Wizards second-year forward Kyshawn George had a breakout game on Friday, racking up a career-best 34 points on 11-of-15 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks in a win over Dallas. George is aiming to make performances like that the norm.
“You get to create what the Wizards are going to be for the future, and I think there’s no better space to be as a player than that,” George told Varun Shankar of the Washington Post. “I’m just looking forward to stacking those days to just get better.”
CJ McCollum believes George can develop into that type of player.
“He’s the total package,” McCollum told The Athletic’s Josh Robbins. “He’s got it all. A three-level scorer. Obviously, you see the handle, you see the defensive pressure.”
We have more on the Wizards:
- The bench contributed 47 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists, led by rookie Tre Johnson‘s 17 points. “Our bench came in and really changed the game,” coach Brian Keefe said, per Robbins. “We ended up playing 11 guys, and everybody had a contribution to that. We were able to establish the physicality against a pretty veteran, big team from the get-go. Even though we didn’t make shots at the beginning, we stuck with the game plan and trusted what we were doing.”
- Speaking of Johnson, the knock on him coming out of Texas was his defense. He believes he can become a defensive asset, he told Mark Medina of EssentiallySports.com. “People who have seen me play know that I can defend,” Johnson said. “I’ve never really been the one to get picked out too much. So it’s really about being solid on defense. Maybe I’ll try to be more active in steals. That’s the only place where defense shows on the stat sheet.”
- According to Robbins, it’s key during the rebuild that the Wizards soon unearth a future All-NBA player on the roster. This season should be about finding that guy, whether he’s already on the roster or whether he’s going to be in the 2026 draft. Overall, Washington must stick to its plan this season, even as the losses pile up again.