Wizards Rookie Guard Named Candidate For Major Award

Cooper Flagg is already seen as the dominant favorite to take home top rookie honors. It was a punch to D.C.'s gut the Dallas Mavericks ended up with the best non-Victor Wembanyama NBA Draft prize of the 2020s, but it helps that the Wizards now have one of the best challengers to his assumed crown. Johnson already has the scoring bag to compete with anyone, and he'll meet opportunity on a team willing to throw their prospects into the deep end.

ESPN is certainly aware of Johnson's upside, considering him as a top challenger to Flagg by this upcoming season's award-voting stage. He, along with Ace Bailey of the Utah Jazz and the Charlotte Hornets' Kon Knueppel, were classified as such by Kevin Pelton.

"The three picks after Harper and Edgecombe all went to the kinds of rebuilding teams that have often produced Rookies of the Year," Pelton wrote. "Since Ben Simmons won in 2017-18, just one winner (Scottie Barnes in 2021-22) has played for a team that won more than 46% of its games.

"Johnson, the third-leading scorer (19.5 PPG) behind Flagg and Edgecombe in summer league, could slot in immediately at shooting guard in Washington depending on how the Wizards decide to use veterans CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton. McCollum and Middleton don't seem to figure in Washington's long-term plans, and the team is short on shot creation behind them, creating opportunity for Johnson -- the top rival to Flagg at ESPN BET."

Flagg, for what it's worth, won't have Johnson's open road to minutes. He'll get plenty of opportunities to start, but the Mavericks, already staffing Anthony Davis and the injured Kyrie Irving as regular All-Stars, have a compass to the playoff to follow and plenty of Western Conference competition to challenge them throughout the fall, winter and spring.

Johnson, meanwhile, will get plenty of chances to ease his game into the pros. That's the same ramp that Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George took last year, and Bilal Coulibaly the season before that, as the Wizards are projected to maintain their current trajecotry until the patient front office says otherwise.