The Washington Wizards open the 2026 NBA Summer League against the Utah Jazz on Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern, and the game is already carrying the weight of the No. 1 pick. AJ Dybantsa, selected by Washington about two weeks ago, is the name most people will be watching when the first possession arrives.
That is why Tre Johnson keeps coming up in the conversation around the opener: this is not just a summer game, but the first competitive look at the player Washington chose over Kansas guard Darryn Peterson with the No. 1 overall selection. The top two picks in the 2026 draft could be on the court, giving the matchup a rare level of curiosity for something played in summer league.
There is also a reason the game matters beyond the opening tip. Washington has won fewer than 20 games for a third straight season, so even a low-stakes exhibition carries more attention than it usually would. For a team that has spent years looking for a direction, every chance to see its newest centerpiece on the floor feels larger than the setting around him.
But summer league has become a less reliable measure of what comes next. Teams increasingly rest top picks after only a game or two, which means the showcase can disappear almost as quickly as it starts. A player can look ready, or look raw, and still leave with only a short sample that tells little about how he will handle a full NBA season.
That leaves Washington with a simple question after Thursday night: how much of AJ Dybantsa will it actually show the public before the team shuts him down? If he plays deep into the schedule, the Wizards will give fans and scouts more to study. If they limit him early, the opener may end up being the clearest look anyone gets for a while.
