AJ Dybantsa will miss his second straight game Friday night when the Washington Wizards host the Toronto Raptors, as the No. 1 overall pick continues to recover from a mild left ankle sprain. Dybantsa suffered the injury in the second quarter of the October 16 preseason finale at New Orleans when he landed awkwardly on his left ankle after a midrange jumper over Zion Williamson. He limped to the locker room and did not return, finishing with 12 points in about 15 minutes. Head coach Brian Keefe has listed him as day-to-day throughout and said he does not expect the rookie to miss much time. Dybantsa averaged 12.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals in four preseason games after leading the nation in scoring at 25.5 points per game as a freshman at BYU.
Status
Game Status: OUT Friday vs. Raptors (missed opener vs. Bucks)
Injury: Mild left ankle sprain
Surgery/No Surgery: No surgery
Designation: Day-to-day
Possible Return: Saturday, Oct. 24 at Bulls
Dybantsa was projected to start alongside Trae Young, Anthony Davis, Kyshawn George and Alex Sarr. Bilal Coulibaly started in his place in the opener and posted 11 points, four steals and two blocks on 4-of-6 shooting, while Khris Middleton and George have absorbed more wing minutes. Washington has not made the playoffs since 2020-21, and Dybantsa is the centerpiece of its push to change that.
Friday is the front end of a back-to-back, and Saturday's game in Chicago opens a stretch of three straight road games. With three games in four days to start the season, the Wizards have shown no interest in rushing him back.
Injury Analysis
A mild ankle sprain typically means a low-grade stretch of the ligaments on the outside of the ankle, the most common injury in basketball. These usually cost a few days to two weeks, and Dybantsa is now one week removed from the injury.
The progress has been steady. He took part in on-court shooting drills on October 19 and was seen at practice the next day. The key hurdle left is full-contact work, since cutting, lateral defense and landing in traffic stress the ankle far more than stationary shooting. The team has not said whether he has been cleared for full-speed practice.
The bigger concern is recurrence. A recently sprained ankle is more vulnerable to a repeat sprain in the weeks after return, so expect him to play with tape or a brace and possibly on a minutes limit in his first few games.
This looks like a short-term issue for a player with a clean injury history. Saturday at Chicago is a realistic return target, though Washington could hold him one more game to start the road trip. Once he returns, the watch item is whether the ankle limits his explosiveness and lateral movement early on.
