Mar 2, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum bring the ball up the court against the Utah Jazz during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Rob Gray-Imagn Images

CJ McCollum Has Perfect Opportunity with Wizards

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Hans Themistode | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 6:00 PM ET

CJ McCollum has put together quite an impressive career. He’s scored over 15,000 points, has averaged at least 20 points for a decade, and had big-time moments under the bright playoff lights.

Yet, no matter how good McCollum has been, he’s never been viewed as THE guy. During his run with the Portland Trailblazers, McCollum was the second option behind Damian Lillard. When he was eventually shipped out of town to the New Orleans Pelicans, Zion Williamson was their best player, followed by Brandon Ingram.

In both situations, McCollum never complained or begged for more shots; he simply accepted his role, went out on the court, and balled.

Now, however, things could and should be different.

When the Wizards arbitrarily decided to swap out Jordan Poole with McCollum, it gave an indication that the franchise was done being viewed as immature and wanted to be taken seriously.

Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

From a production standpoint, it seemed like a wash, though.

CJ McCollum's 2024-25 Stats

21.1 PPG, 4.1 APG, 3.8 RPG, 44.4 FG%

Jordan Poole's 2024-25 Stats

20.5 PPG, 4.5 APG, 3.0 RPG, 43.2 FG%

For the most part, the two’s production mirrors one another, but for McCollum, this is his chance to prove that he’s been in the wrong role for most of his career.

For Washington, its team is made up of old heads and young guys on the rise. Alex Sarr averaged 13 points a night as a rookie last season. Bub Carrington had an undervalued year, making the All-Rookie squad. We also can’t forget about Bilal Coulibaly, as he averaged a shade over 12 points a night.

Those three players, while good and expected to take another step forward, aren’t even old enough to drink, with Coulibaly serving as the exception in that case. As for the vets who will be leaned upon, we can only point to one.

Khris Middleton is 34 and hasn’t looked like his All-Star self in years, Malcolm Brogdon is a New York Knick now, and Jonas Valanciunas is playing over in Denver.

McCollum, undoubtedly, will have the spotlight all to himself this year. Let’s flashback to his Portland days so we can guess what that normally looks like. On 19 different occasions, McCollum played a home game without Lillard. So what did he do? Well, he balled out.

CJ McCollum’s Stats at Home Without Lillard

24.2 PPG, 6.3 APG, 4.5 RPG

Washington will put a priority on developing the young guys, but McCollum will be the man all season long. He’s humble enough to accept any role given to him, but now, he’ll have the opportunity to prove that he’s as good as anyone.

This article first appeared on Washington Wizards on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: