Dybantsa, top NBA prospect in '26, hopes to play with Wembanyama - ESPN

PARIS — The desire to play with Victor Wembanyama may someday draw fellow stars to the San Antonio Spurs, but he's already attracting the next generation.

That was the message Saturday from A.J. Dybantsa, who is the nation's top-rated high school player and potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft. Dybantsa, who committed to BYU in December, traveled to Paris this week for the NBA's Global Games and to get an up-close look at Wembanyama, telling ESPN he would like the Spurs to draft him next year so they can pair up.

«I think Victor is just ridiculous; the things he does are just crazy,» said Dybantsa, whose Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah) high school team had the week off. «I just think we would've been a crazy duo. Now the odds of that happening are very slim. But I mean, it was just a thought that came up in my mind when he got drafted. But you never know.»

The Spurs have nearly equaled their win total from last season already, and with Wembanyama improving, the odds of the Spurs being at the top of the 2026 draft when Dybantsa is projected to go do make the short-term chances of the pairing a little hard to see at the moment.

The 6-foot-9 Dybantsa, who turns 18 on Wednesday, coming to see these Paris games this week is a reminder of two years ago when a 19-year-old Wembanyama sat courtside at a Detroit Pistons-Chicago Bulls game. Wembanyama was the central attraction in Saturday's game against the Indiana Pacers, a progression Dybantsa would like to follow.

«That's the goal,» Dybantsa said.

Last weekend, Dybantsa scored 25 points in a loss to Monteverde Academy in a showcase game in Springfield, Massachusetts, that was televised on ESPN2. He's soon to return to the U.S., where he is working on his game. It's a little