The Washington Wizards selected AJ Dybantsa with the top pick, in part for the BYU standout to be the team's face of the franchise, but also because his strengths answer a major weakness of the team.
Dybantsa's scoring upside is evident, and he proved that during his debut in Las Vegas for the Wizards, finishing with 27 points.
The game comes naturally for the versatile forward, and it's fair to say that his size and physicality make him a mismatch for nearly every defender he's played against, at least up to this point.
He can get to the rim at will, finds his spot on the court with ease, and his soft shooting touch makes him even more dangerous.
However, the most underrated part of his game is the pressure he puts on opposing teams by getting to the free-throw line.
For the Wizards, who finished near the bottom of the league last season in terms of utilizing the free throw line, that's exactly what they needed.
AJ Dybantsa is going to relieve so much pressure for the Wizards
Last season, the Wizards finished 26th in the league in free throw attempts and 27th in free throws made.
Obviously, Washington didn't exactly have the personnel on the roster to put pressure on opposing teams, especially with Alex Sarr looking to make his mark in the paint as a stretch big, Kyshawn George working on his all-around product, and Trae Young coming along late in the process.
Not to mention, the amount of injuries for the Wizards made it hard for the team to find a healthy dosage of players that could help them get to the FT line.
Still, with every team in the league seemingly making it a priority to get to the free throw line, utilizing the stoppage of game play, putting opposing teams in foul trouble, and using the line to their advantage, missing that piece of the puzzle has been huge.
In his debut for the Wizards on Thursday, Dybantsa managed to get to the free throw line several times, finishing 7-for-8 from the free throw line in only 26 minutes of play.
When the regular season starts, not only will Dybantsa have more room to work with, but it'll be more of a focus to have the ball in his hands to apply pressure on opposing defenses.
All that to say, there's no reason that the Wizards' free throw numbers should take a massive step forward next season.
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