BYU Signee AJ Dybantsa Nominated For USA Basketball Athlete Of The Year
Dec 23, 2024, 12:29 PM
PROVO, Utah – AJ Dybantsa is one of five players in the running for Team USA Basketball’s Male Athlete of the Year.
The 6-foot-9 BYU signee was nominated after helping Team USA win the FIBA U17 World Cup in July. He scored 14 points in Team USA’s blowout victory over Turkey in the gold medal game.
AJ Dybantsa nominated for 2024 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year
Dybantsa’s competition for Male Athlete of the Year is some of the best basketball players in the world.
All won gold. But only one will be the 2024 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year.
Voting is open for Mikel, Steph, KD, AJ & LeBron 🗳️
»» https://t.co/0IAO1YHBE6#USABAwards pic.twitter.com/hPfWYWBRMZ
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) December 22, 2024
Along with Dybantsa, Team USA nominated NBA superstars Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant, Dybantsa’s favorite player. Mikel Brown Jr. from the Team USA U18 team rounds out the five-player nominations.
Curry, Durant, and James were part of Team USA’s Gold Medal run at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Durant has won the Male Athlete of the Year award three times, and James won it in 2012. Curry has never been named Male Athlete of the Year by Team USA.
After publicly announcing his commitment to BYU earlier this month, Dybantsa told the Stephen A. Smith Show that he has a goal to play for Team USA in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The previous two winners of the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year award have come from the U17 squad: Koa Peat last year and Cooper Flagg in 2022.
Along with votes from players, coaches, administrators, and the media, fans can vote on the Team USA athletes of the year. Fans are permitted to vote once per day.
Jimmer Fredette is up for Team USA 3×3 Male Athlete of the Year
Another 2024 Team USA basketball award category is 3×3 Male Athlete of the Year.
Former BYU legend Jimmer Fredette is one of the candidates. Fredette saw his run in Paris cut short due to an adductor injury that tore two different ligaments. He suffered the injury in Team USA’s second game of pool play.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
