AJ Dybantsa isn’t making excuses for his defensive performance at BYU.
The Washington Wizards’ No. 1 overall pick already established himself as one of college basketball’s most talented offensive players. But questions about his defense followed him into the NBA, particularly after he didn’t consistently make the same impact on that end of the floor.
Dybantsa has a surprisingly simple explanation: he didn’t play hard enough.
During an appearance on Grant & Danny, Dybantsa was asked whether carrying such a large offensive workload at BYU contributed to his defensive numbers.
According to Locked On Wizards, Dybantsa wasn’t interested in using that as an excuse.
“I don’t even want to make that as an excuse. I was just too lazy on that end,” Dybantsa said.
It’s an unusually blunt admission from a 19-year-old entering his first NBA season, but it could also explain why the Wizards believe there is considerably more defensive potential waiting to be unlocked.
Locked On Wizards host Ben Strober discussed what Washington could potentially get from Dybantsa if that changes.
“If the Wizards truly challenged AJ and said, like, you’re not going to be on the floor unless you are giving intensity on that side of the ball, kind of the way he did in the Summer League, maybe we’re going to see a version of a defender in AJ that we didn’t really know existed. Look at the length you just have on the team. Kyshawn George at 6’8”, 6’9” for Dybantsa, Bilal Coulibaly around 6’8”, long athletic perimeter defender. Bub Carrington, even when he’s out there, if he’s giving you something defensively, he’s around 6’5” and a half, has a little bit of length to his name. But Dybantsa, with his athleticism and his length, has everything he needs to be a very, very good defender in this league. He said it himself: ‘I just have to want to be a good defender.’ And I think if he truly wants it, he will do it.”
Washington also won’t necessarily need Dybantsa to carry the same offensive burden he did in college.
With Trae Young and Anthony Davis providing veteran scoring and playmaking alongside a young core that includes Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George and Bilal Coulibaly, Dybantsa should have more opportunities to expend energy on both ends of the floor.
There will almost certainly be defensive growing pains for a 19-year-old rookie.
But effort is something Dybantsa can control immediately.
And if his own assessment of his college defense is accurate, the Wizards may have drafted a player whose defensive ceiling is considerably higher than what he showed at BYU.
Leave a Reply