Anthony Gill and the Soul of the Wizards

Gill’s insistence on lending a helpful hand any time he can is no gimmick, either. He values “organic” relationship-building as much as anyone, having seen enough turnover to understand how important it is that all of the pieces who make up the Wizards’ roster gel with and understand each other between tipoffs.

“I just want to cultivate real relationships long-term,” he told On SI. “I don’t want you to come to this organization and never feel like ‘this is it, I’m never going to see this group of people again, I’m never going to have a friend like that.’ I’m with you for life.”

His knack for sticking around D.C. hasn’t gone unnoticed, as six admittedly-fragmented seasons with the same team that gave the forward his first shot at the NBA is unheard-of for a player who went undrafted back in 2016 before spending the majority of his 20s in Europe. And the Wizards, as he’s seen firsthand, haven’t cherished many constants since his debut.

The pride of the University of Virginia made his first big-league appearance as the final man on the bench of the 2020-21 Wizards, a group that’s remembered fondly for Russell Westbrook’s undeniable one-and-done impact. They tasted the playoffs that year before embracing a mercifully-quick death by suffering a gentleman’s sweep to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, but ever since then, Gill’s seen nothing but early offseasons and a teardown from that middling Bradley Beal-led core through one of the game’s most thorough rebuilds.

The keys to Washington’s front office even changed hands, but Gill’s remained through it all in trusting the men at the controls. “I want the guys who are in the locker room to be with me here forever,” he said in reminiscing on the change he’s witnessed. “I love the group of guys that we have right now. Obviously I wish that I had the same group that I had before, but these guys are amazing.”

Appreciating Gill from Up Close

The only peer who’d approached Gill’s in-house longevity was Kispert, the shooting prospect drafted mere months after that predictable postseason exit. The highly-touted role player and leader fell to the same fate that’s taken countless Wizards throughout the 2020s earlier this year when he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks as a member of the Trae Young exchange.

That loss hurt for Gill, a cost of his self-imposed emphasis on transformational over transactional relationships. For each teammate he practices and laces sneakers alongside, there's the expanded risk that he'll have to bid goodbye to someone important to him.

And with Kispert went one of Gill’s most vocal supporters, someone who saw him beyond the friendly driver willing to carpool with his squadmates to and from matchups.

“He’s always ready. Like always, always ready to play,” the guard commented during their first season of the committed rebuild. “When you see a guy like that do well in a game, you want to run through a wall for him.”

Numbers Falling Short of Impact

The traits that Kispert outlined in that interview snippet - availability, defense, energy - sum up what most casual fans miss about Gill’s viability as a backup forward. Most players who fall into the “mascot” niche either can’t really play or are well past their prime, i.e. a Udonis Haslem. But Gill, still mobile and deft communicating, is no charity case. He can fit into competent lineups, having spent the latter half of this ongoing season reminding others of his quiet versatility.

He’s enjoyed a 25+ minute per night workload since the start of February, when the Wizards took their interest in losing up another notch. They’ve won just four of the 31 games played over that span, and Gill’s been in attendance for all but three of those outings. Still, he’s done his role at the rim and from around the arc, having averaged 12.9 points on an astonishing 73.2/41.7/87.5% slashline over his last nine. 

Though he isn't expected to raise the Wizards' ceiling on a regular basis, his head coach continues to remind all that Gill's not done improving as a day-to-day player.

“His game has improved since I’ve been here,” Brian Keefe commented following Gill’s career-high 21-point showing against the Philadelphia 76ers last week. “...Obviously, he had the scoring, but he had six assists also when we were playing through him on the elbows and we were getting some cuts off him. But this is what AG does. He always produces. He’s always going to be ready to play, not surprisingly.”

That unselfishness reflected in Gill’s chance to speak at the podium following the career achievement, where he immediately swooped down on the chance to divert attention towards his off-court strides. When asked where he believes he’s jumped over the last month, a stretch that’s included plenty of productive ball, he was quick to jump towards the job he’s done maintaining his home as a husband and father of three.

Despite all the praise that’s been heaped onto him as the unofficial guardian of the Wizards’ locker room, Gill is still a professional basketball player, clarifying that he appreciates being credited as such on occasion. As he succinctly put it, “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t good at basketball.”

His verbal statement pairs well with his strong close to this campaign, where he’s never looked more ready to actually factor into the nightly operation that the Wizards hope to field in the coming months. Their final premium draft picks will ideally provide the final helpful pieces to supplement the rising and proven stars atop the depth chart, and Gill’s late heat check should still be ringing out when Washington’s deciding who’ll stay and go over the summer.

Players don't get much more outwardly sentimental than Gill, but professional sports leagues like the NBA and its fleet of franchises often struggle to financially measure glue guys.

Gill’s been just one of 26 across this loss-filled season, and the raw, unflinching numbers game of the offseason certainly opens the door for his re-entry to free agency should the Wizards be unable to ink him to yet another one-year deal. But as far as behind-the-scenes connectors go, few in the building, let alone around the league, can match the veteran’s blend of helpful in-game approach and off-court team-consolidating initiative, and his willingness to venture deeper into the general understanding of “value” promises to test Washington come decision-making time.