AJ Dybantsa sprains his ankle, and why it should not change your draft
The No. 1 pick sprained his ankle in Washington's preseason finale and is day to day for the opener, which costs him a game or two at most against a 68-game projection.
By James · 2 min read
AJ DybantsaKyshawn GeorgePhotos: ESPN, NBAFreeAJ Dybantsa, the first pick in this summer's draft, sprained his ankle in Washington's preseason finale on Friday, October 16. Coach Brian Keefe called him day to day and, asked about Wednesday's opener, said "We're just going one day at a time," as The Athletic's Josh Robbins reported and Hoops Rumors collected on October 18. He had made his preseason debut as a starter against the Knicks and scored 11 points with four steals, according to NBC Sports.
- AJ Dybantsa WAS155thvs 120th
- Kyshawn George WAS161stvs 132nd
For a fantasy manager the question is whether the sprain changes where he should be drafted, and on everything reported so far it does not. A day-to-day ankle sprain in October is the kind of injury that costs a player the first game or two, and our projections already price the rookie's season as one with missed nights in it. The rest of this piece sets out what we project for him and where the price sits.
| Projected games | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Steals | Our points rank | Consensus points | Our 9-cat rank | Consensus 9-cat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJ Dybantsa | 68 | 31.8 | 16.5 | 6.3 | 1.0 | 116th | 95th | 155th | 120th |
| Kyshawn George | 67 | 28.0 | 11.7 | 4.3 | 1.0 | 152nd | 127th | 161st | 132nd |
What we project
We project Dybantsa for 68 games at 31.8 minutes, with 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.7 threes and a steal, at 44.9% from the field and 73% from the line. That ranks 116th on our points board under ESPN's standard scoring and 155th on our 9-cat board, below the analysts' consensus on both, at 95th and 120th. The gap is the usual one for a top rookie: the analysts price the talent and the role, while our projection prices a 19-year-old's shooting, and 2.3 turnovers against 2.4 assists is the line of a scorer who is still learning to run an offense.
Our projections leave out a day-to-day status entirely and only take games off once a player is listed out, so the sprain is not in his line and will only move it if Washington rules him out for longer than the first week.
Who plays if he sits
Kyshawn George is the Wizard who gains most from a missed game or two, since he already plays a starter's minutes in our projection and showed in the preseason, with 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks a game by NBA.com's count, that he can fill a stat line beyond scoring. At 152nd on points and 161st in 9-cat he is a late pick rather than a waiver add, but he is the player to start in Dybantsa's place in a deep league.
What to do
Draft Dybantsa at his normal price, which in a twelve-team points league means around pick 100, and accept the first week as uncertain. In 9-cat leagues we would wait longer, because the percentages and the turnovers hold him back there whatever the ankle does. Check Washington's injury report on Tuesday night, and the projections page will show his games move if the Wizards list him out.
Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.
