AJ Dybantsa will have a slight axe to grind against Sean Miller and the Texas Longhorns. Dybantsa has wanted to become the obvious No. 1 NBA Draft pick and the popular opinion was that he would be. Yet, Miller insisted that Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. should be the top pick above Dybantsa and others. Ahead of that tasty matchup, Dybantsa has revealed the true intentions behind his decision to choose BYU in the first place. 

A trending narrative when AJ Dybantsa committed to BYU was that he made this call because of the egregious NIL deal. The Cougars’ NIL offer to Dybantsa is close to $7 million, according to basketball insider Adam Zagoria. However, Dybantsa has insisted that his decision was never about that paycheck but about his NBA readiness.

“As players continue to be recruited in the NIL era, how much do you think a paycheck matters versus can you develop me and get me to the NBA?'” asked a reporter. To which Dybantsa gave a clear answer. 

“It depends on the situation of the player, in my opinion,” he said. “A guy like me. I came from a great background and great parents. We always had money growing up. For me, my ultimate goal was the NBA, so I picked BYU because they had the resources to develop me.”

BYU is filled with NBA experienced staff like head coach Kevin Young. He was the highest-paid NBA assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns. Young had reportedly interviewed for head coaching jobs at the NBA level but BYU pulled him into college basketball. Will Voigt, their lead assistant coach, has G-League experience with the Austin Spurs and he has also coached internationally. In addition, coach Young has insisted that he will make BYU into an NBA pipeline. 

Even when Dybantsa committed to the program, he had said something similar, citing the Suns’ Kevin Durant as a major influence. “A lot stood out during my visit. Obviously, coach Kevin Young’s there. My ultimate goal is to get to the NBA, and he coached my favorite player of all time, Kevin Durant,” Dybantsa said. However, Dybantsa does not disagree in choosing a program because of the money. 

“There’s a lot of people in this situation where parents might not be as money or stuff like that,” He said. “Other people might choose the money, but if you’re talking for me personally, I might choose BYU because of the development process and it wasn’t really for the money.”

Now, $7 million is not a small amount. He has also received multiple NIL deals with Nike, Red Bull and Fanatics. So, we can’t completely discard the financial aspect of the deal. But the NBA offers much more. If he is selected at No. 1, Dybantsa will approximately sign a $65–75 million four-year deal. It makes no sense to risk a long-term future for a short-term gain. 

He wouldn’t be selected among the top if he were not NBA ready. And Young has certainly made Dybantsa a worthy No. 1 pick. The BYU star has averaged 25.3 points,6.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists, successfully replacing Darryn Peterson as a No. 1 pick in the majority of the mock drafts. He has a further chance to nail down that place with big performances at March Madness. Coach Kevin Young further relayed how Dybantsa has developed a quality beyond just his stats. 

Kevin Young Reveals AJ Dybantsa’s Vice That He Corrected

AJ Dybantsa was pretty much a late first-round pick already when he arrived in college. His ability was just a cut above the rest. NBA scouts loved the athleticism, maturity and passing. But he was still rough around the edges. The three-point shot was not there yet. He still needed to prove himself at a higher level and when the spotlight was on him. His defensive ability still wasn’t the best. 

He has corrected most of those. Dybantsa averages a respectable 34% from the three-point line at 4.1 shots per game. He has had some big games, like the one against No. 1 Arizona. He has 54 points in two games against Houston. However, there was also a thing away from all the metrics that Kevin Young corrected. 

“I think the big thing with him that I’ve tried to talk to him about a lot of wasn’t even basketball related in terms of skill set stuff. It was approach.  It was demeanor and body language,” Young said. 

The young blood needs some cooling down. This is not really a rare problem. Dybantsa was the undisputed No. 1 player in the 2025 class. That brings its ego and attitude and its college, where players get back on the ground. And Young, as a former NBA coach, was the perfect player to handle Dybantsa. 

“I think sometimes early he would show too many reactions, and I said, “Hey man, every great player I’ve been around, there is no reaction. They just get the ball and they go get a bucket. That’s their reaction or they get a stop.” Young further said. ”I think there was too much looking at the ref or too much flailing and so forth. I think he’s for the most part nipped that in the bud.”

Dybantsa has impressed the scouts. Especially with his durability. As Peterson continues to struggle with injuries, Dybantsa has played 86.2% of the available minutes. He has another chance to prove himself in this upcoming March Madness.