Inside The Thunder

Top Recruit AJ Dybantsa Models Game After OKC Thunder Superstar

The Oklahoma City Thunder roster one of the best players in the NBA. Superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a back to back top five finisher in MVP voting and it makes sense to hear young players rave about him. Including top recruit AJ Dybantsa.
Rylan Stiles|
Dec 7, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) watch the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
Dec 7, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) watch the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

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The Oklahoma City Thunder roster one of the best talents in the NBA. Superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a dazzling player with a bit of a throwback game, doing the majority of his work from inside the arc.

Gilgeous-Alexander can get to his spot at will in the mid-range and slither his way to the rim, navigating through traffic with tighter handles than ever and other worldly body control. That has led him to finish top-five in MVP voting in back to back seasons, including runner up in 2023-24.

This season, the OKC Thunder superstar is still dominating en route to another top-five MVP finish. He has his Thunder in position to be the Western Conference No. 1 seed with an 18-5 record and averaging 29.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.7 stocks per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor, 32 percent from 3-point land and 85 percent at the charity stripe.

It makes all the sense in the world for young players to model their game after Gilgeous-Alexander, which is exactly what the Nation's top recruit AJ Dybantsa has done.

Dybantsa, who will enter the 2026 NBA Draft if all goes according to plan, went on ESPN's first take to announce he is committing to BYU to play college basketball during the 2025-26 season. He was peppered with questions from the panel and of them were about his on-court game.

The recruit highlighted Gilgeous-Alexander and NBA Legend Tracy McGrady, "I play like a mix of Tracy McGrady and Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]," Dybantsa said.

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Rylan Stiles
RYLAN STILES

Rylan Stiles is a credentialed media member covering the Oklahoma City Thunder. He hosts the Locked On Thunder Podcast, and is Lead Beat Writer for Inside the Thunder. Rylan is also an award-winning play-by-play broadcaster for the Oklahoma Sports Network. 

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