AJ Dybantsa has won a gold medal, thrown out the first pitch at a Red Sox game and much more this summer.
It’s been quite the summer for AJ Dybantsa.
BYU’s basketball superstar has had a lot on his plate, including winning the gold medal with Team USA at the FIBA U19 World Cup, throwing out the first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game, and now getting back to Provo to work out with his Cougar teammates.
“A lot is a word to describe it,” Dybantsa said of his summer during a Monday appearance on ‘BYU Sports Nation. “I’ve been to like four or five countries in like two months. It’s been a lot of traveling, but I’m glad to be back.”
Here are some notable highlights from Dybantsa’s latest appearance on “BYU Sports Nation.”
On attending an F1 race in Monaco
“It was ridiculously crazy. You just see yachts lined up, yachts lined up and more yachts lined up. But I actually had a good view, Red Bull actually got us seats right above the pit stop. So I got to see one of the Red Bull athletes do their pit stops.”
On throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park in Boston
“I was going to throw in front of the mound, and then right when I’m walking up, the guy is like, ‘You can go in the mound if you want.’ And me, I have to take risks. Who knows if I’m going to throw a first pitch again? So I went on the mound, and (the catcher) is sitting there and I’m like, ‘It’s kind of far.’
“So in my mind, I’m like, ‘I can’t throw it like a real baseball because it’s going to hit the ground.’ So I’d rather go to my football skills, throw it upwards, and I got it there. So I’m not a meme, I’m not a meme.”
First pitch tonight at Fenway Park courtesy of @AJ_Dybantsa 🤙 pic.twitter.com/G2dhUJKnuO
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) July 10, 2025
On earning a tight quarterfinals victory over Canada in the FIBA U19 World Cup
“We needed it, obviously, because the first three or four games, we were winning by 30-plus, so we definitely needed a tougher game under our belt, and with the team we had, we knew that if we played together, we played the right way, it was going to be very hard to lose. So we just took that into account, and we just played hard, played together.”
On winning the gold medal with Team USA at the FIBA U19 World Cup
“That was great, because that was my third time doing it. So that was my third gold medal, the third time we’re in another country listening to our anthem, so it was special.”
On how playing in the FIBA U19 World Cup has helped him improve
“I just learned how to play with a different group of guys. Some of these guys played on the U18 last year, and I was on the U17, so mixing up guys and playing with different guys, you just got to adapt.”
On meeting NBA legend Kevin Garnett
“He gave me great advice, just telling me about the mental part of the game. Obviously he wasn’t the most skilled player at all times, so he tried to use the mental part to his (advantage), and clearly it worked, so he was trying to give me that side of the basketball.”
Kevin Garnett & AJ Dybantsa chatting it up at #NBA2KSummerLeague 💯 pic.twitter.com/dKDVQjHmba
— NBA (@NBA) July 18, 2025
On BYU’s upcoming nonconference matchup with UConn in Boston
“I’ve played there before. I’m 1-0 at TD Garden, so I plan on being 2-0. It should be exciting, a lot of fans should go up.”
On working out with his BYU teammates during the summer
“We had a couple practices last week. It was optional, but a lot of us opted in. For people who haven’t played together for long, I can definitely see the chemistry getting along ... it was just crazy that we haven’t played (together) a lot and the chemistry was still there.”
On having his own sports trading cards from Topps
“I don’t think it will hit me until I feel (the card) in my hand, but all I’m worried about is hopefully I don’t take a bad picture, because it’s a bad picture forever. That’s a lot of pressure. It might be a one of one card, and it’s just a horrible picture. So that’s all I’m worried about.”
Category: General Sports
