AJ Dybantsa makes Wizards debut tonight vs. Cavaliers

As recently as this morning he was still listed as questionable. Then he went out and shot threes at shootaround like a guy who knew he was playing.

Josh Robbins

@JoshuaBRobbins

Here's a look at the end of the Wizards' shootaround in Cleveland. AJ Dybantsa, who remains listed as questionable to play tonight, was on the court getting shots up (in this video, three-pointers from the right wing): t.co/kja7iRZtFl

Less than an hour after that clip went up, it was official. Shams had it first, and the Wizards confirmed it right after him.

Shams Charania

@ShamsCharania

No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa will make his NBA debut for the Washington Wizards tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers, sources tell ESPN.

The wait was longer than anyone in DC wanted. Dybantsa sprained his left ankle in the preseason finale against the Pelicans on October 16, then sat while Washington opened 2-2 without him. Brian Keefe kept saying the ankle was 'progressing in a very positive way.' Dybantsa's own update was a lot more relaxed: 'took me 19 years to get here. a few more days ain't nothing.' Before the injury he averaged 12.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals across 4 preseason games, which is a pretty good warmup for a 19-year-old.

Don't expect a full 36 tonight. He's coming off an ankle injury and this is game 1 of an 82-game rookie year, so he'll probably be on some kind of restriction. Washington has no reason to push a franchise cornerstone on a sprained ankle in October. But the minutes count matters less than the moment. This is the guy the rebuild was built to land.

From inside the locker room, the early read is that the hype hasn't gone to his head. Tre Mann went on Off the Bench last week and said the No. 1 pick carries himself like anything but.

Chase Hughes

@chasedcsports

"You wouldn't know he was a No. 1 pick." Thought this was great insight from Tre Mann on how humble A.J. Dybantsa is as a teammate, from last week's episode of Off the Bench: t.co/xwei1PkRa7

That matters on a young team still figuring out who it is. A franchise kid who's also a guy his teammates actually like is how a rebuild starts moving forward. Wizards fans have waited a long time to feel that.

Chase Hughes

@chasedcsports

AJ Dybantsa’s NBA debut is TONIGHT. A massively significant day for the Wizards franchise. All goes down at 6:30 on @MonSportsNet. BE THERE.

Washington Wizards

@WashWizards

Update: AJ Dybantsa has been upgraded to available for tonight's matchup.

So it's 6:30 tip in Cleveland against a Cavs team that won't go easy on a rookie. Watch how Keefe handles his minutes, whether the ankle looks fine when he has to cut and defend, and whether those right-wing threes from shootaround show up in the game. Whatever the box score says, the AJ Dybantsa era in Washington starts tonight.