Wizards make AJ Dybantsa top pick in NBA Draft, Raptors take Allen Graves at No. 19

AJ Dybantsa is on his way of life to booker taliaferro washington and ready to take up workings as shortly as he gets there.

That's not until Wednesday. Tuesday was a night for the NBA's No. 1 draft pick to party.

"Obviously this night is just a celebration of all the hard work I've done in the past, and so now I'm going to celebrate," Dybantsa said.

So were a record number of one-and-done college stars who followed him, a trio of national champions from Michigan.

The Wizards started it by selecting Dybantsa, a forward who led the nation in scoring in his one season at BYU. He averaged 25.5 points, highlighted by a 43-point effort that broke BYU's freshman scoring record, and was the first of a record-tying eight straight college freshman taken to begin the draft.

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That matched the record set last year. Morez Johnson Jr. At No. 9 was the first non-freshman.

"I think down the road we can continue to do this," Dybantsa said. "They are comparing us to a certain amount of draft classes. Obviously we have to see how that plays out and how we do in the league, but if we talk it into existence, I think that would be pretty special."

At 6-foot-9 and 217 pounds, Dybantsa has drawn comparisons to Kevin Durant, who happens to be his favorite player. Durant grew up in the Washington area, and Wizards fans can only hope Dybantsa can live up to the comparisons.

They certainly hope he will be better than center Kwame Brown, the pick Washington made in 2001, the first time it had the No. 1 selection after the NBA changed draft formats to eliminate territorial picks in 1966. The Wizards took John Wall in 2010 the other time, and he did turn into an All-Star.

Dybantsa — who was called by his full name, Anicet Dybantsa Jr., in tribute to his father — appeared to say a quick prayer after his name was announced, then went on stage to greet Commissioner Adam Silver and slipped on a black Wizards hat that matched nicely with his black suit.

Dybantsa beat out fellow freshman Darryn Peterson of Kansas, who was taken at the No. 2 pick by Utah. While some thought Peterson had the most talent in the class, the guard missed 11 games during the season because of injuries and illness, potentially creating some questions that Dybantsa didn't have.

Cameron Boozer, the college player of the year in his one season at Duke, was taken at No. 3 by Memphis. Caleb Wilson, another freshman forward from rival North Carolina, went to Chicago with the next pick.

For the Toronto Raptors, Vision 6'9" was back, at least for one night.

The Toronto Raptors selected forward Allen Graves 19th overall. The six-foot-nine forward is the latest in a long line of Raptors draft picks that were athletic forwards approximately six feet, nine inches in height like Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, and most recently Collin Murray-Boyles.

"Big wings, they love big wings, and big guards, so I fit right in," said Graves in a video call with reporters from Brooklyn, N.Y., where the draft was held. "I know the culture there is great, just from my visit, being there.

"Just knowing that I'm coming into a winning program that's going in the right direction is an amazing, amazing feeling."

Graves averaged 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game for the Santa Clara Broncos last season. He also had 1.9 steals and 0.9 blocks per game in his only NCAA season, earning him the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year award and Sixth Man of the Year award.

The 19-year-old power forward from Ponchatoula, La., said that he could add to Toronto's possession game and that he believed he could fit right in alongside established defenders like Barnes and Murray-Boyles.

"I definitely knew that my type of player was something that they like to draft," said Graves. "My visit [to Toronto] was amazing, it was one of my best visits.

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"Being around the culture, being around the Raptors, seeing all the players that were there working out, and just watching the coaching staff, whether it was head coach (Darko Rajakovic), whether it was assistants, they were all invested in each and every player, they actually take the time to get to know them and get to really build a personal relationship with them."

Former Raptors team president Masai Ujiri, now president of the Dallas Mavericks, coined the expression "vision 6'9" during his tenure. Current Toronto general manager Bobby Webster said it's a philosophy that persists within the organization to this day.

"It's always been best available two-way players, right? I think that's always been our philosophy," said Webster on the same conference call. "I think two-way, historically in the NBA, you had to be, you know, top 10 on offence, top 10 on defence, or probably top five on offence, top 10 on defence to win a title, and so that's sort of been the big North Star that drives a lot of it."

The second round of the draft goes Wednesday night and the Raptors hold the 50th overall pick.

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Webster said that Toronto would still like to address its depth at guard and centre, but that there are several options open to his front office to fulfil those needs.

"The draft is one, free agency is another, and trades," said Webster. "So now we'll turn our attention, obviously, to Day 2 of the draft, but then get to trades and free agency."

Webster said that Monday's trade that sent two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and veteran Bobby Portis from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis and three first-round picks cleared the table for other deals to be made around the NBA.

"At a certain point we want to be opportunistic in the trade market," said Webster. "We'll look to do that over the course of the summer and even into the trade deadline next season."

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