AJ Dybantsa becomes first Massachusetts prospect picked No. 1 in NBA Draft since Patrick Ewing

The Washington Wizards selected Brockton native AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday. The BYU power forward became the first Massachusetts prospect selected first since Patrick Ewing in 1985.

The first round of the draft is taking place inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Dybantsa was raised in Brockton, and attended school in the city growing up. He went on to play at St. Sebastian's School in Needham for his freshman year of high school.

At St. Sebastian's, Dybantsa won the Massachusetts Boys' Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year award for the 2022-23 season.

After that spectacular campaign, Dybantsa moved to Napa, California and played for Prolific Prep.

In one season on a lucrative NIL deal with BYU, Dybantsa led the team to the NCAA tournament and averaged 25.5 points per game to go along with 6.8 rebounds.

In an interview with WBZ-TV leading up to the draft, Dybantsa thanked the teachers and coaches in Brockton who helped him get to this point, saying "I wouldn't be here without them."

Ewing was selected first in the 1985 draft by the New York Knicks out of Georgetown. Ewing was born in Jamaica, but later moved to Massachusetts and went on to star at Cambridge Rindge and Latin.

The Celtics, meanwhile, head into the draft with the No. 27 pick on the first night. In the second round, Boston holds pick No. 40 overall. The team still holds the picks because Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Miami Heat late Monday night instead of the Celtics, who had been rumored to be dangling a package that included Jaylen Brown.