The Washington Wizards selected freshman BYU forward AJ Dybantsa No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft on Tuesday night, despite some scattered rumours that they had considered other players in recent weeks.

Dybantsa was considered the favourite to go first since the May 10 draft lottery, and the Wizards ultimately stayed the course.

At 6-foot-9 and 210 pounds, Dybantsa has the positional size to go with the NBA-ready offensive game that made him Division I’s leading scorer at 25.5 points per game while shooting 51.0% from the field.

Dybantsa also averaged 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists while leading BYU to a 23-win season.

He joins a Wizards roster very much in flux after acquiring Trae Young and Anthony Davis at last season’s trade deadline but barely played down the stretch of Washington’s NBA-worst 17-65 campaign.

The Wizards shocked many in the NBA world by signing Young to a four-year, $213million contract extension.

Also in flux is the status of former No. 2 overall pick Alexandre Sarr, who underwent offseason surgery to repair a broken foot.

The Wizards appear less concerned with building on any one timeline and more intent on adding talent of any age to get them out of the NBA’s basement.

Young and Davis will bring a veteran presence to an otherwise very young roster, which now features Dybantsa, Sarr, Tre Johnson, Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington.

Washington has held the No. 1 overall pick in two previous drafts, selecting Kwame Brown in 2001 and John Wall in 2010.