The Washington Wizards selected forward AJ Dybantsa, who led the nation in scoring in his one season at BYU, with the No 1 pick in the NBA draft on Tuesday night.

Dybantsa averaged 25.5 points, highlighted by a 43-point effort that broke BYU’s freshman scoring record.

At 6ft 9in and 217lb, Dybantsa has drawn comparisons to Kevin Durant, who happens to be his favorite player. Durant grew up in the Washington area, and Wizards fans can only hope Dybantsa can live up to the comparisons.

They certainly hope he will be better than center Kwame Brown, the pick Washington made in 2001, the first time it had the No 1 selection after the NBA changed draft formats to eliminate territorial picks in 1966. The Wizards took John Wall in 2010 the other time, and he did turn into an All-Star.

He appeared to say a quick prayer after his name was announced, then went on stage to greet commissioner Adam Silver and slipped on a black Wizards hat that matched nicely with his black suit.

Dybantsa beat out fellow freshman Darryn Peterson of Kansas, who was taken at the No 2 pick by Utah. While some thought Peterson had the most talent in the class, the guard missed 11 games during the season because of injuries and illness, potentially creating some questions that Dybantsa didn’t have.

Cameron Boozer, the college player of the year in his one season at Duke, was taken at No 3 by Memphis.