Washington Wizards

Washington Wizards

Kyshawn George made his All-Star aspirations crystal clear early on in the process and after breaking out throughout the start of his sophomore season, it didn't come as a surprise to hear his name called when the roster were revealed. Considering his second-year leap, averaging 15.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists, while shooting an extremely efficient 44.1% from field goal range and 37.7% from beyond the arc, it seemed like a no-brainer for the Miami product to be included in the All-Star Weekend fun.

The Washington Wizards have long been considered one of the worst teams in the league. However, thanks to the new front office regime of general manager Will Dawkins and President of Monumental Basketball Michael Winger, change seems to be on the horizon. Between the team's talented young core filled with high-upside prospects, a head coach in Brian Keefe, who's seemingly built something that players can buy into and the assets accumulated over the years to make bold moves, Washington has slowly but surely rising from the mud.

To make matters worse, the early season challenge to his players from head coach Brian Keefe, which was followed by a players only meeting, made it seem as if the young team was heading in the wrong direction as a whole. Fortunately, things in the DMV finally seem to be turning around, at least considering the state of the organization this time last week when they found themselves at the bottom of the NBA standings for yet another season.

In the Raptors' last game on December 26, they went up against the Washington Wizards, who hold one of the worst records league-wide at 6-23. Even though Toronto has been going through quite the rough patch lately, their struggles persisted into this Boxing Day affair, where they completely faltered against Washington, thanks to some great performances from Kyshawn George, wily veteran CJ McCollum, Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, as well as efficient showings from youngsters Tre Johnson and Bub Carrington.

Obviously, the Wizards injuries have began to add up over the last few weeks, with several key players out of the lineup including Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly and reigning top 10 pick Tre Johnson. Washington's far from full strength, but if we're being completely honest, the team's underwhelming play to start the season suggest that even if they were healthy, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

The Washington Wizards injuries have managed to make an already bizarre start to the season take a turn for the worse. Washington's injury woes have forced head coach Brian Keefe to search for answers deep on the team's bench and after declaring that no minutes would be given, but instead earned this offseason, Washington found themselves turning to a second-round pick on Thursday night.

Bilal Coulibaly was selected with the No. 7 overall pick by the Wizards in the 2023 NBA Draft. The oversized guard's skillset and size mixed with his defensive instincts made him one of the most unique prospects that many felt if he could develop his offensive game would allow for him to become one of the most elite two-way players in the league.