AJ Dybantsa officially declares for the NBA draft and is a top candidate to be the No. 1 pick

AJ Dybantsa has made it official: He's entering the NBA draft.

The BYU forward — widely expected to be a top candidate to be the No. 1 pick — made the announcement Thursday. Dybantsa led the nation by averaging 25.5 points per game in his lone college season, along with 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

He's the first player to have a season with all those averages and be named a consensus All-American since Larry Bird did it for Indiana State in 1978-79.

“Now the work starts again, all over again," Dybantsa said. “I've had a lot of NBA players tell me that it kind of restarts once you get there. I'm just looking forward to that next step, being a rookie and learning from all the vets.”

Dybantsa made the announcement at the Davis School in his hometown of Brockton, Massachusetts — the home of boxing greats Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, among others.

“It's the city of champions,” Dybantsa said. “I just want to be considered like one of those champions.”

Dybantsa attended the Davis School until fifth grade and said he still values the lessons instilled in him there, including the importance of education. That's part of the reason why, even though he's going to the NBA, Dybantsa said he will simultaneously remain in school and continue working toward a mass communications degree at BYU.

“My mom wanted me to stay in college to graduate,” Dybantsa said. “But I told my mother that I'm going to declare for the draft and also finish and get my degree online. I'll probably finish within the next four years.”

The draft order will not be known until the lottery on May 10, where Washington, Indiana and Brooklyn all have the best odds — 14% each — of winning and landing the chance to pick No. 1 overall. When asked what team he would like to play for in the NBA, Dybantsa gave an immediate answer.

"Whatever team drafts me, bro," Dybantsa said.

He's not lacking for confidence and hopes to give another speech in Massachusetts — the home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame — when his playing career is over.

“The next speech — the next big, big speech — I should have is the Hall of Fame speech,” Dybantsa said. “So, we should be good.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

FILE - BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) drives to the basket against Dayton during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

FILE - BYU forward AJ Dybantsa celebrates his three-pointer in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Baylor Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

FILE - BYU forward AJ Dybantsa (3) prepares to dunk the ball against Eastern Washington during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Rob Gray, File)

FILE - BYU forward AJ Dybantsa dunks in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Baylor Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File

FILE - BYU forward AJ Dybantsa reacts to scoring a career high and new freshman record at BYU during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Utah, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department's internal watchdog announced a review Thursday of the department’s compliance with the law mandating the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, stepping into a politically sensitive saga that has shadowed the Trump administration for the past year.

The review from the inspector general's office will focus on how the department collected, reviewed and redacted materials in preparation for their release, as well as its process for addressing concerns that arose after the files were made public, when Epstein survivors complained that personal information about them had been disclosed.

The audit will revisit the department's staggered and uneven release of millions of records from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation, a process that exposed it to accusations that it was attempting to protect President Donald Trump, who decades ago was friendly with the financier. It marks the watchdog office's first significant effort since Trump took office for a second time to scrutinize the actions of a department that has been riven by tumult, including mass firings of employees and allegations of politicization of investigations.

The records were released starting late last year in compliance with a bill passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump, who bowed to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting efforts to disclose additional files. That November law required the release within 30 days of records related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in a jail in 2019, and also allowed for redactions of information about victims.

But problems with the department's process soon emerged.

Officials released only a fraction of records within the 30-day deadline, later disclosing they would need several more weeks because of the abrupt discovery of a massive tranche of records tied to the case.

In late January, the department released what it said were 3 million pages of records, but subsequently withdrew several thousand documents and “media” after lawyers told a judge that the lives of nearly 100 abuse survivors had been “turned upside down” by careless redactions. The exposed materials include nude photos, with faces visible, as well as names, email addresses and other identifying information that was either unredacted or not fully obscured.

The department blamed it on “technical or human error.”

The scrutiny continued after several news organizations reported that some records involving uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against Trump were not among those released to the public. The accuser was interviewed by the FBI four times as it sought to assess her account but a summary of only one of those interviews had been included in the publicly released files.

The department said those files had been “incorrectly coded as duplicative” and therefore were inadvertently not published along with other investigative documents.

Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Authorities say Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges.

FILE - Tourists walk past a banner with President Donald Trump hanging on the Department of Justice, Feb. 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

FILE - This March 28, 2017, photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)