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The next AJ Dybantsa? Why Basketball fans should watch ‘Road to Peach Jam’ originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
If you want to find the next AJ Dybantsa before everybody else knows his name, Peach Jam isn’t a bad place to start.
Basketball fans don’t need much of an introduction to Dybantsa anymore. Born in Boston and raised in Brockton, Mass., Dybantsa went from one of the area’s most exciting young prospects to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, selected by the Washington Wizards.
But well before NBA commissioner Adam Silver called his name, Dybantsa was building his reputation in the same grassroots basketball world featured in Air Time’s new “Road to Peach Jam” series.
And that’s a pretty good reason for hoops fans to pay attention.
AJ Dybantsa’s road included Peach Jam
Dybantsa didn’t suddenly become a household name when he arrived at BYU.
The 6-foot-9 wing’s rise began years earlier around New England. He starred at St. Sebastian’s School in Massachusetts and played grassroots basketball with Boston-based Expressions Elite before eventually becoming one of the country’s most coveted prospects.
Peach Jam was part of that rise.
Dybantsa led Nike Peach Jam in scoring at 25.8 points per game during his ascent through the high school ranks, giving fans and evaluators an early look at the player who eventually would become college basketball’s leading scorer at BYU and the top selection in the NBA Draft.
That’s what makes a series centered around the road to Peach Jam interesting beyond simply finding out which team wins.
You’re getting a chance to see players while they’re still building their names.
Could the next New England basketball star be there?
Dybantsa’s story also shows just how quickly things can move.
The Brockton product went from dominating against players his age to becoming the nation’s No. 1 recruit, a McDonald’s All-American, a star at BYU and eventually the first player taken in the NBA Draft.
Now there’s another group of prospects trying to take their own path through the grassroots ranks.
That’s part of the fun of watching “Road to Peach Jam.” You might recognize a program. You might learn the name of a player before he becomes a five-star recruit. And you might see someone who eventually follows a path similar to Dybantsa’s.
Nobody watching a young Dybantsa needed to know exactly where his career would end up to understand there was something worth paying attention to.
A few years later, he’s the No. 1 pick.
The next one has to start somewhere.
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