AJ Dybantsa is already doing things Washington hasn't seen in years
The Wizards' 19-year-old No. 1 pick finished his three-game preseason with steady numbers and a disarming calm, giving D.C. basketball fans a genuine reason to circle October 21.
In brief
In three preseason games, Dybantsa has looked exactly like what Washington needed him to be
He was asked what pressure he feels walking into his first NBA season as the top pick in the draft. AJ Dybantsa gave a bold answer: "None," he said, before cracking a smile. For a 19-year-old about to carry the franchise ambitions of a fan base that has watched the Wizards bottom out for the better part of four years, that kind of composure is either a red flag or a very good sign. Through three preseason games, it looks like the latter.
Washington selected Dybantsa out of Brigham Young University with the first overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The Brockton, Massachusetts native stands 6-foot-9 and 210 pounds, and he arrived in D.C. carrying a resume that made the selection easy: he won the Julius Erving Award, was named a consensus first-team All-American, and took the NCAA scoring title in his lone college season. What nobody knew was how quickly any of it would translate.
Three games in, the answer is: pretty quickly.
In the preseason opener at Madison Square Garden on October 8, Dybantsa posted 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and four steals across 23 minutes in a 111-109 Wizards win over the Knicks. He followed that up four days later at Capital One Arena against Detroit: 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists across 23 minutes in a 114-108 overtime win over the Pistons. Then Monday night against Brooklyn, in a 131-122 preseason loss: 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in 25 minutes.
Fourteen points in each of his last two games. Consistent production. Not a single blowup, not a single game where he looked lost. For a teenager playing against NBA veterans for the first time, that kind of steadiness is genuinely rare.
What stands out beyond the box score
The steals have been one of the more eye-catching details. While Dybantsa still has room to grow defensively, his ability to disrupt passing lanes has been noticeable from the start of preseason. He racked up five steals through his first two games alone. For a wing at his size, that instinct is hard to teach.
The other thing that jumps out is transition. Dybantsa's speed with the ball in hand should help Washington establish themselves as one of the NBA's more efficient teams in transition. In the Detroit game alone, the Wizards finished with 23 fast-break points compared to just nine for the Pistons. Not all of that is Dybantsa, but his burst in open space was a factor every time Washington pushed the pace.
The three-point shot is a work in progress. He shot 0-for-3 from behind the arc against Detroit and 1-for-3 against Brooklyn. But he draws fouls at an impressive rate. He shot 4-of-8 on two-point attempts against the Pistons and consistently drew contact, connecting on six of his game-high 10 free throw attempts. Getting to the line and finishing there buys him time while the outside shot develops.
Washington's roster improvements mean the 19-year-old won't be instantly asked to shoulder a bevy of responsibilities, which is a luxury most top picks don't get. The Capitals strengthened their roster this offseason with veteran additions like forward Boone Jenner and acquisitions like Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou, and the Wizards made their own moves to surround Dybantsa rather than expose him. Trae Young runs the offense. Anthony Davis patrols the paint. Davis posted 10 points and 11 rebounds in just 22 minutes against Detroit, with all of his production coming in the first half while he observed the second half from the bench to manage his workload.
That depth matters. It means Dybantsa can play within the game instead of trying to win it by himself every night.
The bigger picture for Washington basketball
The 2026-27 NBA regular season opens October 20 and runs through April 11, 2027. Davis will likely continue to operate under a minutes restriction to keep him fresh ahead of the Wizards' regular-season opener against the Bucks on Wednesday, October 21. That is seven days away.
The last time Washington had a number-one pick this talked-about was a long time ago. The franchise spent several years in full rebuild mode, and the fan base that stuck around through the losing has earned the right to be skeptical. One preseason against reserves and rotational players proves nothing about what April will look like. But it proves Dybantsa isn't going to freeze.
The former BYU star led the nation in scoring last season, but he'll need some time to adjust to NBA defenses before he starts lighting up the box score regularly in the league. That's a fair caveat. Still, the preseason sample showed no deer-in-headlights moment, no disappearing act, no game where a veteran backup made him look his age.
The top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft is just over a week away from making his rookie debut, and he's continuing to impress in preseason ahead of his first regular-season game. Capital One Arena will be loud on October 21. Dybantsa, for his part, says he feels no pressure.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
