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Jun
Cut to the Jase
AJ Dybantsa's hoops obsession leads to top overall pick
AJ Dybantsa is interviewed after being drafted first overall by the Washington Wizards during the 2026 NBA Draft - Round One on June 23, 2026 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Photo: Avery J. Munroe/NBAE via Getty Images
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Ever wondered what it's like to be a teammate of an NBA draft's top pick?
Kiwi young gun Jayden Cecil, who grew up in southeast Queensland, has done exactly that after playing with the first overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft in AJ Dybantsa at Utah Prep before he became a college star at BYU.
Dybantsa was selected by the Washington Wizards with the first pick, joining a team featuring former All-Stars Trae Young and Anthony Davis in DC.
Cecil gave basketball.com.au readers an insight into what made the 6'9" forward such a special talent on a recent edition of the Cut to the Jase podcast with Jason Cadee.
"When I was first around him, you could just tell like the physical attributes were just different," Cecil, who still plays at Utah Prep and is coached by former New Zealand Breaker and Tall Blacks guard Mark Dickel, said.
"You know, 6'10", long, lanky frame and his was before he put that muscle on and he just moved different.
"Like I'd never really seen anyone at that size move with such finesse.
"Going into our high school season, he put on that weight, he almost seemed like he got more athletic, more physical."
But Cecil believed it wasn't just Dybantsa's physical attributes which separated himself from other young talents.
"You could just see how obsessed he was with the game," Cecil said.
"That was the biggest difference.
"Again, going from us to such a professional environment, it just seemed like the top, top guys like him were just obsessed with just getting better.
"Being around him, it'd be 9pm, we'd have two, three trainings already throughout the day and he's going 110% in the gym."
In a star-studded draft, Dybantsa beat out Darryn Peterson (Kansas) and Cameron Boozer (Duke) to be the top pick.
Former NBL Next Star with the New Zealand Breakers, Karim Lopez, was selected with pick 21 by the Detroit Pistons but his rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.
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