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The Sacramento Kings enter the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery with an 11.5 percent chance at securing the No. 1 pick, which is tied for the fourth-best odds behind the Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets.
However, even if the Kings win the lottery and get to pick No. 1, they may not be able to draft BYU Cougars star AJ Dybantsa either way, according to a recent report.
Dybantsta emerged from a star-studded freshman pack that included Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and Duke’s Cameron Boozer to earn the status as the consensus No. 1 prospect in the 2026 class, and it’s easy to see why.
The former five-star recruit, who stands at 6-foot-9 and 210 pounds, averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game for the Cougars while flashing elite defensive upside.
But according to Yahoo Sports‘ Tom Haberstroh, Dybaltsta isn’t exactly thrilled with the prospect of playing in Sacramento.
AJ Dybantsa Could Force Sacramento To Pass On Him On Trade No. 1 Pick
Haberstrong recently appeared on The Kevin O’Connor Show and said that he wouldn’t be surprised to see Dybantsa and his camp have some input into where he ends up.
“I would go so far as to say, if the Kings win the lottery, I think he will pull an Eli Manning,” he told O’Connor.
“This is a guy that went to BYU, got the money and all the power and all that at BYU, made the choice himself. And all of these athletes in the NIL era are used to having that agency. They are used to making that decision for themselves. In years past in the NBA, this was not the case. It was not the case that these players were getting paid and had the chance to make the decision for themselves and dictate where they were gonna go.”
Manning, of course, famously refused to play for the San Diego Chargers when they got the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.
Ultimately, the Chargers drafted Manning regardless and almost immediately traded him to the New York Giants in exchange for Phillip Rivers, the No. 65 pick in that year’s draft (which they used to select kicker Nate Kaeding), and a pair of picks in the following year’s draft (which turned into Shawne Merriman and Roman Oben).
Tom Haberstroh Is Just Speculating!
Ultimately, Harberstroh stated that he doesn’t have specific sourcing on the claim. But he thinks that in the NIL era, star players will be more likely to exert their power to force their way to and away from certain teams.
“Now in this era, we are headed toward a situation where you cannot be an incompetent organization and just luck your way into the No. 1 overall pick and not [have] that variable looming overhead,” he said. “And I think if it’s AJ Dybantsa or Cam Boozer, whose father Carlos Boozer played a long time in the NBA, I think the dynamics are shifting, and I would not be surprised at all if whoever [goes to] the Sacramento Kings if they win the lottery is gonna have a hard time convincing that player to stay with that organization.”
If the Kings don’t win the lottery, this may not even be an issue worth discussing. However, if they do, it will undoubtedly be the biggest storyline heading into the 2026 NBA Draft.