Yahoo projects Washington will use the No. 1 pick on AJ Dybantsa

The 2026 NBA draft just flipped from theory to leverage. Washington won the lottery on Sunday, May 10, and that turned a long-running prospect debate into a real front-office decision — who gets the keys at No. 1, and how much does the rest of the board move around that choice? Right now, Yahoo’s answer is AJ Dybantsa. But the interesting part is not that one mock likes him. It’s that the first serious post-lottery mocks already disagree on what comes next. ### What actually changed? The lottery set the top of the draft order. Washington landed No. 1, Utah got No. 2, and the rest of the league finally stopped guessing about odds and started building around actual slots. The combine also opens the real evaluation window — team interviews, medical checks, measurements, and the first trade conversations that feel concrete instead of hypothetical. (nba.com) ### Why is Dybantsa the name at No. 1? Because he still looks like the cleanest superstar bet. Yahoo’s latest mock puts the BYU wing first overall, and that tracks with the broader industry view — size, shot creation, defensive tools, and the kind of scoring profile teams talk themselves into building around for a decade. Tankathon and other public boards also still have Dybantsa at the top, which tells you this isn’t one outlet going rogue. (nba.com) ### So is this settled? Not really. The consensus is stronger at No. 1 than it is at No. 2 and No. 3. Yahoo has Darryn Peterson going second. CBS has Peterson second too. But On3 pushes Caleb Wilson up to Utah at No. 2 and puts Cameron Boozer at No. 3 to Charlotte. That kind of early split matters, because it usually means teams see different answers to the same question — best player available versus best fit, upside versus polish, wing creation versus frontcourt stability. (sports.yahoo.com) ### Why does Washington’s roster matter? Because the Wizards are not drafting into a vacuum. The No. 1 pick is always about talent first, but roster shape still nudges the conversation. Bleacher Report framed Washington as a team that already has enough interesting pieces that this pick can be about star hierarchy, not just survival. That makes a big wing creator especially appealing. Those players are the hardest thing to find later. (sports.yahoo.com) ### Why are mocks diverging this fast? Because once the order locks, every evaluator starts doing fit math. Before the lottery, boards are mostly talent rankings in disguise. After the lottery, they become team-specific arguments. Utah at No. 2 is not the same exercise as some other team at No. 2. Same with Charlotte at No. 3. The board stops being abstract and starts being about who each franchise thinks it can build around fastest. (bleacherreport.com) ### What can still scramble the top three? A lot, honestly. The combine runs through May 17 in Chicago, and this is where teams tighten or loosen convictions. Interviews can help. Medicals can hurt. Measurements can shift how a team sees positional versatility. Then come private workouts and trade calls. The draft is June 23, so there’s still enough runway for one team to fall in love with a different archetype — or for someone to move up. (sports.yahoo.com) ### Is the bigger story the pick or the class? Both — but mostly the class. Multiple outlets are treating this group as unusually strong at the top, which is why the disagreement is so revealing. If everyone had the same top three in the same order, there would be less to learn. The split tells you teams think they’re choosing between different kinds of franchise player, not just sorting a neat list. (nbadraftroom.com) ### Bottom line Washington is on the clock, and AJ Dybantsa is the early favorite for a reason. But the real post-lottery signal is the lack of perfect agreement behind him. That’s where the draft gets interesting — not when one player goes first, but when the teams behind that pick start deciding what kind of future they actually want. (cbssports.com)