LAS VEGAS -- In what could be his last game of NBA summer league, No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa had 23 points and seven rebounds to help the Washington Wizards remain undefeated.
The Wizards improved to 2-0 with a 104-85 win over Sacramento. Dybantsa played 24 minutes and shot 6-for-15 overall but missed five of six 3-point attempts.
Teams often shut down their lottery picks after two games in summer league for precautionary reasons, so Dybantsa could've played his last game in Las Vegas on Sunday. He averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in the two games.
"It was kind of just testing grounds for me," Dybantsa told ESPN. "Just trying to get used to the game speed, to the plays, to the players and my teammates and the physicality of the game."
Dybantsa, who had 27 points in his summer league debut Thursday in a win over the Utah Jazz and No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson, came to Las Vegas looking to prove he can defend better than what he showed in college at BYU.
He picked up Nique Clifford over half court one time, forcing the ball out of bounds before creating enough havoc on defense with his 7-foot wingspan to create a steal on the ensuing play early in the second quarter.
Dybantsa had three steals and two blocks against the Kings.
"I've been telling my trainers I think I could be a first-team All-Defensive team guy," Dybantsa said when asked what his defensive ceiling can be. "So, I mean, that's just what I'm trying to make, an impact on the defensive end. In college, I was being lazy a lot on the defensive end. Just letting guys blow by me, not being a help side. But definitely want to bring it to the next level."
Summer league is the first game action Dybantsa has had since he had 35 points and 10 rebounds in a 79-71 loss to Texas on March 19 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Dybantsa shot 13-for-33 (39.3%) overall but just 1-for-11 (9.1%) from 3 in his two summer league games. He had three turnovers against Sacramento.
"I [got] tired," Dybantsa said. "I'm drinking my electrolytes. I mean, obviously it's hot out here, so just trying to drink a lot of water, but definitely getting my legs back."
Dybantsa displayed versatility with the ability to handle the ball, drive with either hand, score with physicality, create his own shot and rebound. On defense, he even guarded 7-foot-1 center Maxime Raynaud at one point.
Reynaud finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings. Darius Acuff Jr., the seventh pick in the draft, finished with 12 points on 4-for-14 shooting.
Dybantsa wasn't the only young Wizards prospect to flash potential. Will Riley, the No. 21 pick in 2025, scored 32 points.
If Dybantsa is done playing in Las Vegas, the Wizards saw plenty to be excited about for a season in which they hope to contend for a playoff spot with a young core led by veterans in Trae Young and Anthony Davis.
Dybantsa will only get stronger and in better condition.
"I think he got tired, right?" Wizards summer league coach T.J. Sorrentine said of Dybantsa's second game. "He's running around doing all types of stuff, and that's part of being the guy in the No. 1 pick. That ball got a little sticky. But you look at the stats, he ends up at 23 and he's a heck of a player."