Three Wizards Who Impressed in Summer League Opener

George profiled as one of the best defensive rookies in his class, and built on his NBA-ready frame with his first offseason. According to him, he grew another inch this summer, now standing at 6'8 without shoes after getting drafted at 6'7.

While Sarr and Bub Carrington missed many of their jumpers, the Wizards' top-drafted rookie shined in his first time suiting up against his former teammates.

Tre Johnson was regarded for months as the best pure scorer available for teams picking towards the top of the 2025 draft, and he looked the part on Friday with 18 points. His confidence is very real, and he demonstrated how much he believes in his ability to get a bucket with some truly audacious shot attempts.

He was the hungriest Wizard out there on offense, releasing on his jumpers with an automatic form and strong touch at the rim. He won't be expected to lead the team in shot attempts down low, but has all of the tools to potentially lead the team in scoring as a rookie with an effective 3-ball and a positive mixture of creativity and ability.

Johnson isn't guaranteed to start on opening night due to Washington's deep guard room, already full with home-picked prospects like Carrington as well as veterans like CJ McCollum, Marcus Smart and Khris Middleton.

The other reserve guards will have to battle for their minutes, and one other prospect who made a great case for himself last night was AJ Johnson with his explosive performance from the bench. 11 points on 4/9 shooting won't blow any box score watchers away, but he's already exemplifying the best parts of the fast break play that thrived in an otherwise bleak on-court situation for the Wizards last season.

Johnson made a few of the highlight plays he turned into regular occurrences in the latter days of the 2024-25 campaign, exemplifying the breathtaking athleticism that bought him minutes in the spring with some dunks that brought his head level with the rim. His burst was second-to-none among Washington guards, and looked the part in his first chance to perform since the regular season concluded.

The Wizards are more than likely still without their star, having had to scrape together their team with smart tertiary draft moves and trades for prospect depth. They'll keep developing in awaiting the next step for the team to take, and though not everyone showed up on Friday, there were plenty of pieces who showed the viewing audience what they should be looking forward to this fall.