“My favorite player has always been Kevin Durant, so just me sharing the court with him will probably be, like, ridiculous.”
That is how AJ Dybantsa framed the fixture when he was asked, at his introductory press conference, which game he was most looking forward to in his rookie season. The answer is now on the schedule: the Houston Rockets, with Durant in their starting line-up, visit Washington on Sunday night.
It is the first regular-season meeting between the two since Dybantsa was taken first overall in the 2026 Draft.
Averaging 15 points through 13 rookie games
Dybantsa, 19, arrived in the NBA as the most hyped prospect of his class. The forward averaged 25.5 points per game during his lone season at BYU, setting three freshman scoring records before Washington took him with the top pick.
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Through 13 games as a rookie he is averaging 15.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 33.9 minutes, ranking fourth among first-year players in scoring. He is shooting 41% from the field and 23.3% from three.
His admiration for Durant is not a recent discovery. Dybantsa has trained with the Rockets forward, and he wore Durant’s Nike signature shoes throughout his college season.
Durant’s quiet start in Houston
Durant arrives in Washington in the middle of the most unusual stretch of his career. He is averaging 20.8 points per game through the first nine games of the 2026-27 season, the second-lowest scoring rate of his career and a sharp drop from the 26.0 he posted a year ago.
That is partly by design. Durant is attempting only 12.4 shots per game, a career low, as Houston leans heavily on center Alperen Sengun’s play-making and spreads touches around the roster, with one eye on preserving Durant for the playoffs.
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The Celtics trip comes later in the season
Dybantsa grew up in Brockton, Massachusetts, and the matchup he named second on his wish list, according to SportsNaut, was Washington’s trip to TD Garden to face the Boston Celtics.
That trip comes later in the season. For now, the rookie’s first appointment with his idol is on home parquet at Capital One Arena on Sunday night.
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