Copyright sportskeeda
The Boston Celtics have dropped their first three games of the season.Clearly, losing Jayson Tatum to an injury and moving on from Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford has taken a big toll on their chances of competing at the highest level. However, there might be a light at the end of the tunnel. As pointed out by NBA Central on X, the Celtics could now be in the mix to land Massachusetts native A.J. Dybantsa:"The Boston Celtics now have the 3rd-best lottery odds and a 40% chance of NOT making the playoffs, per Prophet X."Homecoming?"Dybantsa is a well-known Celtics fan. He even called out New York Knicks fans for all the mockery after their playoff series last season:“They only lost because Tatum got injured,” Dybantsa said on October 14th in an appearance on Boardroom. “I know if he was still playing, that wouldn’t have been an L."“They can have their fun for now,” he added. “It’s New York, they still lost in a conference championship.”Dybantsa could be a perfect complement next to Tatum and Jaylen Brown, as he can play both forward spots, and he could even be a small-ball center in all-shooters lineups. AJ Dybantsa talks about his draft stockDybantsa entered the college basketball season as one of the leading candidates to be the first-overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, with Duke star Cameron Boozer and Kansas star Darryn Peterson as the other candidates.When asked about that, however, he didn't want to give it a lot of thought, and he talked about doing the right things to be the best player he can be:"I think me and [Peterson] probably have similar mindsets, obviously, playing with him since I'll say my freshman year," Dybantsa said at the Big 12 Media Day, per ESPN. "I don't think he is too worried about [going No. 1]. I think he's just really trying to prove himself as a college player and he's probably got the same goal as me: to go out and win."The BYU freshman has drawn comparisons to stars like Kevin Durant and Kevin Garnett. And while he has to put in a lot of work on the defensive end of the floor, his length, agility, and ability to score from all three levels make him one of the most promising prospects to enter the league in recent years.
