Brockton native AJ Dybantsa welcomed home after 1st overall NBA Draft pick

AJ Dybantsa is a busy man.

Dybantsa, who’s been a household name among hoops heads since he in high school, was selected last week with the first overall pick of the NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards.

He led the nation in scoring during his single season at Brigham Young University and has all the tools necessary to be a future face of the league. But even with all that starpower, his hometown of Brockton has never been too far from his mind.

“Brockton bred, 508. I mean, I do everything for them,” he said after his selection. “I like helping back in the community and just kind of giving kids, like, hope. There’s a lot of kids that play basketball out there and think that they can’t make it. But once they see me, they’re like, OK. They might have some hope.”

There’s a lot Dybantsa has on his plate as the next potential chosen one of NBA basketball in the nation’s capital. But on Sunday, he took time to bring that hope to a packed and muggy gym at West Middle School in Brockton.

A crowd of kids and onlookers screamed as Dybantsa walked into the gym, music blaring over the speakers.

Mario Lamarre is the social outreach coordinator and director for Brockton Public Schools, who said the event was put together on short notice.

“This event is insane,” he said. “It’s more than basketball. It’s the fact that Brockton’s always consistently considered an inner city. And every chance that they can get, they’re gonna highlight the things that go wrong in this community. And I wish that that energy could match when good things happen like this.”

Sharon Wolder is deputy superintendent of Brockton Public Schools. She said it’s exciting to have someone like Dybantsa want to give back to his hometown, and set an example for local kids.

“The commitment that you have to put into something in order to become great at it and have these opportunities, that really is the message to the kids and to the community,” she said.

Dybantsa, who is only 19, is already dealing with expectations that few could imagine. But he’s handling the burden of being the hometown hero about as well as anyone could ask of him so far.

He said it means a lot to be a symbol of hope for others.

“Just trying to be a role model, just trying to do the right thing,” he said. “Just trying to make kids make the right decisions and do what they want to do in life.”

He doesn’t want kids from Brockton to forget where they come from. And as someone from the City of Champions, Dybantsa’s hoping to one day be included among the athletic greats of Brockton like boxing icons Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler.

“I definitely want to be just in conversation with those guys,” he said. “Those are two legends. Rocky Marciano’s got the statue over here. So, I mean, if I can get to that element, then I’ll be solid.”