LAS VEGAS — The Washington Wizards can feel pleased that they won three of their five games in the NBA Summer League. After all, even in a slate of glorified exhibitions, it is better to win and defend well than to lose.
In the long run, few will care (or even remember) that the Wizards’ summer squad finished 3-2. What will matter most is whether the players and the coaches prepped effectively for the 2026-27 season and made the strides to further their long-term development. And of all those people, no individual will mean more to the franchise’s outlook than AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in last month’s draft.
So, what did Dybantsa learn during summer league?
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“I’ll start with the games: learning the pace of the game, how fast it is, learning the physicality, learning the spacing, just getting live reps at it,” Dybantsa told The Athletic.
“But off the games, just learning how to be a professional. On the off days, taking care of your body. We have treatment here. We have food here. We have … extra shots up to make sure you can be a professional and just stay in shape.”
Wizards officials shut down Dybantsa and second-year wing Will Riley after the team’s first two games and shut down second-year wing Tre Johnson immediately after the summer league opener. Although they could have kept playing, there was little left to prove and no reason to risk injury, however slight.
The sample sizes — in Las Vegas and at the team’s minicamp in Washington — were small but encouraging. Johnson, Dybantsa and Riley ranked second, third and fourth, respectively, in points per game among all NBA Summer League participants.
Johnson scored 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting in his lone exhibition game. He continues to predicate his offensive game on his perimeter jumper, but he showed glimpses of diversifying his approach. Early in the first quarter of the opener, he could have settled for a 3-point try from the left wing; instead, he shot-faked to dribble around the Utah Jazz’s Orlando Robinson, drove hard to the basket and scored on a left-handed layup while absorbing contact from defender Cody Williams. Attacking the basket and finishing through contact is welcome progress.
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Riley averaged 25 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in his two games, and he often handled the basketball to initiate the Wizards offense. In Washington’s second exhibition, a 104-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings, Riley scored 25 points in the second half, making all five of his 3-point attempts.
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As strong as that performance was, Wizards summer league coach T.J. Sorrentine was more pleased about Riley’s defense.
“He’s really good,” Sorrentine said. “I was actually happy with how hard he competed defensively, too. He used his physicality, his new strength, had his hands on guys, took challenges on.
“And then the offense is what it is. I say this a lot: He’s just an offensive sponge. He just finds a way to put the ball in the basket. His shooting obviously showed he’s putting a lot of time into his 3-point shot. So, I was proud that that showed.”
Riley has worked to add muscle to his 6-foot-9 frame. At the 2025 NBA Draft Combine, he weighed 186 pounds. The last time he weighed himself, he said, he tipped the scales at 200 pounds. He said he feels stronger and quicker when he moves laterally.
“I feel my defense got a lot better, my shooting, ballhandling,” Riley said. “I’m able to handle pressure better.”
Dybantsa, 19, demonstrated why the Wizards picked him first overall.
Early lottery picks can feel significant pressure in summer league to live up to expectations, but Dybantsa didn’t look rattled. He appeared to relish the moment.
He averaged 25 points, seven rebounds and two assists in his two appearances, and he also demonstrated his potential on defense as a jumbo wing, with three blocks total.
His ability to draw fouls translated from his one-and-done season at BYU, where he led the nation with 296 free-throw attempts.
There were times in Las Vegas he appeared fatigued and, perhaps as a result, left many of his jump shots short. He made 39.4 percent of his attempts from the field and was just 1 of 11 from beyond the arc.
Another area of improvement: Recognizing when the double team is coming and passing the ball quickly out of it.
“Drawing crowds, I could’ve done a better job at spraying it,” he said. “(A goal is) drawing crowds and getting my guys open shots.”
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Sorrentine was pleased with the big picture, though. Dybantsa asserted himself, which is exactly what team officials wanted to see.
“He’s demonstrated he can score the ball and get to the free-throw line, which we kind of knew coming in,” Sorrentine said. “We saw that in camp. We saw it in college. The one thing that he’s realizing is that everybody’s a lot bigger, and this is only summer league, but you’ve got to be more efficient with your dribbles and get to your spots with less dribbles.
“But that’s natural. Coming into this, my message to him was, ‘Explore, explore your game, show your game,’ but not trying to over-coach him. Let him play. I think he did that, and the takeaway from this is how we can be more efficient with our dribbles and get to our spots quicker.”
That, in a nutshell, is what summer league practices and games are supposed to be for a rookie or a second-year player: learning what works and what doesn’t against better competition and discovering what areas need improvement.
Dybantsa left Las Vegas knowing where he can improve. He said he plans to take a bit of vacation, with an upcoming trip to Jamaica, where his mom is from. But he also acknowledged he has work to do.
“(I’ll be) trying to be consistent off the catch as a 3-point shooter,” Dybantsa said. “I know I’m gonna be playing with A.D. (Anthony Davis) and Trae (Young) and guys that can create their own shots. So, I just want to give them floor-spacing.”