After mentoring last year's No. 1 overall pick, Cooper Flagg, with the Dallas Mavericks, Anthony Davis is now guiding AJ Dybantsa as he enters his rookie campaign with the Washington Wizards.
"I think the ones that are special - like Coop and obviously AJ - they want to learn. They want to get better. They ask ... the right questions," Davis told reporters Monday at Wizards media day. "I've been able to give AJ a little bit about how it's gonna be coming into the league.
"You're gonna have a target on your back. Everybody's gonna want to come after him. Same thing I was doing with Coop last year. He's ready for it. He's got all the tools to be successful in this league. But he's a special talent."
The Wizards selected Dybantsa as the top overall pick in this year's draft after his standout campaign at BYU. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged an NCAA-leading 25.5 points, 6.8 boards, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals across 35 appearances for the Cougars.
Dybantsa was also a consensus All-American first-team selection, the Big 12 Player of the Year, and the Julius Erving Award winner as the nation's top small forward.
His approach early on has impressed Davis, who also went No. 1 overall in 2012.
"He wants it," Davis said. "He works very hard. He listens. He's dedicated and motivated. So I try to not give him too much and kind of stay out the way. But try to give him enough where he can go into a game and do what he has to do."
