{"id":3931,"date":"2026-06-24T05:34:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T05:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3931"},"modified":"2026-06-24T05:34:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T05:34:51","slug":"after-a-difficult-rebuild-the-wizards-have-new-hope-after-adding-dybantsa-with-the-no-1-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3931","title":{"rendered":"After a difficult rebuild, the Wizards have new hope after adding Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 It has been nearly a half-century since Washington was a real championship contender in the NBA.<\/p>\n

Read more NC State, Virginia football cleared to play relocated season opener<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, AJ Dybantsa\u2019s arrival represents a potential turning point for a franchise that could really use one.<\/p>\n

The Wizards took Dybantsa with the first overall pick in Tuesday night\u2019s NBA draft. The 6-foot-9 freshman averaged 25.5 points at BYU last season. Born in Boston, Dybantsa played at Utah Prep in high school before staying in state for his one year in college. When Washington won the draft lottery, there was speculation the Utah Jazz might try to trade up from No. 2 to take Dybantsa, but ultimately the Wizards kept the pick and selected him.<\/p>\n

The Wizards won an NBA title in 1978, back when they were called the Bullets. But they have not won 50 games since 1979, and that was also the last time they so much as reached the conference finals. In between periods of total futility, they\u2019ve occasionally had entertaining players and interesting teams. But a true superstar capable of delivering a championship? That\u2019s been for other franchises.<\/p>\n

Washington blew the top pick in 2001, taking Kwame Brown. The Wizards fared better in 2010 with John Wall at No. 1 overall, and he at least helped them get past the first round of the postseason.<\/p>\n

Read more 2026 NBA draft tracker: List of 1st-round picks<\/a><\/p>\n

That era eventually ran its course, and not even a brief visit from Russell Westbrook in 2020-21 could make Washington particularly relevant. Recently, the Wizards have embarked on a significant rebuild that yielded a record of 50-196 over the past three seasons.<\/p>\n

Washington drafted big man Alex Sarr at No. 2 overall in 2024, and the roster also includes recent first-round picks Tre Johnson, Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, Will Riley and Cam Whitmore. Even before they won this year\u2019s lottery, there were signs the Wizards would be a lot more interesting in 2026-27. They traded for Trae Young and Anthony Davis last season, and although Davis didn\u2019t play at all for Washington and Young barely did, Dybantsa is joining a team that has some intriguing talent around him.<\/p>\n

Dybantsa has drawn comparisons to Kevin Durant, his favorite player. That\u2019s fitting, because Durant has been a white whale of sorts for Wizards fans, since he\u2019s from D.C. but hasn\u2019t played there while in college or the pros.<\/p>\n

Read more AJ Dybantsa is the No. 1 pick on a big NBA draft night for freshman stars and Michigan\u2019s champions<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/nba<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 It has been nearly a half-century since Washington was a real championship…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter a difficult rebuild, the Wizards have new hope after adding Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3931\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After a difficult rebuild, the Wizards have new hope after adding Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick - 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