The Washington Wizards won the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday night, and somehow the internet reacted like AJ Dybantsa had just suffered a personal tragedy.
Within minutes of the Wizards landing the No. 1 overall pick, social media timelines exploded with jokes about the projected top selection’s future being “cooked.” Clips of Dybantsa’s expression during the lottery broadcast spread everywhere, with NBA fans immediately framing the moment as a nightmare scenario for the BYU superstar.
But while the internet spent the night treating Washington like basketball purgatory, the reactions coming from inside the Wizards’ orbit painted a completely different picture. Trae Young posted a simple 
emoji on X. Anthony Davis took it even further, posting three laughing emojis on his Instagram story shortly after the lottery results were finalized.
Anthony Davis on IG pic.twitter.com/8eYGbqYXHb
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 10, 2026
And honestly? Those reactions may have revealed far more about where the Wizards believe this rebuild is heading than any official statement possibly could.
Trae Young only needed one emoji. That wink immediately caught NBA fans’ attention because it didn’t read like sympathy. It read like confidence. The post came across as a subtle acknowledgment that the Wizards suddenly possess something far more dangerous than another rebuilding project: an actual direction.
For years, Washington has existed in the NBA’s awkward middle ground. Not good enough to contend. Not bad enough to fully reset. Just stuck in a permanent cycle of irrelevance. But the Wizards quietly changed that over the past few months.
First came the Trae Young acquisition. Then Anthony Davis arrived. Suddenly, the organization that fans spent years clowning for the Jordan Poole era started assembling something that actually resembles a modern contender blueprint.
That’s why Anthony Davis’ reaction felt especially interesting. Instead of posting some dramatic hype message, Davis simply uploaded three laughing emojis to Instagram. Not excitement. Not shock. Just laughter.
And NBA fans immediately started interpreting it one specific way: Anthony Davis was laughing at the internet’s reaction to Washington winning the lottery. Because while fans kept calling the Wizards “basketball purgatory,” the actual players inside the organization seem to believe the exact opposite.
From the outside, people still see the 17-65 record. Inside the building, the Wizards likely see:
- Trae Young
- Anthony Davis
- Alex Sarr
- Bilal Coulibaly
- potentially AJ Dybantsa
That’s not a normal tanking roster anymore. That’s a team trying to skip multiple rebuilding stages at once. Washington’s disastrous 2025-26 season became one of the NBA internet’s favorite punchlines. The team finished 17-65, cycled through endless starting lineups, and even gave up Bam Adebayo’s historic 83-point game that turned into social media comedy material for weeks.
The Jordan Poole chaos era also permanently damaged public perception of the franchise. Even after Poole’s departure, fans still associate Washington with empty stats, bad defense, and organizational dysfunction.
So the second the Wizards won the lottery, fans projected all of that baggage directly onto Dybantsa. But not everybody agreed with the “career cooked” narrative.
AJ Dybantsa himself never sounded unhappy about Washington
That’s probably the funniest part of the entire viral discourse. AJ Dybantsa himself never actually sounded upset. Not once. After the lottery, the projected No. 1 pick gave thoughtful, composed answers about the possibility of joining Washington.
“Obviously I’ve been bettering myself for a little while to be a number one pick,” Dybantsa said. “So initially just thinking like, you know, how I’m going to fit into the team.” That doesn’t sound like someone devastated by the outcome. If anything, he sounded focused on basketball fit.
Dybantsa even emphasized how adaptable he believes his game can be. “I’m pretty versatile, adaptable, so I can play with any version.” He also admitted the lottery atmosphere became intense once the final teams remained on the board.
“Me, confidently, I wasn’t really worried about 14 through 3, so I was kind of just letting it play out,” he explained. “But then when all the guys sat there for the top four, I was like, all right, yeah, it’s kind of getting real.”
Most importantly, Dybantsa already seems familiar with several people inside Washington’s organization. He mentioned previously visiting the city during the Jordan Brand Classic and specifically referenced both Anthony Davis and Trae Young.
“I’ve been watching AD for a long, long time,” Dybantsa said. “Trae Young even when he was at Oklahoma.” He also discussed his relationship with Wizards legend John Wall. “I’ve been knowing John since my UFBO days. He came to one of my sessions and was trying to give me some advice.”
That’s the key detail the internet ignored Sunday night. Fans created an emotional narrative around Dybantsa that he never actually expressed himself. The viral clip became less about AJ’s real feelings and more about the basketball world’s distrust of Washington as a franchise.
But if Anthony Davis and Trae Young’s reactions are any indication, the people inside the Wizards organization clearly believe that reputation is about to change.
