2026 NBA Draft: Wizards Take AJ Dybantsa No. 1, Knicks Pull Off Stunning Trade Run

The Washington Wizards selected BYU forward AJ Dybantsa with the No. 1 overall pick Tuesday night, going with the player who had been mocked at the top spot for weeks. It marks Washington’s first No. 1 pick since taking John Wall in 2010. The Utah Jazz followed at No. 2, landing Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, who entered the draft cycle as the consensus top prospect before injury issues during his college season knocked him down the board slightly. The Memphis Grizzlies took Duke forward Cameron Boozer at No. 3, and the Chicago Bulls rounded out the top four with North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson.

A Wild Night of Trades

The first round turned into one of the most active trade nights in recent draft history. The Grizzlies kicked things off, moving back from No. 16 to No. 17 in a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder, then trading down again to No. 21 with the Detroit Pistons. The two moves netted Memphis five future second-round picks, and the team used the No. 21 selection on New Zealand Breakers forward Karim Lopez, the first Mexican-born player ever taken in the first round.
The Knicks, fresh off their first NBA championship in 53 years, made the most dramatic move of the night. New York started by trading its No. 24 pick to the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 25 slot and cash, then selected Spanish guard Sergio De Larrea. Almost immediately, the Knicks flipped De Larrea’s rights to the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 30 pick and two more second-round selections. The Mavericks then used that pick on Arizona forward Koa Peat, but New York’s night still wasn’t over: the Knicks turned around and traded Peat to the Phoenix Suns for three additional second-round picks and cash. By the end of the night, New York had walked away from the first round entirely without keeping a single pick, but added five second-round selections and cash in the process.

Why It Matters

For the Jazz, getting Peterson at No. 2 gives them a potential franchise cornerstone to pair with Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Keyonte George, even with some questions about his health after he missed games due to cramping issues last season. For Washington, Dybantsa joins a roster already built around Trae Young, who signed a four-year, $212 million extension just days before the draft, giving the Wizards a clear new face for their rebuild.
For the Knicks, the night was less about adding a player and more about stockpiling future assets while staying below the luxury tax’s second apron, a financial line team owner James Dolan has reportedly treated as a hard limit even after the franchise’s title run.
Source: ESPN, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports, NBA.com, SI.com