{"id":799614,"date":"2024-03-27T15:02:29","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T19:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?p=799614"},"modified":"2024-03-27T15:03:07","modified_gmt":"2024-03-27T19:03:07","slug":"aj-dybantsa-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/the-magazine\/248\/aj-dybantsa-feature\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 2025 No. 1 Recruit AJ Dybantsa is the Game’s Next High School Superstar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gatorade State Player of the Year in Massachusetts as a freshman. Gold medalist with the USA U16 team in Mexico. Leader in points per game (25.8) during the EYBL Peach Jam, while playing up. Nike NIL deal. No. 1 player in the Class of 2025. AJ Dybantsa.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlaymaker first, two-way player,\u201d Dybantsa says of his personal scouting report. \u201cDefense and offense, can do a little bit of everything: rebound, score, pass, finish. Just a team player overall, and unselfish.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We\u2019ve been following AJ since he was a lanky eighth-grader hailing from Brockton, MA, documenting his meteoric rise over the past few years. And despite reclassifying in October, Dybantsa clearly remains one of the best prospects in the country. Please, infer for yourself. With an unrelenting motor and shot-making ability matched by an equally eccentric personality, it was a no-brainer that the best player in his class is taking the pen to help officially relaunch our historic Basketball Diary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But more on that later. This is now. And now is Dybantsa\u2019s time. He staked that claim not too long ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was in third grade, I had the dream of going to the NBA, but it wasn\u2019t really realistic until Covid year. That\u2019s when I started taking it crazy serious,\u201d Dybantsa says. \u201cThere were no gyms available and I found myself just working out outside every day. I just took off. That\u2019s when the rankings started coming, that\u2019s when the attention started coming and I was like, This could be a reality.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After dominating the local New England competition as a freshman\u2014posting 19.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks a contest\u2014reality set in further this past June when Dybantsa elected to transfer to national powerhouse Prolific Prep. The increased competition plus moving in with a host family\u2014on top of living on the opposite coast as your immediate family\u2014would be a tough transition for any teenager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most challenging part [about being AJ] is just people forgetting that I\u2019m a kid,\u201d Dybantsa tells SLAM. \u201cLike, I\u2019m 17 years old, I have a life outside of basketball. But they just see the internet side of me so they just think everything\u2019s flowers and butterflies, when it\u2019s really not.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Dybantsa finds his footing, he leans on the life lessons and work ethic instilled in him by his Congolese father and Jamaican mother. \u201cNothing\u2019s given to you, everything is earned,\u201d he says of his parents\u2019 reminders. \u201cIt was big for me in my life development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Colleges are swarming, the League\u2019s already within view and he just signed on the dotted line with The Swoosh. SLAM has been covering high school hoopers for a minute (30 years, tbh!) and we can say with confidence, the next modern-day high school superstar is here, and his name is AJ Dybantsa.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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