AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson put on a show and hint at what's to come in Summer League showdown

LAS VEGAS — Seated just a few inches from the Thomas & Mack Center's baseline, arguably the best seat in the house for AJ Dybantsa's Summer League debut, Paul Pierce's inquiry was a mixture of bewilderment and excitement. 

"He already got his own shoe?" the Hall of Famer asked, referencing the pair of metallic silver Nike GTs Dybantsa was wearing. "God****!"

A few minutes later, as the No. 1 pick dribbled from the logo Thursday, plowing through four defenders like prime Clinton Portis en route to a thunderous slam — with the entire building erupting in awe — Pierce's questions had been answered. 

The hype, real. The wait, warranted. 

AP Photo/John Locher

"That looked like [No.] 1 to me! That looked like 1 to me!" Pierce screamed, leaping from his seat like the thousands of other onlookers. It took just 12 minutes for the 48-year-old to get his money's worth, heading for the exits while repeatedly stating he had seen enough from the highly anticipated showdown. 

No one in attendance would have confused the Wizards' 92-88 win over the Jazz for any semblance of NBA-level competition. There were considerably more combined fouls (72) than field goals (60), 36 turnovers between both teams, and neither Dybantsa nor No. 2 overall pick Darryn Peterson shot anywhere near 50% from the floor. 

But that's not what basketball in July is about. Thursday night was a celebration of talent, early etchings of a budding rivalry between Dybantsa and Peterson, and a reminder of why the sport remains in a beautiful place for the next generation of hoopers. 

It was near-impossible to ignore the signs, buried underneath a mountain of less-than-stellar overall team play. Dybantsa's ability to overcome opposing physicality, find his spots on the floor and finish with contact. Peterson's penchant for creating something out of nothing, whether by snaking through screens and pulling up or attacking open spaces created by his teammates. Both Dybantsa and Peterson displayed a knack for drawing contact, a skill that will surely translate to the pros regardless of their advanced analytics in otherwise meaningless exhibition games. Dybantsa missed all five of his outside shots but finished with a game-high 27 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block in 26 minutes. Peterson chipped in 24 points to go with 3 assists and 3 rebounds. Outside of a few interactions, both players rarely spent time guarding one another — much to the chagrin of the fans — but there was enough meat on the bone. 

"It's great," Dybantsa said following the game. "Every time I play against him it's a battle. He always comes out to compete. He beat me three times previously, that was my first win. I was just glad to come out on top."

"Look forward to every game we play," Peterson added. "Obviously this was a big one."

Zooming out a bit, a necessary macro lens for Summer League, the Dybantsa-Peterson matchup speaks to a larger theme connecting the Wizards and Jazz. Both franchises, desperate to escape the hamster wheel of rebuilding and mediocrity, are now firmly entrenched in a two-timeline approach. 

Utah, despite losing starting center Walker Kessler in restricted free agency, anticipates a backcourt with Keyonte George and Peterson and a frontcourt featuring Lauri Markkanen and trade-deadline addition Jaren Jackson Jr. Head coach Will Hardy, who was seated courtside beside George, has long preached an emphasis on player development and should relish the prospect of helping Peterson grow alongside his running mate. In his debut, George paid more attention to Peterson's intangibles than anything else that transpired on the floor. 

"Just seeing the little things," George told Yahoo Sports. "Using his off arm to keep the defender off or moving the ball into certain pockets. Using the fadeaway when needed. Making those split-second reads on the offensive end, it's something you just can't teach. But he got a long way to go. So the fact that he's looking like this right now, you don't even want to put a limit on somebody like that, for sure."

Washington, in the midst of quite the busy offseason — signing Trae Young to a long-term extension (with hopes of extending Anthony Davis as well), adding Deandre Ayton and Khris Middleton — is an organization hell-bent on controlling its own destiny, and now adds the talented Dybantsa to a large, physical group. The Wizards now have optionality with their lineups, something the franchise lacked to a large degree in the past, and can grow knowing Dybantsa has experienced veterans to lean on. 

Because we live in a society that breeds off storylines and central figures, Peterson and Dybantsa will be attached to each other, likely for the duration of their careers. How they respond to the heightened attention and scrutiny will always be seen in relation to one another, regardless if either player sees the other as an actual rival. Basketball's ecosystem necessitates it. The crowd, growing in volume on the few occasions both players found themselves matched up with each other. The media, angling for a new arc and the sport's voracious appetite for something to hold. 

But just like cacti amid the sweltering heat of the Vegas desert, this too, shall grow. The NBA has tried — and failed — to generate rivalries in recent years. This one feels healthier, purer, more organic. 

And it appears both young talents have the juice to flourish.