Fantasy Basketball Impact: NBA Mock Draft; Utah Jazz Land AJ Dybantsa With #1 Pick

Evaluating the potential fantasy basketball impact of freshman guard from BYU, AJ Dybantsa, getting drafted #1 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz.

Mar 7, 2026; Provo, Utah, USA; BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Marriott Center. | Aaron Baker-Imagn Images

Much of the talk of the NBA season has been tank-heavy. Fines thrown out, constant conversation on national television regarding how to fix teams seemingly trying to lose, and evaluations on the lineups teams are throwing out.

Now that the 2025-2026 regular season has come to an end, to think any of this constant talk does not carry any truth seems unlikely. There are eight teams with fewer than 30 wins. That can almost certainly be connected to what seems to be a star-studded 2026 draft class. With how deep it is, there could be several teams walking away as big winners in the 2026 NBA Draft, and whoever gets the number one overall pick certainly will.

A team currently in the lottery that has a decent-sized opportunity of getting said #1 pick in the draft is the Utah Jazz. They have the fourth-best odds of falling at #1 with an 11.5% chance.

Fantasy Impact: Jazz Fall #1 In NBA Draft Lottery

While it is hard to say there is a consensus #1 overall pick in this year's draft with all the talent available, one player is being put at the top of mocks, notably more than anyone else. That player is a freshman out of the Univeristy of Brigham Young, AJ Dybantsa. For the Jazz and how their roster is currently constructed, Dybantsa, out of all the top prospects, makes the most sense for them to take if they had the #1 overall pick. They have their point guard of the future in Keyonte George, and a front-court cornerstone in Jaren Jackson Jr. They could go Cam Boozer to pair beside Jackson Jr., but that would immediately knock talented bigman  Walker Kessler to a bench role. A role he might thrive in, but to maximize their talent, Dybantsa is the right pick.

In one year at the college level, Dybantsa, who was the number one high school recruit in the class of 2025, positioned himself as one of the best collegiate players in the country. He averaged 25.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 3.7 APG with the Cougars. 

If Dybantsa were to join the Jazz their would be severe fall-offs in the scoring production of some players on the roster. Most notably, that would apply to three key shotcreators on Utah’s roster–George, Jackson Jr., and Lauri Markkanen.

Fantasy Scoring Drop Off: Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen, and Keyonte George

Feb 9, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Utah Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (20) reacts against the Miami Heat during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

All three of the mentioned Jazz players, who are counted on to create their own shots at times and are generally depended on for the majority of the scoring for Utah, would see a drop in their PPG averages if the Jazz drafted Dybantsa. George in the 2025-2026 season averaged 23.6 PPG, Markkanen averaged 26.7 PPG, and Jackson Jr. averaged 22.3 PPG.

With the scoring talent Dybantsa has, he is too good and too dynamic offensively to be given a complementary catch-and-shoot stand-in-the-corner type of role. He will be asked to create offense on his own wherever he goes. While this may not equate to averages as high as what he produced at college with the Jazz off the bat, especially with all the talent they have on their roster, his role will be big enough to negatively impact the fantasy stock of the three mentioned Utah players immediately.