AJ Dybantsa is at the top of many draft lists heading into Tuesday’s NBA Draft, and if he’s called first he’d become only the third No. 1 overall pick in Massachusetts history—and the first ever born there. For Brockton and the wider Boston community, that bir
For the Brockton kid who grew up wanting people to know where he’s from, Tuesday’s NBA Draft feels like more than a night of basketball—especially if his name comes up first.
AJ Dybantsa is at the top of most experts’ lists entering the draft, and if he’s selected No. 1 overall. he’ll join Patrick Ewing in 1985 and Jimmy Walker in 1967 as the only Massachusetts products to be picked first in the NBA Draft. What makes Dybantsa different from Ewing and Walker is that he’s the only one of the three who was actually born in Massachusetts.
Ewing’s mother moved their family to Cambridge from Jamaica when he was 12. Walker spent most of his childhood in Roxbury after his family moved there from Amherst, Va., when he was an infant.
Dybantsa seemed aware of the long line of Massachusetts basketball history even while carving out a route that took him from Massachusetts to California to Utah and now to the NBA. During a time when his Utah Prep team stopped at Emmanuel College in 2024. he talked about what it means to represent the state—particularly Brockton.
“The last guy that we had besides Terrence was, like, Patrick Ewing — and that was 40 years ago,” Dybantsa said. “I just want to be a guy that people know where Brockton is on the map. Everybody talks about the New Yorks of the world, the Cali’s of the world. But Mass. got some hoopers.”
That idea—pride paired with proof—lands differently in Massachusetts than it did in past decades. Ewing. after all. didn’t just arrive as the league’s next star; he shifted the NBA in a bigger way when he landed. The league’s television deal with CBS nearly quadrupled in value in 1985, and NBC Sports came along later. Ewing’s reputation was built at Cambridge Rindge and Latin before the Knicks took him with the No. 1 pick in the 1985 NBA Draft.
Walker, meanwhile, was an anomaly in his era. He was discovered by Celtics legends Sam Jones and Satch Sanders. and Jones guided him to play high school ball at Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. Walker thrived there. then returned to New England and became an All-American at Providence before the Detroit Pistons took him with the No. 1 overall pick in 1967.
For more than half a century, from 1947—when Springfield native Bob Hubbard was drafted by the Providence Steamrollers—to 1999—when Fall River’s Chris Herren was drafted by the Denver Nuggets—the pipeline from Massachusetts to the NBA essentially ran through high schools.
But the road changed in the 2000s.
Massachusetts became a place where NBA talent could develop, but not necessarily a conveyor belt for homegrown players. Dan Gadzuric came from the Netherlands to Governor Dummer Academy in Byfield and was a second-round pick in 2000. Jarrett Jack left Maryland for Worcester Academy and became a first-round pick in 2005. Antoine Wright traveled from California to Lawrence Academy and became a first-round pick in 2005. Michael Beasley went from Maryland to Notre Dame Prep and was taken with the No. 2 overall pick in 2008.
In other words, the state developed stars who were shaped by Massachusetts schools and programs, while fewer of them were born or raised here.
Since 2001. nearly 30 players were drafted with ties to Massachusetts. but only 11 were actually born or bred in the state: Bruce Brown. Jake Layman. Georges Niang. Pat Connaughton. Noah Vonleh. Shabazz Napier. Nerlens Noel. Michael Carter-Williams. Demetris Nichols. Will Blalock. and Michael Bradley.
Pat Connaughton’s path is one of the examples that helped define the local feeling in recent years. After starring at St. John’s Prep, Arlington’s Connaughton helped the Bucks win the NBA title in 2021.
Dybantsa’s situation adds a different kind of weight. His time at national prep schools has become routine for prominent prospects, but his Brockton roots carry the same meaning that came with Ewing and Walker before him—just with a clearer line back to Massachusetts.
Leo Papile has spent nearly a half-century tapped into local basketball talent as the founder and director of the Boston Amateur Basketball Club. He said the chance to see someone from their own community reach No. 1 doesn’t stay inside draft coverage.
“I think it’s, No. 1. a source of pride for Brockton and the greater Boston community to see one of their own gain stature like that. ” Papile said. “Whenever someone from your area distinguishes themselves nationally or internationally. I think everyone that saw him in the corner store or taught him or had him in youth sports. they all kind of share in that success. So it’s a great thing. It’s a day everybody raises the AJ flag and says hey, another one made it.”.
If Dybantsa’s name is called first, it would be more than a personal milestone. From Walker to Ewing to the next chapter of Massachusetts basketball, Papile described the baton now landing in Dybantsa’s hands.
“It’s great for the region,” Papile said. “It’s inspirational to younger kids. It’s great for the families. When you’re a pro athlete now, you’re a worldwide brand ambassador. And part of your brand is where you’re from.”
The basketball world will be watching for the pick itself. In Brockton, the attention will likely be sharper—because for the first time in more than four decades, the No. 1 moment could belong to someone whose story starts in Massachusetts.
AJ Dybantsa NBA Draft Brockton Massachusetts basketball Patrick Ewing Jimmy Walker No. 1 overall pick Boston Amateur Basketball Club Leo Papile Utah Prep Cambridge Rindge and Latin Laurinburg Institute