At Tuesday’s NBA Draft, AJ DiBantsa was selected first overall by the Washington Wizards — and no one was less surprised than him. “I mean, I’ve been number one my whole life,” Wing, 19, told me the day before on a FaceTime call from the Hublot boutique in Lower Manhattan. “I don’t plan on leaving.”
That what Did However, as planned, wore an excellent watch on draft night. On Monday Dyabantsa showed me his new Hublot Big Bang Unico Titanium Rainbow. The new wizard chose this watch entirely on his own, without the help of a stylist, or even the consultation of a group chat or trusted friend. “I knew I was going to wear this watch,” he said. “No one will be able to convince me No To wear this watch.” Dyabantsa was so convinced that despite having access to the brand’s entire store, he didn’t see a single other watch. This Rainbow Big Bang was prepared for him when he arrived.
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Luxury watches are often used as markers of a job well done, given to commemorate a first job, a big promotion, or retirement. It’s no different for the number one draft pick. He said, “That picture (after being selected) will stay with me for the rest of my life, it will probably be the biggest day of my life.” “So you have to look good, have a nice suit, have a nice watch, especially.”
So why was this Hublot the perfect watch for the most important night of his life so far? Dyabantsa described his selection as a reckless move. Last year, when he was publishing a video of Dyabantsa at BYU Gunna rapping the song “On One Tonight” Went Viral: “I went to AP, spent 200K, they sold me Frost Rainbow face.” I know the clip well, because whenever my scrappy Brooklyn Nets lost a game last season, fans hoping to draft DiBantsa would post the video online. Dyabantsa chose to lean straight in that direction with this watch. “People call me Rainbow Face,” he says, “so I thought it would be cool to wear it on draft night and make some noise.”
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