Washington Wizards guard CJ McCollum Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Wizards Veteran Disappears in Road Loss

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Lane Mills | Last updated Nov 4, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The Washington Wizards are known at this current point in their franchise's progress for, if nothing else, the ample young talent working to develop on the roster. Not only do sophomores Alex Sarr (C) and Kyshawn George (F) already play crucial roles in the team's rotation, but rookie Tre Johnson has taken the NBA and its headlines by storm with a striking and historic scoring ability for a first-year guard in D.C.

For that reason, the team's future is certainly exciting and, eventually, assuming everything goes according to plan, those players will spearhead a season on their merits as franchise-defining assets. But until then, as the young pieces continue to improve, Washington has filled the gaps with a cast of varied veterans meant to spell the greener guys as they adjust to the league.

Wizards' Record Says It All

But what happens those veterans don't play well? The Wizards' 1-6 record (having now lost five in a row) spells the result well all alone. More specifically, the team's latest loss on the road to the New York Knicks serves as a proper microcosm for the lack of seasoned production for Washington.

In the 102-119 loss, the Wizards, missing veteran forward Khris Middleton due to an elbow contusion, looked to CJ McCollum to take on the bulk of that remaining role. Despite the journeyman guard's reputation as an uber-consistent scorer, McCollum tallied just five points on an abysmal 22.2%/16.7% shooting split.

Stat of the day: CJ McCollum has averaged 20+ PPG for 10 straight seasons.

As consistent as they come. pic.twitter.com/aMEGzaLlaG
— Greg Finberg (@GregFinberg) October 15, 2025

McCollum, to be fair, hasn't been scoring this scarcely throughout the season thus far; for the time, he's averaged a fair 14.2 points through seven games. But it's his shooting numbers, much like that aforementioned statistic, that are more worrying than anything else considering his wanted presence in the team's offense.

On the year, the guard is shooting just 37.2% from the field on the whole. While that's better than the 22% he managed against the Knicks, both metrics are underwhelming and, unfortunately for Washington, a likely sign of the times.

Rely on the Rookies

As bumpy as it may be, if the Wizards' few players more familiar with the NBA remain either injured or gratingly inconsistent, the franchise would likely be better off sticking a sign in the yard and moving those players while they can, focusing further on their progressing core and embrace the bumps that come with that.

Even if the Wizards aren't fully ready to commit to their up-and-comers just yet, that group is arguably more impactful already than the vets meant to guide them. That's incredibly encouraging and untimely in equal parts.

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

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