So he gets it. More than anything, that’s what we can take from AJ Dybantsa’s summer league debut, a game that, for Wizards fans, was like a giant bowl of water in the middle of a desert. Or a fountain, really. Or a whole damn river.
But first, what was your favorite highlight late Thursday night? Was it when Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in June, put poor Justin Harmon on a poster with a thundering dunk? Was it when, late in the third quarter, Dybantsa beat one defender going to his left, hopped into the paint, then flicked in a layup while floating into the chest of a second defender? Was it when he hit a leaning, mid-range jumper while falling to the floor, the ball rattling in while the ref whistled for a shooting foul?Was it that you watched him for 27 minutes and only saw one turnover?
In the Wizards’ 92-88 win over the Jazz in Las Vegas, Dybantsa, a 6-foot-9 forward, finished with 27 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. He shot seven of eight at the line. He was not perfect, missing all five of his three-point attempts, and attacking some double teams when he could have used the attention to set teammates up. He also told ESPN that he sat the last minute because of some leg soreness, though assured he’ll be OK.