If there's one takeaway from the first two weeks of the 2026-27 NBA season (other than the fact that there are way too many injuries), it might be this: this rookie class has the potential to be the best in league history. Maybe that's an overreaction and a case of recency bias, but the stats and film don't lie. This group of players was heralded as one of the best freshmen classes in college basketball history.
Not only did those players meet expectations, but they also went beyond them. It's hard to see a collection of talent hitting college basketball again like that for a long time. Wizards forward AJ Dybantsa was late to the party, but the No. 1 overall pick finally made his debut last week against the Cavaliers after missing the first four games due to an ankle injury.
Dybantsa scored 19 points in his first game while being on a minutes restriction. The biggest surprise in the NBA is the Memphis Grizzlies, the only team in the association that hasn't suffered a loss. Cameron Boozer, who has seemingly won at every place he's played — whether in high school, Team USA, Duke and now the NBA — remains the favorite to win NBA Rookie of the Year over Kings guard Darius Acuff Jr. and Bulls forward Caleb Wilson.
With the first two weeks of the season in the books, it's time to assess the play of every lottery pick from the 2026 NBA Draft by handing out some early grades. Let's dive in, starting with Dybantsa. It took exactly 16 seconds to showcase one of Dybantsa's elite skills: drawing contact at the rim.
In 35 games last season at BYU, Dybantsa attempted 296 free throws, which ranked No. 1 among all college players. That's going to be a huge part of his game throughout his career because of how good he is at getting into the lane and drawing fouls. He has already attempted nine free throws in his first two games.
Dybantsa is still on a minutes restriction. AJ Dybantsa looking comfortable in his second career game 😯17 PTS | 8 REB 🔥 pic.twitter.com/px5FjLar5t Once that restriction gets lifted, he will play even more than the 57 minutes he played during the first two games combined. The Wizards have a chance to be a sleeper play-in team in a loaded Eastern Conference this season.
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