3 stats that prove Wizards' AJ Dybantsa is already on the cusp of NBA stardom

3 stats that prove Wizards' AJ Dybantsa is already on the cusp of NBA stardom originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.You'll have to forgive Wizards fans for getting a little carried away with how they feel about AJ Dybantsa's future prospects.The No. 1 pick has only taken part in three games. But he has looked like the franchise's savior in all three, showing signs of his impending world domination one drop-step, one inch-perfect spin and one contested mid-range jumper at a time.Dybantsa already figures to have inspired fables in the nation's capital. The numbers suggest he might be deserving of that treatment. Here are three figures that show that Dybantsa is nearing NBA greatness (or something like it).Three stats that prove AJ Dybantsa is already on the cusp of NBA stardomNBA-best transition points per gameDybantsa technically can't qualify for the league-lead in any statistical category, as he has only participated in three of Washington's first seven games.If we relax those qualifiers and squint our eyes a bit, we'd see that Dybantsa actually has been the league's most fearsome transition finisher since making his debut. Dybantsa is averaging 6.3 transition points per game, per HoopsJunkie. That's more than Giannis Antetokounmpo. That's more than Tyrese Maxey. In fact, that's the highest-mark in the league.Dybantsa's prowess on the break matches with what our eyes tell us about him. He's a gifted athlete who possesses the dexterity, finesse and lateral quickness to leave defenders in precarious positions. With Trae Young serving as Washington's offense's primary gatekeeper, we'd expect Dybantsa to continue to sit near the top of the chart in that category going forward.Strong true shooting rateDybantsa flaunts a 61.2% true shooting percentage through three games, a clip that would see him be considered one of the Wizards most efficient players if he's able to maintain that percentage for the remainder of the year. Three games is a tiny sample size, to be sure. But the way by which Dybantsa gets his baskets appears to be repeatable — he's a maven on fast breaks who has the sort of lateral movement traits that should make help him bend defenses to his will.There's a sort of malleability to Dybantsa's scoring, particularly in the painted area. He leverages his movement skills to dance beyond defenders and get to the cup. Defenses will adjust in the hope of changing his mode of attack. His free-throw shooting is also likely to dwindle slightly, bringing down his true-shooting rate.AJ Dybantsa is one of the most gifted drivers & transition scorers in NBA history. The explosiveness, the change in pace, the balance & the footwork is all ridiculous at 6'9". He's already leading the NBA in transition PPG & shooting 59% on all 2Pers with a strong FTR. Freak. https://t.co/Ob0BgJoKly— Carson Breber (@Carsobi) November 4, 2026Nevertheless, there's plenty of evidence that suggests Dybantsa continue to find success in and around the painted area. If he were to maintain a true-shooting percentage around 60 percent, that would represent a dazzling mark — just four rookies who scored at least 400 points last season accomplished that feat (Kon Knueppel, Maxime Raynaud, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Collin Murray-Boyles).Promising defensive metricsWashington has quietly emerged as one of the league's better defenses in 2026-27, posting the league's eighth-best defensive rating. In Dybantsa's 90 minutes of game action, the Wizards defense is even more intimidating.Washington is conceding just 99.4 points per 100 possessions in Dybantsa's minutes. That's more than three points lower than the Pistons' league-leading mark.Now, some caveats. The Hornets are the league's worst offensive team, while the Magic sit at ninth-worst (and that's before considering the team's standing after injuries to Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero). The Cavaliers' attack gashed Washington for 121 in Dybantsa's debut, with the BYU product finishing with a +/- of -3.Still, there's reason for optimism within Washington's ranks. Per Wizards Central's Greg Finberg, opponents are shooting just 35.1% when matched up against Dybantsa. That figure falls to 16.7% when an attempt comes from beyond the arc.AJ DYBANTSA x TRAE YOUNG CONNECTION. 🔥 https://t.co/mUgKGbaFAL— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 3, 2026There were questions about how Dybantsa's defense would scale in the NBA. He had a tendency to lose focus at times in college, falling victim to more than a few backdoor cuts and late rotations.Those concerns are still present, to be sure. We'll need a larger sample size to determine whether Dybantsa's defensive instincts have gone up a gear or he has merely benefitted from advantageous scheduling.But if Dybantsa's defensive exploits are real, it should propel him to the sort of two-way stardom reserved for the sport's greatest wings. That's right where he wants to be.MORE: Watch Wizards, Capitals and Mystics games on DAZN