Is AJ Dybantsa the Fernando Mendoza of the NBA?

Heading into the 2026 NFL Draft, there was no question that superstar quarterback Fernando Mendoza of the Indiana Hoosiers was going to the Las Vegas Raiders. Literally every mock out there had him heading to Vegas to eventually become the future of the team.

So, what happened on draft night? Mendoza was quickly selected by Vegas as the No. 1 overall pick.

Now, AJ Dybantsa of BYU may be heading towards that same fate. As more NBA mock drafts get published, it's becoming obvious that Dybantsa is shaping up to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

Bryan Kalbrosky of USA Today has Dybantsa a no-brainer pick for the Wizards.

"The Wizards finished with the worst record in the NBA and would benefit tremendously from a lottery win," Kalbrosky noted. "They had the second-worst offense in the league and could instantly inject life into their offense by selecting AJ Dybantsa, the NCAA scoring champion and Julius Erving Award winner."

AJ Dybantsa is a favorite to go first in NBA Draft

Jeremy Woo of ESPN agrees in his latest mock draft.

"Dybantsa moves atop the mock after an excellent close to the season, with NBA executives broadly viewing him as the probable No. 1 choice," Woo wrote.

He adds, however, that the "outcome still hangs on the decision-making process of whichever team wins the lottery. Dybantsa has elite physical traits, major scoring upside as his skills develop and room to grow into a positive defender, checking all the boxes NBA teams look for in a future star at a coveted position."

Dybantsa was the Big 12 Rookie of the year and had the most unassisted points scored by any player for the season at 680, according to CBB Analytics.

So, is the consensus as solid as it was with Mendoza going as the No. 1 overall pick? Not completely, but it's close. After Dybantsa's absolutely wicked end to his college career at BYU, despite the team getting elbowed out of March Madness by Texas, it would be a surprise to not see him go at No. 1.