Second-year wing Corey Kispert is set to make his 2022/23 regular season debut for the Wizards on Friday against Brooklyn, head coach Wes Unseld Jr. told reporters (Twitter link via Josh Robbins of The Athletic).
Kispert suffered a left ankle sprain when he stepped on an opponent’s foot during a preseason contest vs. Golden State in Japan early last month. He was expected to miss four-to-six weeks, so he’s on right on track with the early portion of that timeline.
Unseld said last week that the 23-year-old was “really close” to making his return to action after being a full participant in practice.
Viewed as one of the best shooters in the 2021 draft class, Kispert was selected 15th overall a year ago and appeared in 77 games as a rookie, averaging 8.2 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 23.4 MPG. He got off to a slow start, making just 28.6% of his three-point attempts through 35 games, but heated up in the second half, knocking down 37.6% of his tries in his final 42 games.
It seems likely that Kispert will be able to find a rotation spot right away, as reserve guard Delon Wright is currently sidelined with a hamstring strain and the team can certainly use Kispert’s shooting. The Wizards are now 4-4 after defeating the Sixers on Wednesday evening.