NBA commissioner Adam Silver and AJ Dybantsa. Image via: Arturo Holmes/ Getty ImagesAJ Dybantsa heard his name called first, and the Washington Wizards finally have the foundation piece they have been chasing through eight straight losing seasons. The 6-foot-9 forward out of BYU went No. 1 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night at Barclays Center, ending months of speculation that had Kansas guard Darryn Peterson as the presumptive top selection.Peterson's drop came late. Mock drafts had him penciled in for Washington for most of the spring before his stock slid in the final days before the draft, and the Jazz scooped him up one pick later. The shift reshapes two rebuilding projects at once, with Dybantsa walking into a Wizards locker room that already includes Trae Young, while Peterson lands in Utah alongside Keyonte George, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr.Washington Wizards select AJ Dybantsa with No. 1 Pick AJ Dybantsa arrives for the first round of the NBA basketball draft Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)No. 1 pick: AJ Dybantsa, forward, BYU, selected by the Washington WizardsDraft date: Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Barclays Center, BrooklynDybantsa stats (2025-26): 25.5 PPG, 894 total points, third-most by a Division I freshman in NCAA historyWizards record: 17-65 in 2025-26, last pick won via lottery on May 10AJ Dybantsa's freshman season at BYU left little doubt he belonged at the top of this class. He led the country in scoring at 25.5 points per game, the first Division I freshman in history to average at least 25 points, six rebounds and three assists in a season. His 894 total points rank third among freshmen in NCAA Division I history, and he set or broke 19 BYU freshman scoring records along the way, including a 43-point outburst in January.He did all of it as a one-and-done. Dybantsa committed to BYU after a recruiting battle that included Alabama, Kansas and North Carolina, then declared for the draft in April. BYU's season ended in the first round of March Madness, an 8-point loss to 11-seed Texas in which Dybantsa nearly single-handedly erased a 17-point deficit before the comeback fell short.For Washington, the selection caps a lottery win on May 10 and arrives after a 17-65 finish, the worst record in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards haven't held the No. 1 pick since winning the lottery in 2010, and they passed on Peterson, Duke's Cameron Boozer and North Carolina's Caleb Wilson to take Dybantsa.Where Darryn Peterson landed at No. 2Peterson's slide ended in Utah, where he joins a backcourt with George, who averaged 23.6 points per game last season. "I'm ready," Peterson said on ESPN Radio. "I know all the guys there. They told me how I'd fit in at the Combine and I thought it'd work well. I'm excited to go be in that backcourt with Keyonte." He added that he plans to play in NBA Summer League.Injuries shadowed Peterson's lone season at Kansas, where he missed 11 games dealing with an illness, a hamstring strain, an ankle sprain and recurring cramping. When healthy, he averaged 20.2 points on 43.8 percent shooting, earning All-Big 12 honors and an All-American mention as a freshman. He is the second-highest Kansas pick under Bill Self, trailing only Andrew Wiggins, the 2014 No. 1 overall selection.Dybantsa hugged and kissed his mother on stage after his name was called, then thanked both parents before the Wizards' rebuild officially began with him at the center of it.