Steven A. Smith makes bold prediction with new No. 1 in NBA Draft

ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith isn’t waiting for the NCAA Tournament to begin before making his stance clear in the debate over the top prospect in the upcoming NBA draft.

During a recent discussion on ESPN, Smith said he believes AJ Dybantsa should be the No. 1 pick, placing the BYU star ahead of Kansas standout Darryn Peterson.

I’m putting it on front street,” Smith said about Dybantsa being his No. 1 pick on Monday's First Take. “To me it’s not a debate. I’m not going with anyone before Dybantsa.”

Smith praised Dybantsa’s physical tools and continued development, highlighting the 6-foot-8 forward’s combination of size, athleticism and expanding offensive game.

“You can’t teach 6-8, 6-9 with his skill level,” Smith said. “Have you seen that jump shot improve? Have you seen the three-point shot improve? The athleticism is there, the durability is there, and he doesn’t fade from the spotlight.”

.@stephenasmith says he's taking AJ Dybantsa as the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft 👀 pic.twitter.com/hbMjEErIU3

While Smith acknowledged Peterson’s immense talent, he said questions about reliability remain in his evaluation of the Kansas guard.

“I’ve always said Peterson has superstar talent,” Smith said. “But the question for me has always been reliability. Can you trust that night in and night out?”

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Smith added that the NCAA Tournament could provide Peterson a major opportunity to silence doubters. In his view, the rising BYU star has separated himself in the draft conversation.

“As far as I’m concerned,” Smith said, “Dybantsa is the real deal. That’s my No. 1 pick. I’m not even thinking about it.”

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