If the Dallas Mavericks win the NBA Draft Lottery for the second year in a row, they have to take AJ Dybantsa out of BYU to pair with Cooper Flagg. This would help them form one of the most tantalizing wing duos in the entire NBA, and draft guru Krysten Peck thinks this is the selection that Dallas should make as well.
AJ Dybantsa should be a no-brainer pick at No. 1 for Dallas
Peck joined the DLLS Mavs crew recently, and she thinks the way Dybantsa finished the season for BYU is impossible to ignore. He averaged 32 points and 7.8 rebounds per game during the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments while shooting 50 percent from the field, showing all the NBA personnel in attendance that he's the best player in the draft.
"6-9 shooting guard, you look at someone who's only 19 years old, and just trying to dream what he's going to be at 25 is just unbelievable," Peck said.
Players such as Darryn Peterson and Cam Boozer each have a case for being top-three picks as well, but neither one of them has as high a ceiling as Dybantsa. He has future superstar written all over him, and Peck believes that he has pulled away from the pack with the NBA Draft just a few months away.
Dybantsa's ability to create his own shot, get to the basket, and score from the mid-range that's well beyond his years, and he has an explosiveness to his game that is hard to find for a 6-foot-9 wing. He fears no one when he's attacking the rim, and his offensive game became more rounded as the year, and Peck said she'd take him at No. 1 if she were the Mavericks, "no problem."
Dybantsa joining this Mavericks core would give them some much-needed shot creation, and a big three of Flagg, Kyrie Irving, and Dybantsa isn't looking too shabby. They would immediately return to being a playoff team once again, and after adding a little more shooting around them, they'd be golden.
On top of Dybantsa's undeniable offensive game, he is a capable defender as well. And that's exactly why he and Flagg would be an incredible duo.
Why Dybantsa and Flagg would be unstoppable together
Flagg made a name for himself at Duke for being one of the most menacing two-way players that college basketball has ever seen, and while Dybantsa isn't the same level defender as Flagg, he has the tools to be solid on that end.
He has the length, competitive drive, and athleticism to be a competitive defender, and that's all the Mavericks need alongside Flagg. Dybantsa takes on any and every defensive assignment head-on, and Dallas would never have to worry about him struggling on that end if they drafted him.
After yesterday's tiebreaker, the Mavericks have a 6.7 percent chance to land the No. 1 overall pick and a 29 percent chance to land in the top four. Mavs fans' eyes will be glued to their televisions on May 10 during the NBA Draft Lottery, as winning it for the second year in a row would give them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pair Flagg with the best player in the draft in Dybantsa.
