The Washington Wizards are ready to shed the last seed tags under the AJ Dybantsa era. After the franchise selected BYU phenom Anicet ‘AJ’ Dybantsa Jr. with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, he has a massive Rookie of the Year target on his back. But the 19-year-old has made it absolutely clear that individual accolades are secondary to his goal as an NBA player.

Appearing on 7News DC, Dybantsa was directly asked whether capturing the Rookie of the Year award matters to him. The versatile 6-foot-9 forward instead showed his team-first philosophy by focusing entirely on breaking Washington’s brutal postseason drought.

“I definitely wanna win it, but it’s not like my main attention,” Dybantsa candidly admitted during his first television appearance as an NBA player. “Definitely wanna get more wins first. If we make the playoffs, I think ROY will come.”

His tunnel vision is squarely on leading the Wizards straight into the Eastern Conference playoff bracket in year one. The D.C. fan base that has witnessed only one playoff appearance over the past eight seasons needs that reassurance the most.

The team that’s in a major rebuilding phase now has a franchise cornerstone mature beyond his years. Alongside newly secured stars, Trae Young and Anthony Davis (if the trade rumors are false), Washington’s competitive timeline begins now.

Kevin Durant puts the NBA on notice about AJ Dybantsa

Dybantsa’s team-first mentality has already caught the attention of the basketball elite, specifically from his idol. Following his historic selection at the Barclays Center, Dybantsa took to Instagram to share a celebratory post documenting his path to the league. The post quickly caught the attention of Kevin Durant, who dropped a very striking comment.

 “Future DC legend. Let’s go.”

That says volumes coming from Slim. It would mean a lot more Dybantsa, who just declared his other priority coming to the NBA. Revealing that Kevin Durant has always been his favorite player, Dybantsa told reporters earlier this week:

“So me sharing the court with him will be ridiculous.”

The public endorsement from KD carries immense sentimental and symbolic weight. Durant grew up in the Washington metropolitan area and has an emotional connection to the Wizards. AJ’s smooth, three-level scoring archetype of 6’9″ ROTY favorite has drawn frequent comparisons to Durant himself.

Durant’s vote of confidence signals a passing of the torch to a teenager who led the NCAA in scoring by averaging 25.5 points per game during his sole collegiate season at BYU. As Dybantsa already said, watching the star rookie and his idol clash for the first time on the NBA stage is going to be ridiculous.