Big market, small market … does it really matter?
Stardom isn’t about the city.
AJ Dybantsa has shown it’s hard for any city, regardless of size, to contain his shine. Indiana? Sacramento? Memphis? The presumptive first pick in the 2026 NBA Draft isn’t sweating the amount of attention he’ll get because he’s proved wherever he plays, he will draw attention.
Dybantsa signed an NIL deal with Nike back in January 2024, and Nike recently announced that the deal will be extended into a professional basketball contract. Dybantsa played one season at BYU and was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, as well as a consensus first-team All-American. He declared for the NBA Draft two weeks ago.
Some argue it’s a small market’s best bet to land a star. Dybantsa could be the dream pick of a small-market team like the Sacramento Kings or the Indiana Pacers if one of them wins Sunday’s NBA Draft Lottery. Not just because Dybantsa is an elite prospect, but because he’s content to make his name anywhere.
Dybantsa grew up in Brockton, Mass., a city with a population of roughly 106,000. He made prep school stops in the smaller towns of Napa, Calif., and Hurricane, Utah, before playing college basketball at BYU, a school with 37,000 students in Provo, Utah, a city of 115,000 residents.
A lot of players say the team doesn’t matter, but that’s not always sincere. Dybantsa’s upbringing and college choice would indicate otherwise.
“Obviously being from Brockton, I’m not really from a big market,” Dybantsa said. “I’ve created my own path and my team. My parents have been doing a great job of just putting me out there. So, I’ve been in the spotlight for a long time.”
Dybantsa transferred to Prolific Prep in Napa after his freshman season and reclassified to the class of 2025. He played his final year of high school basketball at Utah Prep Academy. Dybantsa was the consensus top player in the 2025 recruiting class and chose BYU over college basketball blue bloods like Kansas and North Carolina.
But he was a star before he was a Cougar, and he will arrive in the NBA with fanfare.
AJ Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists for BYU this past season. (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
There’s a mature-yet-confident mindset needed with prospects like Dybantsa. At 19, he’s been around NBA faces for quite some time, so very little fazes him. He’s met Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith — one half of the “Inside the NBA” quartet alongside Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley — and has heard his game dissected by multiple television personalities over the last year.
What would it mean for his name to come up on the popular show during the upcoming season?
“It already does,” Dybantsa said. “So, it’s not new.”
A flippant remark, playful yet quick-witted — but a statement of fact. Again, one expected of an assured athlete anticipating a promising NBA career.
Stardom has found “Star Boy,” his nickname, for the last three years. He was named the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year as a freshman at St. Sebastian’s School in Needham, Mass. — a Boston suburb with fewer than 33,000 residents. He was a part of Team USA’s squad that won a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Mexico. He also won FIBA gold with Team USA’s Under-17 squad in Turkey in 2024 and again with Team USA’s Under-19 squad last July in Switzerland.
Dybantsa has seen the world – and his college choice proved he’s fine putting himself in situations others might be uncomfortable with.
“When it came down to BYU, I just wanted to create my own paths, and I thought that BYU was just the right choice from a coaching standpoint, from just helping me be a better person, better player,” Dybantsa said. “It wasn’t really about the market size. Everything’s that’s coming, when it comes to marketing, comes if I do me on the court.”
Let’s not be naive: NIL opportunities make the idea of a five-star recruit shunning a traditional power more of a possibility. But Dybantsa made his decision. Being a blue-chip recruit who chose BYU makes him somewhat against the norm, but that nuance in his approach could be the missing piece to an ailing franchise.
Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Cougars. Beyond the stats, an injury to senior guard Richie Saunders forced Dybantsa to take on more of a leadership role.
What he does on the court helps make Dybantsa more marketable beyond basketball. He’s been wearing his new Nike logo, his initials designed to form a star, a nod to his “Star Boy” moniker. He has an interest in meeting more athletes who play tennis or soccer, just to learn more about their winning mindsets.
If all goes well, Dybantsa hopes to become a big part of Nike’s marketing.
“Every kid dreams of having a signature shoe,” he said. “But right now, I’m just focused on making my imprint on the league.
“Obviously, I gotta come in as a rookie and do a lot of great things to even get to that standpoint, but that’s what I’m focused on right now.”
That can happen in a big city or a smaller market. Dybantsa seems to flourish, no matter the location.