Acuff Falls to AJ Dybantsa in First Box-Office NBA Battle

No. 1, No. 7 picks went at for first time in NBA careers Sunday

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Darius Acuff during game against the Southern Jaguars at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In an NBA Summer League game that had more hype surrounding it than most, it was AJ Dybantsa and the Washington Wizards that got the upper hand on former Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. and the Sacramento Kings.

Washington, which selected Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick in this year's NBA Draft, ran away with the game in the closing minutes, winning 104-85 in what was a close game early in the fourth quarter.

But the real show was the first head-to-head matchup between Dybantsa and Acuff, who were arguably the two best prospects in this year's draft.

Both players got their share of points, though neither went about scoring the basketball very effectively. Dybantsa's 23 points came on 6-15 (40 percent) shooting from the field. He made only one of his six attempts from beyond the arc, though he did go 5-6 from the foul line.

AJ Dybantsa in his second Summer League game:

23 PTS | 6-15 FGs | 7 REB | 2 AST | 3 STL | 2 BLK | 3 TO pic.twitter.com/kLEICBpO8W

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 13, 2026

Efficiency continued to be an issue for Acuff as well. The SEC Player of the Year ended the night with 12 points on 4-14 (29 percent) shooting, going 0-4 from three but 3-4 from the free throw line. He ended with a plus/minus of -12, a stark contract to Dybantsa's mark of +18.

Acuff did, however, dish out four assists, while Dybantsa snagged seven rebounds, blocked two shots and had three steals.

Aside from his poor shooting performance, the red ink on Acuff's report card came from turnovers. The former Razorback turned the basketball over five times on a night where the Kings, who committed 14 turnovers as a team, could ill afford them against Dybantsa and the Wizards.

Darius Acuff Jr. drives and scores with style 👏

The 7th overall pick is up to 12 PTS in NBA Summer League action on Prime! pic.twitter.com/mQye4FZHTG

— NBA (@NBA) July 13, 2026

Dybantsa has unsurprisingly been one of the biggest stars of the NBA Summer League so far. He scored 27 points in his debut on Thursday, when he and the Wizards beat No. 2 overall pick Darryn Peterson Jr. and the Utah Jazz.

Acuff made headlines during the California Classic, dishing out the game-winning assist to Nique Clifford in his July 4 debut and making a game-clinching shot against the Milwaukee Bucks in his second game. He has since cooled off, however, and could use a bounceback game against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday (5 p.m. CT, Prime Video).

On the other hand, Acuff's former UA teammate and right-hand man in the backcourt, Meleek Thomas, showed out for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, scoring 30 points in front of Arkansas head coach John Calipari.

The Razorbacks' coach has to be thrilled watching each of his two one-and-done guards perform at such a high level during the Summer League action. One year after having just one player drafted in the second round, some college basketball pundits likely thought Calipari lost a step coming to Arkansas, but he still has his fastball getting young, talented guards into the NBA.

That bodes well for the future at Arkansas, especially considering the No. 1 recruiting class in the country will be at his disposal for next season.

Sign up to our free newsletter, and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter) for the latest news.