AJ Dybantsa won’t land in the NBA until 2026 -- but he already knows which he team he’d prefer to play for.
And he’s in Paris this week with his father, Ace, watching them.
AJ and Ace are at the 2025 NBA Paris Games that feature two games between the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers at Accor Arena. The games are a homecoming for Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, who played professionally in Paris and starred for the French national team in the 2024 Olympics.
The 6-foot-9 Dybantsa, who could be the No. 1 pick in 2026, said his NBA dream would be to play alongside Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in 2023.
“There’s no state tax in San Antonio,” he said in a deadpan in an interview with BYUtv.
Dybantsa previously said during his commitment on ESPN’s “First Take” that he’d like to play for the Spurs.
Dybantsa, who signed with BYU on a record NIL deal, added that he’d like to play for Naismith Hall of Fame Spurs coach Gregg Popovich but isn’t sure how long Pop will be around.
“Definitely Coach Pop is top five coach of all time, you could probably even rank him higher,” he said. “I don’t know how long he’ll be there for, but a duo between me and Wemby. I know Steph Castle is there. They have a young core.
“And if CP3 is still there, I’ve met CP3 a few times, he’s a great mentor.”
Dybantsa is now being coached at Utah Prep by former Indiana star and Spurs guard Keith Smart. On Sunday night, Utah Prep lost to Kevin Boyle and Montverde (FL) Academy 74-60 in a nationally televised game from the Hoophall Classic. Dybantsa, who grew up in Brockton, Mass., went for 25 in the loss.
“It was an unacceptable loss, but we learned,” he said. “That was Coach Smart’s first game, he gave us his insight. We’re gonna bounce back. We should be playing them in the next two weeks anyway, so no real losses just lessons learned.” Both teams are in the field for the MAIT event at Montverde next weekend.
Asked what it’s like being coached by Smart, who hit the game-winning shot for Indiana in the 1987 NCAA championship game against Syracuse, he said: “I mean, it’s great. One of the reasons I picked BYU is because of NBA experience [of head coach Kevin Young]. Now I’m just getting it a year earlier before BYU. He’s just teaching us little by little, concepts and everything.”
At Utah Prep, Dybantsa is also teaming up with future BYU teammate, 6-11 center Xavion Staton, as previously reported on ZAGSBLOG.
“Everything’s better when you build something earlier so when we start practicing next year, we’ll already know what type of spots,” he said. “I already know what lobs he likes.”
Looking ahead, Dybantsa was named to the USA roster for the Nike Hoop Summit on April 12.
“Last year, I played [for the] World [team] because I represented my mom and dad for Jamaica and Congo, but it was always a dream to play on the USA squad,” he said.
Ace Dybantsa is originally from the Congo -- and Chelsea Dybantsa is from Jamaica --and AJ said he’s already been to Paris several times in his life.
“I just have a lot of family here, so every time I come here I just see my aunts, see my cousins,” he said.
“We came to watch two games, the Spurs vs. Pacers,” he added. “Just going to watch those and see what else is here, sight see do some interviews.”
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter and Basketball Insider for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.