BYU commit AJ Dybantsa is the top-ranked recruit in college basketball. He threw down a nasty in-game dunk earlier this week that set the internet on fire.
However, a debate has since ensued about the legality of his approach to the rim. Was it a travel?
Dybantsa is set to receive approximately $5 million in NIL money to play one single season in Provo. The 17-year-old chose the Cougars over North Carolina and Alabama and will likely be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. His tape is so much fun to watch.
At 6-foot-9, Dybantsa has been dunking for years. He has stupid bounce and his most recent highlight is the best so far. Utah Prep got him the ball in space on a breakaway which allowed him unlimited time to do whatever he wanted. Dybantsa threw down a filthy under-the-legs jam that blew the roof off the gym.
AJ Dybantsa is NOT HUMAN😱🛸 pic.twitter.com/JUfLKd3fej
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) December 20, 2024
Utah Prep was awarded two points. However, there is a large vocal group of basketball fans who do not believe AJ Dybantsa’s dunk should count. They think it would be called off in college because he took five steps with one dribble, which resulted in a travel.
If you slow down the video, the sequence does appear to be legal:
- Catch and gather
- Two steps
- Dribble
- One step
- Jump stop
- Dunk
With that being said, there is an argument to be made that Dybantsa’s step and jump stop should count as three individual steps. That would be a travel by the rules. But was it? That’s up to you to decide!
Either way, right or wrong, the play should absolutely stand by “rule of cool.” When a potentially illegal sequence of events is as awesome as an in-game, under-the-legs dunk, it gets extended grace. There is no reason to call a travel in that moment even if it was a borderline travel because it was so cool.