AJ Dybantsa dreaming big as college basketball's top recruit in 2025
BROCKTON -- AJ Dybantsa of Brockton may have been born to play basketball. But his dad says it wasn't his son's first choice.
"He didn't want to play basketball at first. He was in love with Spider-Man, so [when he was four or five years old], I got him a Spider-Man basketball," recalled Anicet Dybantsa. "His eyes lit up, he brought it to his room and started shooting, and the rest is history."
AJ grew up in Brockton and enrolled at St. Sebastian's in Needham. He started on the varsity basketball team as an 8th grader and played there for two years, winning the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year award as a freshman.
"It was great. A welcome environment. It was all boys, so there were no distractions, no drama, no nothing. It was a great, great experience," he said of his time at St. Sebastian's. "We won an ISL (Independent School League) Championship. We lost in the States, but won two ISL championships, which was great."
College offers rolling in for Dybantsa
Dybantsa's stock skyrocketed, and he transferred to a California prep school and reclassified to the class of 2025. He will finish his high school career this winter in Utah.
The top-ranked senior in the country, Dybantsa has over 30 offers to play college basketball. He will narrow it down to roughly eight schools this fall before making his decision sometime around February.
"It's not hard for me because I don't talk to any coaches," he said of the recruitment process. "My dad talks to all the coaches, so they're not blowing up my phone or bugging me."
His father is from Congo in Africa, and his mother, Chelsea, is from Jamaica. They are AJ's role models.
"It just shows that hard work and dedication -- they're both foreign and didn't come from here. Didn't come from privileged houses. So I don't take anything for granted," he said.
Dybantsa giving back to his community
Dybantsa is a pretty popular kid, with over 180,000 followers on Instagram. He already has an NIL endorsement deal with Nike, and is already giving back to the community in his hometown.
"I used to go to the Brockton Boys & Girls Club when I was young. So now that I'm able to give back to them -- that's probably my favorite charity to give back to," he said. "A lot of people don't know about Brockton. If they're not from Massachusetts, they probably don't know about Brockton. My goal is to put Brockton on the map, for sure."
Winning gold and talking stars of the NBA
Dybantsa recently won a gold medal playing for Team USA in the FIBU U-17 World Cup tournament in Turkey. It was the second straight year, he's helped that team capture gold.
"It felt great. Obviously it was a longer journey because it's the World Championship. But for me, to be able to put on two gold medals, it was just a great feeling," said Dybantsa. "A lot of people don't get one, so for me to be able to get two, it's a great feeling, a blessing."
The 17-year-old has already worked out with NBA stars such as LeBron James, and received some important advice from them.
"He was just telling me a lot. He was telling me don't get too complacent and stay humble. Choose the right people," Dybantsa recalled.
Dejounte Murray told him to enjoy his high school years, which Dybantsa said is the best advice he's received. He also communicates with Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, whom he calls role models.
Dybantsa even went to Game 1 of the NBA Finals at TD Garden.
"That was my first Finals game. The energy is way different from a regular season game. The playoffs is way more louder," he said. "You can't hear anything in the gym. I don't know how they were able to communicate on the court, but it was definitely a good game."
Dybantsa doesn't want to play for the Celtics
While he enjoyed watching the Celtics win that night and eventually bring home another NBA championship, Dybantsa is surprisingly not dreaming of wearing green one day in the NBA.
"I don't want to play for the Celtics. Sadly, I don't want to go to the Celtics," he admitted. "I've been living in Massachusetts my whole life. I want to move. I don't want to live here forever.
"The Celtics will forever be my favorite team," he added. "But I don't want to play for them."
At least the Los Angeles Lakers are also on that list.
"No, that's another team I don't want to play for," he said.
Even though he's just a kid, Dybantsa is mature beyond his years. As the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, he has some advice for those younger than him.
"No dream is ever too big," said Dybantsa.
He also urges everyone to find people they can trust to help along the way.
"My parents were a big influence on me. I know some people aren't close to their parents, but find someone that you trust and stay the course with them," he said. "Everybody's got different paths. Some people don't want to be basketball players. Some people want to be doctors and stuff, so just find your route and stay that course."