The Washington Wizards won the NBA Draft Lottery and will make the first pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, a result that immediately reshaped the top of the board and sent Kevin O'Connor back to the mock-draft board with a new forecast. In his latest projection, O'Connor has AJ Dybantsa going to Washington at No. 1.
The timing matters because the lottery order now sets the path to the draft, and Washington suddenly sits in position to add the kind of player teams spend years chasing. Dybantsa, listed at 6-foot-9, led the nation with 25.5 points per game and delivered a 43-point eruption that broke Danny Ainge’s 48-year-old BYU freshman scoring record. That production is why he is already being discussed as a potential franchise centerpiece for a club that could also have Trae Young and Anthony Davis on the roster.
O'Connor's mock gives Washington a clear direction, but it also captures how much room there is for the Wizards to change again before the 2026 NBA Draft. Alex Sarr has shown enough to be described as an effective two-way big, while Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Will Riley and Bilal Coulibaly have all flashed enough that the roster is not starting from scratch. The choice at No. 1 would not be about finding a single bright spot. It would be about deciding which star can fit around an already crowded mix of talent if Washington keeps building the way it appears to be building.
That is where the draft picture gets complicated. Dybantsa’s talent is obvious, but the profile comes with questions that matter to any team putting the first pick on the line. He missed 11 of 35 games, pulled himself out of some games because of cramping and has said the problem is linked to taking creatine. He also has a 6-foot-11 wingspan, which only adds to the appeal for a front office trying to balance upside with risk.
For Washington, the lottery win is more than a lucky night. It is the kind of break that can change a rebuild if the pick turns into the player many now expect it to be. O'Connor has already made that connection in print, and the next step belongs to the Wizards: deciding whether the top of the class is finally theirs to use on a player who looks built to carry the draft's biggest stage.
