ALREADY expected to be the top selection at the 2026 NBA Draft next year, A.J. Dybantsa furthered his claims as the best player of this crop, being named the Most Valuable Player at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup.

The World Cup took place in Switzerland over the past couple of weeks, pitting the globe’s best young basketball talent against each other, with the United States proving far too dominant against its opponents, comfortably taking out the tournament.

They came into the World Cup as the favourites, and even against a previously unbeaten Germany side in the gold medal game, looked far too strong, claiming an emphatic 109-76 in Switzerland on Monday morning.

The U.S. took a stacked team into the tournament, chock full of 2026 NBA Draft prospects, and Dybantsa was the pick of the bunch, having been flagged as the projected number-one selection for the better part of a year.

Throughout the tournament, he posted numbers of 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game to stand out as the best player of the tournament, and showing exactly why NBA scouts rate him so highly.

The forward is as talented as they come from next year’s draft class, showing the ability to impact on both ends of the floor at a high level. He can create his own shot consistently, able to take the opposition off the dribble and get to his spots with seemingly no trouble at all, and showcasing an immense ability to break down whoever is guarding him.

Defensively, he uses his length and instincts to consistently cause problems for the opposition with his ability to poke the ball free from the ball-handler’s grasp, and he demonstrated this by recording a steal in all but one game at the World Cup.

From the perimeter, it was not his best performance, shooting 11 per cent from three-point land, but it is still an area of his game where he can have an impact, and a lot of those were well-contested by the opposition.

In the tournament final, Dybantsa posted 11 points, six rebounds and two assists to cap off an excellent campaign under lights, and set up a must-watch campaign with the BYU Cougars in the collegiate system next season.

It was an excellent follow-up to his campaign with the United States at the 2024 U17 FIBA World Cup last year, where he was named to the All-Star Five and furthered his claims as one of the key players in the 2026 draft crop.

It was incredibly exciting to see one of the premier prospects for next year deliver on the big stage, and has built even more hype around Dybantsa’s upcoming NCAA season, where he will be hoping to maintain his standing as the top projected pick.