BYU basketball’s one-and-done freshman sensation wrote the most incredible thank you letter after completing his college playing career. Photo from AJ Dybantsa’s LinkedIn post.
Classy. Heartfelt. Touching.
It’s one thing to receive a letter of gratitude.
It’s another to receive an unexpected, authentic one.
I’m referring to the recent LinkedIn post by freshman basketball sensation AJ Dybantsa. As expected, he was one-and-done at Brigham Young University.
(I’ll get to what he posted in a moment.)
You can watch AJ’s basketball highlights here. He is undoubtedly a “generational talent.”
In a few weeks, he’ll hear his name called at the 2026 NBA Draft in Brooklyn.
By most accounts, it’ll be the first name called — the No. 1 overall pick. He’ll shake hands, put on a hat, and hold up the jersey of the lucky team.
And then, every time after that, when a PA announcer introduces him in an NBA arena, the script will be the same: “From BYU — AJ Dybantsa!”
That introduction is probably worth more to BYU than any advertising campaign they could buy.
Especially if he goes on to become one of the league’s top stars.
An Unconventional Choice
When Dybantsa — widely considered the top recruit in his class — chose BYU over traditional blueblood powerhouses like Duke and Kentucky, people were baffled. The kind of schools that practically guarantee NBA exposure.
Some commentators, shocked beyond belief, openly criticized him. They thought he had lost his mind.
But Dybantsa wasn’t looking for a brand name. He was looking for development. — and to the future.
BYU head coach Kevin Young was a former assistant with the Phoenix Suns. His staff is stacked with coaches who have NBA experience. Dybantsa saw what some missed: that playing for coaches who’ve worked at the highest level of the game was worth more than a traditional blueblood program.
But there’s another layer to this story…
Provo, Utah-based BYU is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dybantsa is not a member of that faith. But that didn’t matter — not to the program, not to the fans, and not to the Provo community.
He was welcomed fully, openly and genuinely. You can’t manufacture that. That’s culture.
He went on to lead the nation in scoring, carried BYU to the NCAA Tournament after teammate Richie Saunders (another projected NBA draftee) went down with a season-ending injury, and became one of the most talked-about players in college basketball.
The NIL (name, image and likeness) deal that brought him to Provo, reportedly in the $5-7 million range, is going to look like a bargain in about five years. One that donors will be proud of.
The Draft
For context: the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery is May 10, with the actual draft set for June 23-24 in Brooklyn. The Utah Jazz hold a strong shot at the No. 1 pick, which would put Dybantsa about an hour from where he played college ball. He’s said publicly he has no preferred destination. “Whatever team drafts me,” he told reporters.
What does he have a preference for? Finishing his degree. He’s staying enrolled at BYU as a student and plans to graduate online. He told reporters he’ll “probably major in mass communications.”
The kid who’s about to become a global sports brand is studying how brands communicate. I love that.
Now — the Reason We’re Here
Before declaring for the draft, Dybantsa posted a farewell letter. Not a tweet. Not a hype reel. A letter. The kind a person writes when they’re actually moved to do so.
I want to walk through a few lines before you read the whole thing.
He opened with: “When I committed to BYU, I knew I was signing up for something bigger than basketball.”
That sentence tells you everything about his mindset, and everything about why this letter lands so hard.
He didn’t come to BYU for exposure. He came for growth. That distinction matters enormously, especially in a world where athletes are increasingly transactional about their college choices.
On Coach Young: “You came to BYU with an NBA mind and a deep belief in what this place could become. You pushed me harder than I’ve ever been pushed, and you cared about me as a person before you cared about me as a player.”
There it is. That’s the player experience. It’s directly analogous to what we talked about a few weeks ago regarding customer experience. When you genuinely invest in the whole person, not just the output, people feel it. And they remember it.
On his teammates: “Y’all are brothers for life. I’m rooting for every single one of you.”
And this to Cougar Nation, the BYU fan base: “The kindness I felt walking around campus and the city of Provo, the families who treated me like one of their own, the kids who came up to me everywhere I went. That’s the part of this experience I’ll remember most.”
Read that again. A 19-year-old future NBA star who’s not a member of the faith and not from Utah, having made a choice much of the college basketball world second-guessed, is talking about kindness. Community. Belonging.
Those are genuine, authentic feelings. And it’s powerful, personal PR for AJ. And it’s great PR for BYU.
AJ’s Letter
Here’s the letter AJ posted on LinkedIn.
Or, you can read it here:
When I committed to BYU, I knew I was signing up for something bigger than basketball.
A lot of people questioned the decision. For me, the choice was simple. I wanted to go to the place that would best develop me as a basketball player and as a person. BYU was the program that gave me the clearest path to both.
The moment I stepped on campus, I knew I made the right call.
This school welcomed me in, raised the standard for me, and made me a better person every single day I was there. From the coaching staff to the professors to the fans walking across campus, this is a community unlike any other in college sports.
Coach Young, thank you for trusting me with the keys to your program. You came to BYU with an NBA mind and a deep belief in what this place could become. You pushed me harder than I’ve ever been pushed, and you cared about me as a person before you cared about me as a player. I’ll carry the lessons you taught me for the rest of my life.
To my teammates, the bond we built this year goes way beyond basketball. The film sessions, the bus rides, the late nights in the gym, the conversations that had nothing to do with the game. Y’all are brothers for life. I’m rooting for every single one of you.
To Coug Nation, what y’all do for this program is special. The way fans show up for BYU basketball is unlike anything in the country. The kindness I felt walking around campus and the city of Provo, the families who treated me like one of their own, the kids who came up to me everywhere I went. That’s the part of this experience I’ll remember most.
I am proud to have worn the Y. I’m proud to have represented this university. I’m proud to be a Cougar for life.
The next chapter starts now, but BYU will always be a part of who I am.
Go Cougs. 🤍
What Every Communicator Should Take From This
BYU didn’t just recruit a basketball player. They invested in an experience. And that investment — the coaches they hired, the culture they built, the community they maintained — produced something no PR agency could have scripted.
From a pure PR standpoint: for the next 10 to 15 years, maybe longer, AJ Dybantsa will be introduced in NBA arenas across the country as being from BYU.
Every time. For free.
That’s earned media at its finest. That’s brand equity built through authentic experience. It wasn’t done only with press releases, promotional campaigns, or influencer partnerships.
All BYU did was treat someone right, develop them fully and send them off into the NBA world genuinely proud of where they came from.
There’s a lesson here for every organization wondering how to generate long-term goodwill: stop chasing the story. Instead, build the experience. The story will organically follow.
AJ Dybantsa will be celebrated at BYU for a very long time. Not because of the points he scored — though there were plenty. But because of who he was when he was there, and who BYU helped him become.
If your employees or customers sat down today to write a letter like this about their experience with your organization, what would it say?
3 Big Takeaways
- The best PR isn’t crafted — it’s earned. BYU’s investment in AJ Dybantsa’s experience as a whole person, not just an athlete, produced a farewell letter worth more than any campaign money could buy.
- Proactively invest in the player experience. Doesn’t matter if it’s called customer, guest, patient or player experience. They’re all guided by the same principles. When you genuinely care about the people you serve — their growth, their sense of belonging, their full humanity — they can become your most powerful and most credible advocates.
- Authentic experiences have a very long shelf life. Every time Dybantsa is introduced in an NBA arena as being “from BYU,” that’s free, nationally televised brand awareness that will likely live for years, maybe decades. You can’t put a price on that kind of earned equity.
What are your thoughts about this young man and the letter he wrote? Do share!
Stay authentic — and invest in the experience of those you serve, not just the outcome.
Jeffery E. Pizzino, APR (seen here in a vintage photo circa 1983 serendipitously doing a Clash impersonation in a since-forgotten location) is a spin-free public relations pro who is passionate about telling the why of your story with clarity, impact and authenticity. He began his PR career in 1987 at Ketchum Public Relations in New York City but has spent the majority of his career as a solopreneur. He’s the Chief Authentic Officer of the Johnson City, TN-based public relations firm, AuthenticityPR. He also functions as the fractional CCO for his clients.
Jeff has an MBA in Management from Western International University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications — with an emphasis in PR — from Brigham Young University (rise and shout!). He’s also accredited in public relations (APR). This Milwaukee, Wisconsin native holds an Italian citizenship and plans to live and work there someday. Jeff and his storyteller wife Leticia have four children and four grandchildren. In his extremely limited nonwork hours, he studies Italiano, practices guitar, write songs, gardens, works out, disc golfs, reads, listens to New Wave music, serves as an assistant communication director in his church, watches BYU football, enjoys watching the original Mission Impossible TV series, and plays board games (mostly Dominion and Seven Wonders). No, this guy’s never bored and looking for something to do. Email Jeff.
