AJ Dybantsa Looked Like a Vet in His NBA Debut

AJ Dybantsa’s wish came true — just not how he drew it up.

Before his NBA debut on Wednesday in Cleveland, the 19-year-old told his dad, Ace, that he wanted his first career basket to be a dunk.

Dybantsa had missed the first four regular season games after rolling his left ankle in Washington’s preseason finale, but he started against the Cavaliers while playing on a minutes restriction.

On the game’s opening possession, Dybantsa received a pass, took off toward the basket and drew a foul on his way to the rim. He had to settle for his first NBA points coming at the free-throw line.

“Just trying to be aggressive from the jump,” Dybantsa told reporters after the game. “That’s always been my game regardless of the level. I tried to punch it. I wanted my first basket to be a dunk so bad.”

A few minutes later, the rookie got his wish, catching a lob from Trae Young for his first NBA basket.

Dybantsa looked the part in his first regular season game, scoring a team-high 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting in the Wizards’ 121–111 loss to the Cavaliers. The Wizards hung with the Cavaliers — widely considered a championship contender — for most of the game. They went into halftime up 10, but lost the lead in the second half as Cleveland guards James Harden and Donovan Mitchell took over.

“We understand that we could have won tonight, could have won in Charlotte [on Monday],” Anthony Davis said. “We’re very optimistic about what we can do, what we can be. But we got to learn from these late-game situations and try to execute down the stretch.”

Dybantsa is a big reason for that optimism. Offensively, he looked like a seasoned vet on Wednesday, taking what the defense gave him and passing out of situations where he was well-covered. He made his first three shots and had 9 points and an assist in his first six minutes on the floor.

In the second quarter, Dybantsa found Kyshawn George for a lob and later kicked out to Alex Sarr for a 3-pointer when his driving lane was cut off.

His return was welcome for a banged-up Wizards team that is now down four players. On Wednesday, the team announced that Justin Champagnie underwent surgery for a fractured foot that will likely keep him out until the All-Star break. Tre Johnson is day-to-day with a sore foot, and Tristan Vukčević (hip) and Jamir Watkins (ACL) remain sidelined. Dybantsa said after the game that he had no issues playing with his ankle.

“Feels good,” he said. “I didn’t want to come back not 100%.”

Dybantsa wasn’t the only young Wizard in a groove against the Cavs. Sarr had 13 points in the first half and Bilal Coulibaly had 14, while Dybantsa went into halftime with 11. The trio overshadowed Davis and Trae Young, serving as another reminder that the Wizards have the young talent to complement their All-Star veterans.

Dybantsa logged 27 minutes, which was “about in the range” of the restriction the Wizards played him under, coach Brian Keefe said.

Keefe put Dybantsa back in the game late in the fourth quarter with the Wizards trailing, but the rookie was unable to turn his team’s fortunes. He missed a 3 and a running layup in the closing minutes.

Even Keefe admitted that the Wizards aren’t used to playing in tight games together. But now that their main pieces are finally on the court together, they can start to learn.

“Those are the things we’re learning,” Keefe said. “We’re a new group. How we’re going to execute in those situations. It’s the first one that we’ve actually been in, including the preseason, so it’s good for us to go through this.”