BROCKTON, Mass. — The first time AJ Dybantsa got paid for basketball, he didn’t want the money.
When the nation’s top recruit was named Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year as a high school freshman, it came with a cash prize: $1,000. That was a lot of money for a 14-year-old who insists he didn’t even get good at basketball until a year before.
For a teenager, that can go toward video games, shoes or even his future. But Dybantsa didn’t want it for himself. Instead, he thought about Brazzaville.
He first visited his father Ace’s hometown, the capital of Congo, when he was 4. Ace and his wife, Chelsea, used the trip to give their son perspective on their life back in Brockton and the importance of giving back to the community.
So, when the Gatorade check arrived, Dybantsa didn’t know what to do with it. Keeping it didn’t feel right.
“Do it for your heart,” Ace told his son. “Don’t take the money. That will come later.”
Ever since then, the 17-year-old Dybantsa has done things differently.
“Don’t take anything for granted,” Dybantsa told The Athletic recently. “People are less fortunate and don’t have what we have. If I continue this route, I’m going to get a lot more money than that. So, I might as well just donate (that check) back to the…
