Clifford defaulted to a fadeaway jumper from 12 feet. Dybantsa blocked the shot.
A few seconds later, Dybantsa scooped up a loose ball Clifford had fumbled away. Dybantsa threw a left-handed behind-the-back pass to Juju Reese as Reese barreled down the lane. Reese caught the ball and dunked it.
It was another moment that might have revealed a larger truth: Dybantsa can develop into the top-tier two-way player the Wizards have longed for.
