They are known, now, by many in the analytics crowd, as “apex predators.” Yes, it’s a lift from the animal world. Think orcas or lions or polar bears. They have no natural enemies, because who would be stupid enough to take on a killer whale that has home-ocean advantage?In the NBA, it refers to the game’s top offensive killers — the players who put immense pressure on defenses, game after game, with their ability to score both in the midrange and behind the 3-point line, along with a proclivity to get to the rim and draw fouls. No matter where they are on the court, the defense shades their way. Their presence opens up driving lanes and creates open looks for teammates. Small guards can certainly score in the NBA, but they have limitations of strength and size. Even superstars such as Nikola Jokić or Giannis Antetokounmpo have to pick their spots on the floor. They don’t rain 3-pointers on you.Meanwhile, the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Dončić, Anthony Edwards, Kawhi Leonard and Jayson Tatum go wherever they like.In this year’s draft, which is very deep at the top, two players seem to have that kind of apex potential: BYU forward AJ Dybantsa and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson. It’s why the two have been linked together the last couple of years as their draft day neared.We looked at Peterson in the first installment of this year’s Draft Confidential. Today, it’s the 19-year-old Dybantsa: born in Boston and raised in nearby Brockton, Mass., but who’s played the last couple of years in Utah, first for Utah Prep in high school, then for the Cougars.But Dybantsa is only the best-known of multiple forward/wing prospects, one or two of whom should crack the lottery, amid the numerous guards expected to go early in the first round.The annual reminder: This is not a comprehensive listing of every potential draftee. I don’t want to TL;DR you to death, and I cover other stuff, too. Our guy Sam Vecenie has the exhaustive compilation, as always, in his amazing annual NBA Draft Guide. This should serve as a complementary piece, with raw data from coaches and scouts and executives. I give them anonymity; they give me the truth, good and bad. Sometimes it comes across as harsh in the written word, but most people in this business are neither blindly loyal to players nor hopelessly misanthropic about them. They are trained to see players as ever-evolving, with strengths and weaknesses. The big question is how much a kid is willing to work to get better, and that’s the thing none of them know for sure.This is the NBA version of what Bruce Feldman does every year in the college football space for us at The Athletic: getting intel from the ground on the top NFL prospects every year, laying it out in pre-draft columns or mock drafts and complementing the annual, insanely encyclopedic summary that is Dane Brugler’s Beast.(Heights listed are from the official measurements taken of the players at the pre-draft combine in Chicago in May.)Jaylen Brown 2.0?He has more than 930,000 followers on IG and almost half a million on TikTok. He goes viral when he goes wild watching the final seconds of the New York Knicks’ improbable Game 4 comeback win over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals … and when he has no visible on-camera reaction at all. This might matter more if Anicet “AJ” Dybantsa Jr. couldn’t hoop as well as he does. The BYU freshman led the nation in scoring in his one season in the Wasatch, displaying a rare ability to cook from just about all over the floor and continuing his rise toward stardom in the pros. He is plenty athletic, but his game isn’t based on verticality. He has footwork and is strong enough to take contact and draw fouls; Dybantsa also led the nation in free-throw attempts with 296. At 6-8 1/2, 217 pounds, with a 7-0 1/2-inch wingspan, he has more than enough size and length to translate to the NBA game. There are questions, though. He wasn’t as impactful defensively at BYU as someone with his physical gifts should have been, and he only shot 33 percent on 3s. That percentage and volume (4.2 per game) will need to increase. But he doesn’t duck the notion of seeking to be great. It’s clear that he wants the smoke that comes with being the No. 1 pick. A lot of NBA people compare the 19-year-old Dybantsa to the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, who just happens to have a finals MVP award in his possession. If that’s the case, either the Washington Wizards, with the first pick, or the Utah Jazz, picking second, will have a whole different kind of player on their roster.Why AJ Dybansta is the no. 1 prospect in this year's NBA DraftSam VecenieAJ Dybantsa | 6-8 1/2 forward | 19 years old | BYUWestern Conference executive No. 1: I think, if I’m there (in Washington), if you put me on the clock this second, I would take AJ because I think AJ has the mentality that he’s going to force his way into doing whatever he needs to do to be the best that he can be. … He’s about the right stuff. He’s professional. He’s been raised for these kinds of moments. The kid’s not going to fail. He’s going to be successful, and he’s going to be a good player. He’s a two-way player.When I first saw him in high school … watching him play then, ’cause he had classed up, I believe, he was defending. He was defending in that venue. AJ’s going to be fine defensively. Most of these guys coming out, if they’re a great defender right now, they’re probably not that good of an offensive player. ‘Cause most college coaches are going to play to their offensive guys and try to put them on the weakest guys defensively. I think he’s going to be more than fine. He’s got the length. And he’s got pride. He wants to be great. If people are telling him, “Look, if you want to be an All-Star, you want to be a top player in the league, you have to show you can guard somebody.”College head coach No. 1: It makes sense, for what (the Wizards) need. They need a wing, a big wing. That dude loves to play basketball. It was so impressive. He was the best player (at the U.S. Under-19 training camp in Colorado last year), and there were a lot of other really good players there. But he didn’t act like it, as far as big-timing people, being a pig. He played the right way. He is so frigging good. He is big, man. That was the thing that shocked me. Like, I’d seen him on the circuit, and I tried to watch him as much as I could. I like to watch good players. When I saw him last summer. … He’s a big dude. Your offense is your defense.Eastern Conference scout No. 1: AJ could be really, really good. He could be KG with a jump shot. That’s the way I thought of him three years ago when I first laid eyes on him. He has a tenacity about him when he wants to. His senior year of high school, he played like he had a lot of money (coming), and he was cool, and that turned me off. But in the summertime when they were in Turkey (for the 2024 FIBA Under-17 World Cup), (Cameron) Boozer got the MVP award, because it was already preordained. AJ deserved it. Just like last year, (Louisville guard) Mikal Brown Jr. didn’t get it, when he deserved it. When AJ is playing, and he did this year, when he plays hungry, he can be really, really good. AJ’s dad is a constant presence, but from what I know, he’s not a basketball presence. He’s helped him, but he’s not all hands on — probably would pay a trainer.Eastern Conference executive No. 1: For me, I’m taking AJ No. 1. Wings who are close to 6-10 with an elite first step like that, high-level athlete, can play one through four, defend one through four, get to the foul line at will. He’s getting to the foul line because dudes can’t keep up with him. He does have a little of that Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander), like, pump fake and draw into you. But he can also jump off the rim and dunk it on somebody, one dribble to the rim. With the rules and the NBA space, how much ground you can use to operate, I think AJ’s going to be a real problem. Positional size, just someone you can really build an offense around. And he’s going to be a plus defender with more coaching and when the game slows down for him. The shooting needs to develop a little bit; that’s the one weakness in his game.(Defensively), I think you’re betting more on the tools than the feel. He doesn’t think the game defensively right now. He’s thinking, I’m the star of the team. If I can make a play with my athleticism defensively, I’ll do it. If not, I’m just gonna wait for the ball to go to the other end of the floor. I think it’s more maturity than anything else. But the physical tools, and the size, and the frame that can get stronger. … His floor is he’ll never be a liability defensively, just because of the physical baseline alone. Will he ever be a stopper? I don’t know. He’s so young, and his frame is just a ball of clay. The athleticism is so unique. It’s more so the game slowing down, where you’ll maybe see an uptick defensively. … Teams will hunt the bad defenders in the playoffs. AJ’s not going to be someone you hunt. You can’t. ‘Cause if you just hunt him, he’s just going to sit down and say “Beat me, then.”Western Conference executive No. 2: He’s a responsible kid. He’s not ducking from not wanting to be the top player. He carries himself as the best player. He’s running to, “Hey, man — I’m the best player in the league.”Eastern Conference scout No. 2: He’s showing up for the run every day. In spite of all the s—, all the hoopla, he showed up every day. He still did his thing.After Dybantsa, a solid group of wings could go anywhere from the late lottery into the mid-20s. The likely next forward after Dybantsa should be Tennessee freshman Nate Ament, who had some top-five grades coming into the season out of high school. He had a solid if unspectacular season in Knoxville, making second-team All-SEC. An ankle injury during conference play slowed him for a few weeks, but he still played in 35 games, averaging almost 30 minutes a night. Ament’s size and shooting potential make him a real prospect at the next level.