Three Reasons Wizards Have To Be Thankful This Thanksgiving

1. First-ever NBA Cup win

The Wizards are off until the day after Thanksgiving. After a 132-113 win over the Atlanta Hawks at the Capital One Arena, Washington won for the first time during NBA Cup play.

Since the tournament was introduced by the league in 2023, the Wizards have failed to win a game during pool play. With four losses in each of the past two seasons, Washington hasn't experience a victory.... until now.

Head coach Brian Keefe and his team have ended a ten-game losing streak since the inaugural NBA Cup Tournament began two seasons ago.

Beating one of the stronger defensive teams in the NBA (at least when playing without their star Trae Young), the Wizards are now 1-2 in Group A.

Teams like the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, and fellow Southeast Division foe, the Charlotte Hornets, are winless in the NBA Cup Tournament entering Thanksgiving. Washington will face Indiana on the road with the hopes of winning their second game in a row and keeping the Pacers winless, as well.

2. Improvements have been made to the Wizards' three-point shooting.

A season ago, Washington had the second-lowest percentage from behind the arc. Going 33.5% from deep helped prevent the Wizards' offense from ever finding its footing.

Now, the team is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the NBA. Entering Thanksgiving, Washington is connecting on 38.3% of their attempts from downtown. Only the Houston Rockets (42%) and the Milwaukee Bucks (41.3%) have better averages than the Wizards.

In his first season with Washington, veteran guard CJ McCollum attempts the most threes. He also makes the most, averaging three makes a game. On his third NBA in his career, McCollum is shooting 42.1% from deep.

Teammates Kyshawn George, Bub Carrington, and Corey Kispert are also all shooting at least 40% from behind the arc. Going 19-for-38 as a unit, the Wizards were led by McCollum making 10 of his 13 shots from three. He finished the game with a season-high 46 points against the Hawks.

3. The growth and second-year leap of Alex Sarr.

Washington may not have the wins to show for it, but their young big in the starting lineup has accelerated his game this season. Sarr averaged 13 points and 6.5 rebounds per game during his rookie season last year.

The 20-year-old athlete scored 27 points in the win against Atlanta. Sarr has scored a season-high of 31 points on two different occasions this season.

Now, he has elevated those marks by averaging 18.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest. Sarr is among one of the NBA's best shot blockers this season.

His 2.0 blocks per game is up there with the Pacers' Jay Huff and the Detroit Pistons' Isaiah Stewart. Only Victor Wembanyana of the San Antonio Spurs is averaging more blocks than those three entering Thanksgiving.