Wizards Wings Steering Team in Younger, Bigger Direction

They've stumbled into a much more intriguing balance between eras along the wing, where the old guard's hold on the majority of the shots continues to get challenged by ascending home-brewed options. And judging by recent games, the in-house shift is really starting to shift as Washington leans into the youth they've accumulated.

Prioritizing Youth and Size

The Wizards have repeatedly flagged physical measurables and the raw potential that comes with young swings, and no one's represented that clean slate mentality quite like Kyshawn George.

He didn't care about draft positioning upon landing in Washington, quickly looking like a better defender than Bub Carrington while performing with considerably more comfortability around the arc than Sarr, who was once tabbed for his intrigue as an outside play-finisher.

Following a summer of work, his vaunted 3-point shot is back and better than ever, as are the playmaking shades he flashed in limited on-ball reps during his rookie season. Clearly the most consistent scorer of anyone in the Wizards' young wing room, all he needed was an increase in aggression to start filling up the box score, and he knew it.

He was about as ready to fire in the first half of the Wizards' matchup in San Antonio as he's looked in months, shrugging off his occasionally-passive tendencies in firing nine shots. And these weren't just settle shots from outside; he had the bump-middy working early and repeatedly went to his emerging weapon of choice. His usual threes weren't falling in an 0/4 performance from deep, but this was just the sort of approach fans have wanted out of the rising star.

Generations Within Rebuilds

George has only been with the Wizards for about a year and a half, but the speed with which he lapped higher-drafted prospects like Carrington and Bilal Coulibaly on the depth chart can make it easy to forget just how far he's already come.

A year ago, he was Will Riley, who's starting to look like a George variant himself. Though he's not nearly as physical as the 2024 draft pick, he's even taller than George at 6'10, and he's just as willing to punish teams with his outside jumper. Riley's been a living embodiment of the franchise's preference for high-feel players, making up for his skinnier frame with the meticulous awareness to get to his spots as a pick-and-roll operator and vision to find open teammates.

He's still earning his minutes the old-fashioned way, but the Wizards' increasing willingness to lean on players like he and George as offensive conductors represents their interest in investing in these young, energetic lineups quicker than some fans may have anticipated. As helpful as the vets were in introducing professional scoring, the prospects appear to be taking what they believe is theirs.