BYU star AJ DiBuntsa is one of the top candidates to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, along with Duke’s Cameron Boozer and Kansas’ Darrin Peterson. DiBantsa, college basketball’s leading scorer (24.9 points per game), is part of what could go down as one of the best freshmen ever.
However, don’t write in Sharpie that Dyabantsa will enter the draft this summer. In an interview with the Deseret News on Tuesday, DiBantsa admitted he “can’t leave” and will instead return to college for the 2026-27 season.
“I probably won’t go,” Dyabantsa said. “I might not leave college… My mom would want me to graduate. Yeah, so I might not leave. But I might leave. The fans might be talking about another year in my head, maybe three more years. I don’t know. I’d have to talk to my mom.”
Dyabantsa has BYU on the verge of another appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars are 20-9 heading into the final week of the regular season and are the No. 7 seed in CBS Sports’ latest Bracketology projections. Since BYU lost star guard Richie Saunders to a season-ending ACL tear, DiBantsa has been asked to carry more of the offensive load than he has.
Dyabantsa has scored at least 20 points in eight consecutive games.
why wouldn’t this happen
If Dyabantsa’s comments are shocking, you’re not alone. However, to be completely realistic, the chances are less than zero that Dyabantsa will actually return to school next season. Dyabantsa has a strong case to be the No. 1 overall pick this summer as there is no wing prospect in this class who can score like he does.
Around this time last year, Cooper Flagg — who was projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft — made similar comments about wanting to “come back” to school next year. Of course, that didn’t happen. Flagg left college basketball after completing one of the best one-and-done seasons in college basketball history.
If DiBantsa returns to school next season (again, very unlikely), it would be the biggest blowout in college basketball/NBA Draft history. Simply put, it would be unprecedented for a projected top-three pick to bypass the draft to return to school for his sophomore season by slam-dunk.
2026 NBA Mock Draft: BYU’s AJ DiBuntsa takes the top spot, surpassing Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Kansas’ Darrin Peterson.
kyle boone
Ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft, there was some talk that Kentucky star Reed Shepard could bypass the draft and return to school for his sophomore season after the program hired Mark Pope as its next coach. The hype was short-lived, as Shepard declared for the draft shortly after Pope was hired and was selected No. 3 overall by the Houston Rockets.
Bottom line: It would be extremely surprising if DiBantsa did not declare for the draft. For fans of NBA teams hoping to add DiBantsa to their roster next season, you can exhale.
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