All posts tagged: Dybantsa

AJ Dybantsa Says His ‘Rainbow Face’ Draft-Night Watch Was a No-Brainer

AJ Dybantsa Says His ‘Rainbow Face’ Draft-Night Watch Was a No-Brainer

At Tuesday’s NBA Draft, AJ Dybantsa was selected first overall by the Washington Wizards—and nobody was less surprised than he was. “I mean, I’ve been number one my whole life,” the 19-year-old wing told me the day before, over a FaceTime call from the Hublot boutique in Lower Manhattan. “I don’t plan on dropping.” What he did plan on, however, was wearing an excellent watch on draft night. On Monday, Dybantsa flashed me his new Hublot Big Bang Unico Titanium Rainbow. Without the help of a stylist, or even a consultation with a group chat or trusted friend, the new Wizard selected this watch entirely on his own. “I knew I was going to wear this watch,” he said. “Nobody would convince me not to wear this watch.” Dybantsa was so sure this was the one that he didn’t try on a single other watch, despite having access to the brand’s entire store. This Rainbow Big Bang was laid out for him when he arrived. erickhercules Luxury watches are often used as markers of a …

AJ Dybantsa Is the No. 1 Pick on a Big NBA Draft Night for Freshman Stars and Michigan’s Champions

AJ Dybantsa Is the No. 1 Pick on a Big NBA Draft Night for Freshman Stars and Michigan’s Champions

NEW YORK (AP) — AJ Dybantsa is on his way to Washington and ready to start working as soon as he gets there. That’s not until Wednesday. Tuesday was a night for the NBA’s No. 1 draft pick to party. “Obviously this night is just a celebration of all the hard work I’ve done in the past, and so now I’m going to celebrate,” Dybantsa said. So were a record number of one-and-done college stars who followed him, a trio of national champions from Michigan and fans of both New York teams on what sounded like an even more festive NBA draft than usual. The Wizards started it by selecting Dybantsa, a forward who led the nation in scoring in his one season at BYU. He averaged 25.5 points, highlighted by a 43-point effort that broke BYU’s freshman scoring record, and was the first of a record-tying eight straight college freshman taken to begin the draft. That matched the record set last year. Morez Johnson Jr. at No. 9 was the first non-freshman. “I think …

NBA Draft Prospect AJ Dybantsa Already Knows He’s a Star

NBA Draft Prospect AJ Dybantsa Already Knows He’s a Star

Earlier that day, I first met up with Dybantsa in Santa Monica as a trainer put him through a morning circuit. As a Red Bull athlete, Dybantsa has all-inclusive access to the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center, a standalone building at the energy-drink company’s LA headquarters. The aspirational grooves of Rod Wave and 21 Savage’s “Turks & Caicos” rattled the speakers. The tricked-out gym boasts all the high-end amenities one might expect of a health-and-fitness palace funded by Red Bull, where snowboarders and cliff divers train alongside the potential first pick in the NBA Draft. There’s a biomechanics lab and a mental health performance center, an area where athletes can receive shockwave therapy, and a section where they can transition between an infrared sauna and a cold plunge. Immediately upon entering, visitors are greeted by a dark accent wall with “F*** THE LIMITS” painted on it in bold, defiant letters. I am told that the Peter Drucker quote, “What is measured, improves,” serves as a guiding principle for everything that happens here, which is why …

Freshman Stars Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa and Darius Acuff Jr. Picked for AP All-America First Team

Freshman Stars Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa and Darius Acuff Jr. Picked for AP All-America First Team

Duke forward Cameron Boozer, BYU star AJ Dybantsa and Darius Acuff Jr. of Arkansas arrived this season as part of what could go down as one of the most heralded freshman classes in college basketball history. “He’s all about his teammates,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said of Boozer, who was the AP’s national player of the week twice during the season. “He’s not about numbers. He’s about winning. And I think when your best player’s that way, it becomes contagious, and it has a big effect on the rest of the group.” Such a team-first attitude was on display by all the first-team picks; each helped their team to the NCAA Tournament. Boozer took the Blue Devils to ACC regular-season and tournament titles and helped them earn the top overall seed. Lendeborg also helped the Wolverines earn a No. 1 seed. Arkansas is seeded fourth, Texas Tech seeded fifth and BYU seeded sixth. “This has been the best year of my life, honestly. I’ve had so much fun,” said Lendeborg, the first Michigan first-team All-American …