June 15, 2025
As BYU’s first-ever five-star recruit, the expectations for Dybantsa’s freshman season are sky high.
AJ Dybantsa, the number one high school player in the country and arguably the biggest college basketball signing in Brigham Young University’s history, also leads all of college basketball in NIL valuation, logging an estimated $4.1 million value according to Athlon Sports.
According to their reporting, his portfolio, although somewhat selective, like fellow West Coast native Juju Watkins, also contains a fair amount of groundbreaking NIL deals. The 6’9 Dybantsa is reportedly the first male basketball athlete to be sponsored by Red Bull and like Watkins, he is also signed to Nike, his deal is valued at over $4 million.
As BYU’s first ever five star recruit, the expectations for Dybantsa’s freshman season are sky high, and although he has denied rumors that he has a $7 million contract with the school, BYU has been projected to contend with the defending conference champions, the University of Houston, for the Big 12 title due in large part to his presence on the team.
Regardless of how BYU’s season goes, Dybantsa has already indicated that he is going to be a one and done player and will declare for the NBA draft at the end of his freshman year.
According to The Athletic, his rejection of the rumors of a $7 million NIL contract from BYU squares with his distaste over receiving a $1,000 grant which being awarded the Gatorade National Player of the Year entitled him to.
As he told the outlet, “Don’t take anything for granted.” Dybantsa’s father, Ace, is Congolese, and gave him a lesson on the haves and have nots on a visit to Brazzaville, the capital of the Congo. “People are less fortunate and don’t have what we have. If I continue this route, I’m going to get a lot more money than that. So, I might as well just donate (that check) back to the community.”
Dybantsa, if he pans out as the draft prospect that scouts believe he can be, will most assuredly be firmly in the haves camp, per an analysis that an anonymous NBA front office executive provided to The Athletic.
“He’s what the NBA is looking for. Wings with legitimate size that understand the game can create offense and then, in theory, can guard multiple guys,” the executive said.
Dybantsa seemed unconcerned with the exact value of his deals in January when he told the outlet that his deals more or less were executed by his father, and he just wants to hoop.
“People just gonna talk, but I (didn’t) even know how much I’m getting. They just tell my dad all of that. I’m trying to make it to the NBA, so wherever they can get me the fastest there with the best development, there’s a whole lot of pillars that come with it. Money’s going to come if I do the work, so I’m not worried about the money in a year,” Dybantsa said.
An example of his aversion to chasing a bag just to chase a bag is his NIL deal with the prep academy Utah Prep, which he chose to sign a $600,000 deal with to finish his high school career with, despite having a more lucrative offer from Florida’s more prestigious Montverde Academy.
“Montverde, we can use them as an example, I’m trying to show people you don’t have to go to a school like that to accomplish certain things,” Dybantsa said. “They’re a great school, and they’ve got the most league guys from high school. So, there’s no knock going there. But you don’t have to go to a school like that.”
He continued, “You don’t want to just sign with somebody. You want to be partners with them. There’s a lot more to an offer than just money. People only see the money part of it, but it’s not just about money. I’m not gonna change. They might. There are some people I know that become famous and change their whole personality. They want to have this lavish lifestyle, but I just stick to who I am, and I think people mess with that.”
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