The Washington Wizards enter the week at 4-6 and flanked by an active three-game losing streak- not exactly where the most hopeful locals hoped they'd be now that they've churned through their cushy season opening. No lone lineup complication is to blame for the developmentally-oriented team's November slide, though it hasn't helped that so few members of the Wizards' presumably-deep young corps have held up their ends of the bargain with the introduction of intensified nightly stakes.

Alex Sarr continues struggling to adapt to life alongside other bigs. Tre Johnson's critically-acclaimed jumpshot has looked poorly-calibrated more times than not, while the stronger-shooting Bub Carrington's yet to prove much value outside of his occasional perimeter play-finishing. Will Riley's out of the rotation entirely. Bilal Coulibaly, more than anyone, has shrunk from the starting-caliber position he'd once flirted with, opening the door for newcomer AJ Dybantsa to seize plenty of open opportunities on Washington's wings.

There, he'll meet Kyshawn George at the head of Washington's tertiary scoring attack, the one returning Wizards prospect who's already exceeding some of the more ambitious expectations he was saddled with.

He took a few games to get going in navigating life amidst a suddenly-crowded starting lineup, but his rise as a self-creating, multi-level scorer couldn't have arrived at a better time for the otherwise-sloppy rotation.

George's Brief Growing Pains Spell

For one hot second, it seemed as if the role of the supplementary offensive engine may be too much for George to maneuver. A year after nailing over 38% of his 3-pointers as a sophomore, he posted a hit rate of 19% while averaging 3.8 turnovers and 3.6 personal fouls a night. Frustration repeatedly seemed to mount amidst his attempt at immediately sliding in as Trae Young's secondary playmaker.

But then, right around the time Dybantsa parachuted in, something started clicking for George. He maintained the driving composure, contract-drawing and pull-up middy game while deploying the missing three-ball, sinking four threes during the Wizards' victorious attempt at vengeance over the Charlotte Hornets a little over a week ago.

10 threes made by the Wizards isn’t much, but it was only because of Kyshawn George that they got even close to that. His upside as a tertiary creator from the perimeter alongside Trae Young and AJ Dybantsa is further aided by that smooth jumper https://t.co/eUsSZLQG7T pic.twitter.com/gmn3NECGHI

— All Wizards Talk (@AllWizardsTalk) October 31, 2026

Ever since that Hornets homecoming, George has been on fire from deep. He's up from 15.8 points a game over those first five to 21.2 with a 47.4% accuracy from long-range on a diet of 7.6 nightly chucks. The assists are up, the turnovers are down- even the fouls, something he's struggled with much more consistently than any streaky jumper over the course of his career, have decreased by a tick.

It helps that, unlike a Johnson or a Carrington, George's game goes well beyond simple spot- or pull-up opportunities far away from the basket. He's a gifted passer who's already learned how to leverage his size at 6'8 and preternatural sense of pace into a strong alternative to Young's boom-or-bust heat checks, regularly penetrating opposing defenses with his strong handle and interior touch.

Every passing year of George updates may as well serve as a pat on the back for Washington's draft evaluators, with the older forward figuring in as something of a mystery deep in the 2024 prospect roundup. After fellow draft classmates Sarr and Carrington had already been swept up by Washington, the Wizards gambled on George's on-ball flashes and physical measurables, and that swing continues aging well as his draft contemporaries continue slotting into more complimentary roles.

The Present Need for George

The big wing's 3.6 canned threes over each of the last five games looks even more impactful when we stack his individual success up against the rest of the Wizards' luck from beyond the outside arc.

For reference, the Wizards have proven as unwilling to keep stride with the rest of the league in the long-range shooting column as anyone all season. They're ranked second-to-last in 3-point attempts (31.5) and conversions (9.5), a combination that's destined to hurt the offense once opposing scouting reports connect the dots that on the off-chance the Wizards do pull a three, it's not likely to fall.

Sure, they can say they're leaning on post-workers like Davis and downhill slashers like Dybantsa, but after awhile, they have to accept that trading twos for threes will make for an unwinnable long-term race against simple math.

Consider that even more pressure on George, whose above-the-break snipes feel that much more necessary considering all of the deferential non-spacers he's presently playing alongside.

While players like Young and Johnson are due for more scintillating performances deeper into the season, there are far more pieces like Davis, Sarr, Coulibaly, Deandre Ayton and, for the time being, Dybantsa who still do very little to intimidate defenses whenever they're 25+ feet from the rim. Entering mid-November, that's over half of the functional rotation who have to pray that George bails them out of their sloppier scoring stretches once opposing defenses start collapsing

Add his versatile stopping frame and 14 blocks through 10 games, and you're left with the only long-term piece who's begun challenging Dybantsa within the organization's inner-most circle of two-way prospects. And to think: he's done this without getting much of anything from Young or the top-billed rookie as consistent offensive chips. The second that the rest of his supporting cast begins thinning out into a serious, ready-to-compete program, he has the tools to support the next step of the Wizards' build.