Wizards Offense Shines in Season Opener Loss

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Lane Mills | Last updated Oct 22, 2025 11:13 PM ET

AP Photo/Morry Gash

The Washington Wizards are 0-1 on the new, 2025 NBA season. It'd be easy for panic to set in for the D.C. fanbase, as it is for any team that opens a new campaign on a loss, but due to many extraneous factors, the Wizards (and their fans) should actually be relatively good about their start to this season.

Chief among those reasons, in addition to the fact that the team was missing their starting forward, is Washington's clear and proven ability to put the ball in the bucket at a high rate.

Losing a Shootout

While the 133 points they allowed to Milwaukee on the road looks brutal on the surface — and, to an extent, it still is — the Wizards notching 120 in response is an impressive mark for a team down a crucial option and fresh off a layered roster revamp.

On top of adding a scoring veteran such as CJ McCollum (though he only had nine points in 29 minutes), Washington was heavily reliant on the continued development of second-year cornerstones Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington, as well as rookie guard Tre Johnson.

While the two aforementioned sophomores played their part in the Wizards shorthanded duel, scoring 10 and 11 points respectively, it was the rookie that set himself apart.

Tre Johnson’s NBA debut:

16 PTS
5 REB
5-11 FG
4-8 3pt
1 STL | 1 BLK

Most points for a Wizards rookie in their NBA debut since 1992. pic.twitter.com/YryPY3Zmev
— Greg Finberg (@GregFinberg) October 23, 2025

No "First Game Jitters" for Johnson

Johnson notched four triples in the contest at a 50% clip from distance, scoring 16 points in his NBA debut to go along with five rebounds, one steal and one block, too. His scoring mark specifically marks the most for a debuting Wizard in more than 30 years (1992); when taken with Sarr and Carrington altogether, the team's addition of Johnson looks especially promising in the light of their grueling rebuild.

That's why, even with the loss, Washington checked more important boxes in this season opener than the one in the win column. If their young talent continues to pan out, those will come in time, and they'll come in spades.

For the time, perhaps expectedly, veteran forward and former Buck Khris Middleton led the Wizards in scoring with 23 total. As the team's primary option, at least for now, Middleton appears to be in solid position to carry his weight and then some as the franchise's underlings continue to improve.

A loss is a loss, and Washington will certainly want to improve on the defensive end, but with the entire season ahead of them and 120 points under their collective belt already, the Wizards could be feeling a lot worse about their first game of the new season.

Given a few fixes, players finding their footing and the recovery of Bilal Coulibaly, Washington's resurgence in the Eastern Conference could come sooner than previously thought.

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

More must-reads: